I’m a huge fan of the Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon and if I have one mission in life, other than the whole political harmony thing that we’re all feverishly working towards (crickets), it’s to sway some of you over to my side. I don’t mean that you have to grow a cheesy mustache and be able to throw down Andy Griffith trivia with the best of them, but as far as enjoying the unique design of the GM’s aeroback cars. This 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon is listed here on eBay in beautiful Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, the current bid price is $2,550, and there is no reserve.
Isn’t that unique? We’ve seen them before here on Barn Finds and I’m kicking myself for not grabbing the sweet black two-door Buick Century aeroback that we saw a couple of weeks ago. If I would have bought $2,800 worth of GameStop stock two weeks ago instead of that Buick Century I wouldn’t feel as bad as I do for not ending up with it. 1978 was the first year for the fifth-generation Cutlass and the first of three years for the Salon.
I love the fact that GM made these hatchback-looking cars into regular cars with trunks rather than actual functioning, opening hatchbacks. That quirk just makes them even more lovable to me. It’s one of those extra oddball features that I like in a vehicle. This car is still in the rear-wheel-drive era so that makes it even more interesting for me.
From the front side, you’d never know that the backside looks the way it does, but that’s the way with most people, too. You’ll notice the Arizona plate on the rear for a car that’s located in Idaho but we don’t know the story on that. Did they just buy it to resell? Do they have two homes? They talk about having driven it 60 miles round-trip to work a few times so I’m assuming that it’s a recent purchase. Not changing those plates over wouldn’t work in my state but maybe other state DMVs wouldn’t have an issue with skipping a registration. Or, maybe it’s registered in Idaho and has Arizona plates. My head hurts.
The beautiful red velour (yes, those three words coexist in my world) interior looks almost perfect other than some damage on one of the b-pillars maybe? I can’t quite tell where this photo was taken other than seeing a seatbelt there. The back seat looks comfy and I’m guessing the headroom and legroom are both plentiful even for those of us who are well over six feet tall. The seller mentions that one of the rear power windows doesn’t open due to a broken cable, and they also say that the AC works like a charm and it sounds like everything else is functioning.
The engine is so clean that I may need a minute to compose myself. We oftentimes don’t even get to see an engine photo and this seller has provided two photos of this beautiful Oldsmobile 260 V8 which would have had 110 horsepower and 205 lb-ft of torque. The seller mentions an intake manifold leak and a couple of areas where oil is dripping. Hopefully, those things aren’t a nightmare for the next owner to fix. Have I convinced any of you to like these GM aeroback cars yet? If not, I’ll keep trying.
That 260 is almost indestructible, I have seen these engines run without any coolant in them (figure 8 races).
Add a set of Oldsmobile rallys in either color would be the next step.
Compared to the coupes, these were mundane new, but now it would stand out in any parking lot. Just drive and enjoy, who cares what anybody thinks.
Cheap thrills. Cheap, conservative thrills.
Almost indestructible but absolutely worthless for performance. My Mom had a 1980 Cutlass Supreme with that engine and it remains the slowest car I have ever driven. Just abysmal performance.
Yes, a friend had a ’78 Supreme with the 260 back in the day and it was slower than molasses in January. This is an Oldsmobile Gutless Salon!
They do exactly what they were designed to do. What more do you want?
Slowest car? You have never driven a VW Bug?
The Olds 307 was also a good, but not necessarily powerful engine, we ran a lot of them in demo derbies and you couldn’t kill them
I’m 40 minutes from this car Scotty. I’m trying real hard to find the love for this car but right now it’s like going out on a blind date and wanting it all to end! Really clean car though and if it’s either Arizona or Idaho both states corrosion wise are pretty easy on cars back in the day. Unfortunately last several years the state has fallen in love with calcium and Mag chloride. This one looks like the the little old lady from Arizona type of ride.
Another one of the many cheapies I had. The car for my family in the late 80’s, was a wagon of this car, and I’m not sure how I got the 4 door. It was also the V8, had a slight miss to it, so a plug change was in order. I got them all out, except #8 under the heater. I tried every socket, universal, and extension I had, FINALLY got it out, it had no electrode( not sure how it fired at all) and looked like the original plug from the factory and didn’t match the others. I figure it was just never changed. Great cars, another of the few my ex couldn’t kill. Can’t go wrong here and in 20 years THIS will be the car everybody looks at. I can hear it now, “oh yeah, my grandma had a car like this”,,
“THIS will be the car everybody looks at.” and says “What were they thinking?”
Got to be the ugliest rear end on any car, ever! It looks like the designer was up to the C pillar before he realised it was 5 minutes to knock off time, and the 16 year old office cleaner finished it off for him.
Olds 455 anyone? Make a hell of a sleeper.
Get me the name of the wax the seller is using. That’s some wicked shine!
It’s called water it down for the picture. Makes even dead clear coat look good while it’s wet. Very misleading and rather annoying. Be honest when selling a car. Both mechanically and cosmetically. Buyers know what to expect that way when they show up in person to look at a vehicle. That wet car routine borders on lying.. Yes, I sell used cars periodically on Craigslist. Honest ads equal people not getting mad about lying to them and calling you in an angry manner after the sale.
This may just be the ugliest car I’ve ever seen.
How did this get past the first design review?
Agreed–hideous, from any angle.
Great car if you are a left-handed rear seat passenger who smokes…
It’s nice, but one of the ugliest designs GM produced. Hard pass, that reason alone.
Steve R
If GM stylists wanted to build a big Saab, they succeeded
In that thought, the Dodge Journey looks like an oversized Dodge Caliber.
I have the same reaction today as I did the first time I saw one of these, WTH!
I tell you what, you would gather a crowd at the car show and piss off the guy next to you with just another Camaro. It’s so ugly that I like it.
Its clean and that interior sweet but its like a blind date with comments.
Its a strong engine
A very clean car
A very pleasant ride
Dependable
But no wow thats a sweet looking ride..
I always liked the regular Cutlas cars and had s 1978 same color.
This seemed like one made with the oh what the heck its kinda homely but lets see if customers buy it. ..
Didn’t like these then…but now I hate them even more.
This is so completely opposite of what I consider a collectible classic car and just like so many of you I like it simply for its ugliness.
Looking at that almost impeccable interior in brothel red and the overall clean condition I wonder who the heck hung onto this car for so many decades and took so shockingly good care of a car no one could expect would be loved 43years later…?
“Love is blind.”
I agree. I specifically remember one of these in the church parking lot as a kid, and I also specifically remembering it as ugly. But now as a really oddball survivor? It’s cool.
‘GM aeroback?’ More like GM Ugliback.
Just like the Pontiac Aztec its so ugly I love it. Interior is nice and you can tell from the clean engine and low miles its been taken care of. if I was rich and had a warehouse I’d buy it and hold onto it- you can’t lose.
No.
Classic example of a mullet car- business in the front, party in the back!
It looks like the designers couldn’t decide whether it was a wagon or fastback.
Like the girl from across the bar, pretty to look at, then you walk around to introduce yourself and see she’s sporting a Dana 60!
“Car is road worthy but I make no guarantees” that people won’t laugh at you. (I am SO bad! LOL)
Sold them new. Offered a free car cover with every one sold!
What was the reason for this design my great aunt had one she bought new had so many blind spots she traded in 1981 for a Ford Fairmont Futura
I sold them new, too. But not many.
I sold this model Cutlass Salon and the Buick Century, too. But not very many……
What was the demographic of this rather peculiar looking vehicle? I recall it looked a bit weird even for the times.
Scotty, please, please tell me your joking.
What was the reason for this design my great aunt had one she bought new had so many blind spots she traded in 1981 for a Ford Fairmont Futura
What was the reason for this design my great aunt had one she bought new had so many blind spots she traded in 1981 for a Ford Fairmont Futura
This shows that the 1980 restyle of the Cutlass and Century sedans into notchbacks was a really good move by GM.
It was a very wise move on GM’s part. Century sedan sales quadrupled for the ’80 model year in comparison to ’79. I confess that I like the fastbacks. I owned a ’78 Century Special sedan in the mid 2000’s and wish I had not sold it.
The 1977 Cutlass was Oldsmobile’s best selling car, and then they descend into Hell and designed this monstrosity. I had two math teachers who were married, bought 2 of these, this color, at the same time, they were identical. I thought ( at 15 ) these were hideous then as I do know, but yet this car fit them. They say that a car is an extension of one’s self, man, it was dead on with these 2. Sometimes the past its better to forget
My folks had one of these. it was a nice color of blue with some metallic in it. That was its only redeeming quality. Total POS! Only kept it a year. Run away!
Nice looking car but the odometer looks like it was tampered with. Sorry.
Joey,
Why do you say that?
The last couple of number on the odometer don’t click into place correctly and the numbers are slightly off. Made the mistake of buying a car like that abt 20 years ago. Drove if for several months then was notified by police that the dealership was busted for winding odometers back.
Does it really matter what numbers it has on the dash after 43 years?
It’s stunning. Take my money now.
On top of all its other design faults, the 4 door mid size GM cars of this era had rear doors with fixed windows ! Not even halfway down like some cars had, but if it got hot you could open that massive triangle vent in the rear which was behind the passengers head.
Designer: ‘Boss, there’s no roll-down window in the back seat.’
Head Designer: ‘Don’t worry about it. Nobody’s going to sit back there.’
Yeah, no, it was a safety issue. They figured most rear seat occupants were going to be children, and since restraints hadn’t become mandatory, kids were falling out of back windows. I remember there were many cars that the back windows didn’t roll down or only half way.
Howard, that makes sense, but what about convertibles?
Not a safety issue , if it was, the full size GM cars including wagons (which in theory would have more kids riding in it) would have had fixed glass -but they rolled all the way down . It was a cost cutting move , due to the angle of the rear doors on the mid size cars the glass would not go down all the way, so they just eliminated the whole set up and made the windows fixed .
They sure got that wrong. A lot of these were rental cars, well maybe not this body style, but the 4 doors were.
Howard, usually the window rolled down halfway because it interfered with the rear wheel well.
I never heard anything about kids falling out as a reason for rear window design.
Also, cars had seat belts by this time.
There’s a reason I forgot about these cars…..
Yup. Best comment here actually.
My mom had a ’80 Cutlass Supreme with the same engine. It was a very slow car but by that time they got rid of the ugly aeroback and went with a conventional 3 box design. By the way, the first Cutlass Salon was in ’73. I had a ’75 with a 350 4bbl and reclining corduroy bucket seats. Olds carried the Salon name over to these down-sized later versions.
I get a kick out of all the folks who comment on how ugly a car is. Makes me wonder if they would be willing to post their wife’s picture here….!
You first.
Let Ted Cruz go first 🤣
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I’ve always thought they were elegant. Some people love the slant back Seville others, not so much. To comment on the 260, sure a little slow on the take off, but will cruise at 80 or more all day. Also they get 20 mpg no matter what, city or highway use. Which was GM’s goal, good fuel economy.
If GM’s goal was to build a car that got 20 mpg no matter what, city or highway use, then why did they have to make the main body quite acceptable, the interior gorgeous, and then ruin it all by making the rear so ugly? My friend had a 1981 Cadillac with the “bustle back” and that was bad enough, but this takes the cake.
I’m with Scotty, I love these things, unlike the awkward notchbacks that replaced them. Olds rally wheels, Radial T/A’s, fix the leaks and Done! Rear windows are fixed but vents were powered-that’s probably what’s not working.
You think you hate it now, but wait till you drive it !!!
I have to agree , I like it. Never thought much about these before , seems I remember ALL of them in a dirty faded brown. But that red makes the design pop.
If this was an attempt to imitate Cadillac they failed big time YUK!!!!
Chris, the bustleback Seville came out almost two years later so the Olds Salon was on the market first.
I owned the 1978 Buick Century version of this thing when I was in college in ’88. It was lime green and had the V6. Almost ugly enough to be the Family Truckster from movie Vacation. Worst car I ever owned. The V6 was very unreliable, or at least mine was.
That 260 v8 110 hp omg that got be worse than Oldsmobile 307 307 0to60 was 14.9 seconds could not imagine 0to60 on 260 v8 i would laugh so hard poop myself probably watch it do it
Do you think anybody cared what time the car did 0-60 in?
If I’m not mistaken, these rides came in a diesel also.
I can believe I’m seeing this, but I AM THE PREVIOUS OWNER TO THIS CAR! My friend tagged me on Facebook when he saw this and I’m shocked he is selling it. The guy is an Oldsmobile lover and I sold and shipped it to him in Az. from Cleveland Oh. 3 years ago this summer. Glad he has taken good care of this my under appreciated survivor and I hope the next guy will also. I miss that car!
Then I suggest you buy it back and thereby save another buyer from the ridicule he is bound to get.
That’s cool, Greg Patronite. I posted a more detailed comment elsewhere, but I remember these as a kid and they really made an impression! I gotta give GM credit for going with such a bold, rather European look. It wasn’t in production long, and from some of the comments I made the mistake of glancing at, not everyone is a fan, but who cares? It’s what I like that matters to me! And I like everything about your former car….the 1980s type styling a few years early, the sports steering wheel, the unique wire wheel covers and blackwall tires, the two tone paint. The individual nature of vehicles was so much more interesting then!
I would have to say this is a tie with the cadillac seville in ugliness.
You think nothing could make owning a car like this any worse?
Believe it or not, the famous Oldsmobile Diesel engine was actually an option for this car in 79. Not the well known 350 diesel. It was the one year only 260 V8 90HP Diesel. The 260 diesel was dropped after one year it was such a bomb. You could even order the diesel with a 5 speed manual transmission! According to GM production figures, less than 200 of these were ordered with the diesel so this would be extremely rare to find a survivor today.
Could you imagine owning one of these in pea green or puke brown with no options, basic dog dish hubcaps and top it off with the diesel?
Make mine a diesel in brown with a basic tan vinyl interior. Yuck.
Hell yes!
You think nothing could make owning a car like this any worse?
Believe it or not, the famous Oldsmobile Diesel engine was actually an option for this car in 79. Not the well known 350 diesel. It was the one year only 260 V8 90HP Diesel. The 260 diesel was dropped after one year it was such a bomb. You could even order the diesel with a 5 speed manual transmission! According to GM production figures, less than 200 of these were ordered with the diesel and 5 speed so this would be extremely rare to find a survivor today.
Could you imagine owning one of these in pea green or puke brown with no options, basic dog dish hubcaps and top it off with the diesel?
Make mine a diesel in brown with a basic tan vinyl interior. Yuck.
I’m with scotty in that I like anything of any make as long as its unique and different. For that reason I like this car. I normally prefer automatic transmissions but for the uniqueness of prefer a manual in this car
The ugliest car to ever come out of Detroit.
I don’t mind the rear end so much, but the rear windows not rolling down at all is a deal breaker. I know I would never be sitting back there, but it brings back childhood memories of my parents renting one of these when my mothers car was in an accident. I looked for the window handle, but it wasn’t there. Even as a kid I thought it was a stupid design.
Wow, looks fantastic! I remember when these were first out, and I found the style intriguing. Best I could do for myself was a Hot Wheels model called “Flat Out 442” in orange and I LOVED it! I generally don’t read the other comments because it is a free for all, and this design is unquestionably avantgarde and probably polarizing. Myself, I loved the modern interpretation of the fastback styling circa 1949. Bill Mitchell was drawing on inspiration from the past as he wound down his career, and I only noticed when looking at this in profile that it was a precursor to the 1980 bustleback Seville that was definitely polarizing. The design seemed very new age with a dash of European sophistication, and I loved the little badge under the model name that had a row of International flags. That always drew my attention as a kid. My great Uncle was a retired military colonel who had a long history of being a Buick customer. He had a rather stodgy looking brown (no thanks) Century four door with poverty hubcaps that looked like something out of the military pool. The Olds models were generally more flamboyant. Too bad this Oldsmobile was introduced in the malaise era and saddled with only 110 HP from the Olds V8! That being said, I think it looks rather tasteful, and typically late 1970s / early 1980s “upscale” / middle class. The wire wheel covers look rather distinctive, and not the style that seemed to be on every division’s cars with only the brand logo differing. The blackwalls also look pretty sharp. The two tone paints that GM was doing in the late 1970s on cars like the Caprice Classic works well here too, the small, sports steering wheel, and the unfussy cloth seats rather than ostentatious velour. This looks very nice indeed, but my hesitation would be the powerplant’s anemic performance in modern traffic. In some ways I’d want a restoration project and put a wonderful crate engine in it. Woo hoo!