The Oldsmobile Toronado is a car that has always intrigued me. The concept of a front wheel drive V8 seemed like such an alien concept when these were first released. This third generation Toronado is for sale here on Craigslist and is located in Hollywood, Florida. Possessing a clean title and priced at $9,750, this certainly appears to be a quintessential example of 1980s American automotive luxury. Our thanks goes to Scott L for referring this one to us.
The Caliente was the top of the range Toronado which was modified by ASC. This particular example is fully loaded with every available option. When looking at cars that are predominantly grey, there is a real danger of the car appearing to be drab or dreary. Personal opinion here, I think that this particular car carries off the grey theme quite well. The paint has a really nice gloss to it, and the grey vinyl top appears to be in good condition. The seller claims a genuine 21,000 miles for this beauty, and states that they have a clean Carfax and title documenting the mileage.
Those leather seats look like you could just sink comfortably into them and drop off to sleep, although that’s probably not a wise idea if you’re behind the wheel. Generally speaking the interior appears to be in the sort of condition that you would expect for an example with the claimed mileage. The carpet looks good, and all of the interior plastic and wood finishes appear solid with no signs of discoloration. However, there does appear to be seam separation at the top of the driver’s seat. This would need to be addressed asap, and is the first thing that starts to raise some doubts in my mind. It’s also hard to tell whether there may be some discoloration of the leather on the driver’s seat, or if it’s just a trick of the light.
The rear seat looks like it has rarely (if ever) been used. Once again the leather looks supple and sumptuous. I think that there could be a real danger of those small side windows making the back seat feel claustrophobic. However I think Oldsmobile have managed to carry off the grey interior in such a way as to avoid this, making the area feel light and airy while just oozing class.
I simply couldn’t resist a shot of the instruments in all their glory. Every car that I’ve ever owned featured analogue instruments. I have often wondered whether digital instrumentation was a distraction, or if they were clearer than normal gauges. Regardless, these appear to be in good working order. The seller doesn’t report any issues with them. It would also be interesting to know whether any of our readers have had experience with the Oldsmobile example, and whether they have experienced any reliability issues.
It may just be me, but I find under the hood not only disappointing, but exhibiting some traits that raise concern for me. Power is delivered by the 307ci engine, and the car is fitted with air con which is said to blow ice cold. The engine bay looks clean at first glance, but a detailed inspection shows corrosion on a number of surfaces such as bolts and pulleys that’s a bit disconcerting. That alone is enough for me to want to undertake a really detailed inspection of the underside of the car before putting any money on the table.
Placing a value on a Toronado Caliente can be quite a difficult prospect. Looking at the market reveals that there are plenty of Broughams for sale, but very few of the Caliente derivatives. Interestingly, as well as finding an example with twice the mileage on the clock priced at $8,000, I also found a second listing for this one here on eBay priced at $11,500. It seems that the seller may be hedging their bets. So, is it worth the Craigslist price, or does the engine bay corrosion and seam separation on the driver’s seat raise enough questions for you to pass on this one? For me those are the sticking points on what is a rather nice looking car.
Ride height in the rear looks a little high.
Hideous – but probably less than a handful like it
It looks like the designers got bored after the doors. A 307 ci., in a Toronado is automotive castration. Not in any way equivalent to the original beast.
Amazing looking front and interior. Engine compartment is a bit clogged. Still if I didn’t have 3 kids I would be off to the states to buy something like this.
Does not have every option. It’s missing twilight sentinel , memory seat, theft deterrent system, astro roof, shearling and leather seating just to name a few
Is one row of the grill blocked off with that upper strip or was that how it came?
I can’t speak to the Toronado dash but my Vette has the Atari dash (same type) and I did have some issues with it after purchase. The oem bulbs heat the guts of the instrument cluster and over time it causes connection issues (works but impossible to read due to lack of illumination). I had mine rebuilt, new connectors put in between the boards and switched to xenon bulbs about 4 years ago. It’s been fine since.
Operationally, with the top off and in bright sunlight it’s next to impossible to read the dash as it stands. I wonder if this one would suffer the same issues?
Still a good looking car none the less, maybe a little high on pricing but that’s just me.
Nice car in beautiful shape. I don’t think they offered memory seat in those days, and I think that IS leather. Either way, those pillow top seats are very comfortable. Today’s car’s seats should be so comfortable.
My mom’s 85 had the memory seat. I guess it was a rare option. It was available on the 82 Toronados on. Yes this does have leather, but the optional interior had shearling in the center of the seats with a nubuck like leather trim around it. Also rarely selected option
Nick,
They did offer memory seats on this car. Memory seats have actually been around since the 50s believe it or not.
I saw a bronze Caliente with 121k for sale that had memory seats.
Something that did show in ’85 was the self-dimming mirror. These first ones physically flipped & had a thumb wheel that could be adjusted for light sensitivity. I put one in my ’84 Cutlass Brougham but went to the next generation one most prevalent now because I got tired of the little buzzing sound it would make when flipping.
It is in nice condition, but it is just a used car.
Speaking of digital instrumentation: I cannot say enough good things about a digital speedometer. It provides INSTANT speed information — at a glance– because their numerals don’t require you to “hunt” for the speedo needle nor calculate its relationship to the dial. A microsecond glance tells you that you’re travelling at 52 mph, whereas checking speed on an analog gauge takes far longer. Digital speedometers are a massively effective safety device, in my opinion. I’ve been driving cars with them for nearly 20 years.
And the HUD (Heads-Up Display) is even better!
I personally love digital instrumentation. Its a shame the auto magazines of the era so thoroughly blasted them continuously so the car companies went back to analog. Why we are still using gauges that look the same as an 80 year old car is beyond me.
Same thing with ride quality. The mags lamented american car ride quality as too soft so they all changed and essentially you cant buy a decent riding car anymore.
Nice car.
My dad had one of these but a earlier one I believe, it was a nice car! The gauges are cool, but wait till they burn out and you have to buy a whole new instrument cluster then you will hate it!
My friend and I took one of these to the scrap yard 20 years ago. He was pulling me with an S-10, the Toranado had no engine in it but I left the torque converter in place, at about 55mph you guessed it the torque converter flew out the front of the trans, I ran over it. I looked in the rear view mirror and a cop behind me is swerving violently and the converter is bouncing down the road. I thought I was going to jail that day.
Digital instrumentation can be very hard to live with because it simply isn’t reliable. I’ve turned down cars I’ve really wanted because I’ve had the experience of lots of shop time trying to make the damn things work. But if I had the room and was closer to the car geographically I’d look at it very seriously because the 66 Toronado I had was analog for instruments and a blast. Since this is a Florida car get it up on a lift and look at its bones. If it’s healthy underneath, and you don’t mind criminal gas mileage buy it and enjoy.
When those digital gauges start screwing up all you can really do to solve the problem is replace the whole cluster that’s the best way to deal with it!
Very interesting comments about digital instruments going bad. I’m sure it happens, but I’m happy to say during my 20-year ownership of three different Lincoln Town Cars (and several others among family and friends….all 1990-97 generation), I’ve never had the first problem with the instrument cluster in any of them. Maybe I’m lucky? Maybe the Ford units are tougher than those of GM?????
May not be digital, but I’ve had to have the analog instrument cluster in my T-Bird and my Vette Atari instrument cluster repaired. In the T-Bird it was one of the plastic gears in the odometer while on the Vette it was the connector between the 2 boards.
I’ve also had a couple of others in the past fail. It is what it is, they’re all likely to fail at some point in their life most likely. I don’t know any that are that much better than the rest.
My Grandmother had a 1980 Thunderbird with digital dash. It was fine except on a rainy summer afternoon. As soon as headlamps were on dash would dim for “night” but since it was not dark out the dash display would basically disappear. She kept that car about 10 years and never had any issues with the dash as far as repairs, but her next Thunderbird she went back analog.
I had bought one brand new in 85′. It was black and had a light interior with sheep skin in the seats. Good car, like driving in your living room.
The low milage probably correct. Might have sat outside and being in Florida defiantly not dry, that’s why the under hood looks so bad. Underneath the car is probably the same.