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Obscure X-Body: 1981 Oldsmobile Sport Omega

Looking back at automotive history, it’s rather amazing just how hard GM worked to not build a decent car. By decent, I mean enjoyable to drive, or over-engineered to a fault, or even just loaded with desirable features and a great warranty. No, by all accounts, the X-bodies were a low point in GM’s history, and while they didn’t spontaneously combust while driving, that was about as much praise as you could heap on badge-engineered specials like this 1981 Oldsmobile “Sport” Omega here on craigslist for $2,500.

The Omega was one of many vehicles that were essentially the same under lightly massaged skin. The Omega shared its underpinnings with the Pontiac Phoenix; Chevrolet Citation; and of course, the Buick Skylark. I can’t even imagine the marketing meetings where some poor sap was tasked with making each of these cars distinctive enough to charge a different base price and utilize entirely separate branding strategies to sell consumers on one subpar car versus another. The Sport Omega seen here is likely a perfect example of utilizing a stripe kit and some tacked-on plastic fenders to convince shoppers this was the “sporty” choice as opposed to the “luxurious” or “economical” option.

Can’t forget about the subtle lip spoiler! Honestly, I find most of GM’s attempts at building a slightly sportier car at least somewhat interesting, especially the early notchback Cavalier Z24. However, simply too many years elapsed where they considered decals and flares to be the equivalent of building a performance variant of an otherwise unremarkable car. The X-bodies were doomed by rumors of unsafe driving caused by locking rear brakes, and build quality issues were numerous and well-documented. While the Iron Duke four-cylinder may be impossible to kill, there was little else to praise in an X-Body.

To the seller’s credit, this Sport Omega is incredibly well preserved. With fewer than 700 examples produced (which, again, translates to fewer than 700 cars with stickers and flares tacked on), there likely isn’t a better one for sale anywhere. The stickers even look fresh! Now, I can’t claim to have ever driven one of these, so perhaps I’m being unfair and the manual transmission actually adds some freshness to the driving experience (I doubt it). Someone should call the GM museum folks and let them know the last Omega Sport to still have its original graphics kit attached is ready for its place in the exhibit hall.

Comments

  1. Avatar nycbjr Member

    I don’t hate it lol (never drove an x body). But reminds me of my childhood we only bought gm products till dad got a 83 Mercedes 300td 😎

    Like 5
  2. Avatar Beatnik Bedouin

    I see the post has already been deleted…

    These were kind of cringe-worthy cars when they were new, but this particular example, today, would make a nice entry-level toy for an enthusiast. Hope it’s gone to an appreciative home.

    Like 7
  3. Avatar Rock On

    Those tape stripes must of struck fear into the driver in the next lane at the stoplights! L.O.L.

    Like 12
  4. Avatar Bradshaw from Primer

    i owned a 2.5 4 speed hatch phoenix same time as a 2002tii ,Lotus Elan and Tiger…and was had done FF and Sports2000 in England. THeir brakes were very good, i was impressed with the control…steering had good feedback and cornering was light understeer. The 2.5 revved quickly and smoothly and the 4 speed (which was different from the Citations) was prcise and not rubberly but cable type. Comfortable back seat and electrice windows…which you could not get on the Mazda 626 in 1980 or most Japanese competition. Drove mine 10 years and it was comfortable…Dealer service was terrible…tire pressures were always returned from 32 to 24…i suppose because all Pontiacs had those pressures according tot the dealer. Car would understeer like a pig then. The 6000 i got later had plug wires on its v6 that failed every year, and the carb coked up every year. Dealer never figured it out. Head of GM wandered (in his book) why anyone bought an 85 GM…….

    Like 1
    • Avatar John m leyshon Member

      Pretty nice story on the X-body. Logical conclusion of crap..Was not easy at that time to build anything. Kudo’s to your effort ! We all seemed to get by in the past without modern media on how to modify things, get real performance …My Aunt had the 1981 X-11. Column shift ! Yikes !

      Like 3
  5. Avatar Jimmy

    Never saw one of these in my area during the horrible 80’s. Kind of glad.

    Like 4
  6. Avatar james m kollett

    i had a 1980 citation 2 door hatchback in 1985 ,it was 2.8 6cyl. 4 speed and i absolutly loved it drove well ,fit my family well,and loads of trunk space,i paid 300.00 for it with a few issues and then drove it for 2 years and sold it to someone who got another 3 years out of it

    Like 4
  7. Avatar Retired Stig

    Owning a car like this is kind of like showing up for your company Christmas party in plaid bell bottoms, platforms, a velour shirt and a medallion. Everyone but the dimmest members of management will get the joke, but after 20 minutes you need to go change because you feel silly.

    Like 7
  8. Avatar h60memo

    I daily drove one of these in the late ’80s. It was a 2.8 4spd paid $2500 for it rod knock included. 4 years of service did me okay but the knock did kill it eventually. Mine had the stripes but no lettering. Composite steel wheels seemed the nicest looking imo.

    Like 3
  9. Avatar Fiete T.

    I remember the Olds Omega as being one of the least stolen cars up into the ’90’ s. This reminds me exactly why…

    Like 3
  10. Avatar CCFisher

    If you hop into my Wayback machine, I’ll demonstrate that the X-body cars were perceived differently in their own time, at least until their quality and reliability issues came to light. Compared to cars from just a few years earlier, they were revolutionary – 15 feet long, 2600 lb (on average), ample room for four adults and their luggage, good fuel economy, and handling abilities far beyond what most buyers were accustomed to.

    Unfortunately, they were let down by development shortcuts, poor quality control, and interiors that would embarrass Mattel. They’re a classic case of good design ruined by poor execution.

    Like 8
    • Avatar dweezilaz

      CC: Thank you.

      So much dirt has been piled on these cars [the mass justified], but the actual story is that they were revolutionary for American cars at the time and their sales in the first year or two were phenomenal.

      Easy to sling mud by people who have never driven one or even seen one.

      I had an 84 Citation II notchback coupe. Room, quiet, right size, economical, nicely trimmed, handled well. Still wish I hadn’t traded it in.

      Made it easy to downsize from larger cars when the 79 gas crisis hit and sticker shock due to inflation on intermediates and full sizers people had purchased just three years before. And people did. In droves.

      First year Citation sales [extended model year: April 79 to Oct. 80] were over 800,000 units.

      Yes, the Xs are easy to mock, but at least be straight up about the history.

      If these had been perceived as described above, they wouldn’t have sold in the numbers they did.

      That so many people got burned is the fault of GM and it’s management.

      The Xs went on to provide the basis for the As which had a production run of 14 years IIRC.

      Like 8
  11. Avatar Ike Onick

    Sport-O-Mega, the Veg-A-Matic of the 80’s automobile debacle. Clown Car

    Like 2
  12. Avatar Dave Suton

    I can recall many many cringe worthy Japanese and Korean vehicles that didn’t make it more than a few years until completely rusting or collapsing into a huge pile of junk.

    Like 8
    • Avatar Poseur Member

      So true. Midwest parking lots were littered with rusted, sun scorched heaps of all makes & origin in the mid to late 80’s.

      Sure is easy to pick on the biggest target but GM had no monopoly on uninspired plasticy interiors or sketchy quality control.

      No offense intended but certainly much of the responsibility falls on the shoulders of those on the assembly line. Tales of deliberated sabotage are legendary, accurate or not.

      We had a bunch of these (& A bodies soon after) & they were dang good cars other than the propensity to lock up the rears under hard braking.

      Their handling, snow traction & economy were head & shoulders above their RWD predecessors with little room penalty.

      Like 6
  13. Avatar Mike

    That front end design has all the charm of a toaster oven. Somebody phoned it in at the design meeting.

    Like 4
    • Avatar Ike Onick

      And a bunch of out of touch GM execs walked around it and gave the go-ahead to build it.

      Like 3
  14. Avatar cunnanm

    I had a 1980 Buick sport sadan from Dad when in college. 2.8 V6. Nice car and pretty quick. Had a bad electrical connection to the starter when bought used. It took a long time for them to fix it. I remember the day when I sat in it and the floor went down a couple of inches. I told Dad he was going to get it back even though Rusty was stickered on the side. Local garage took all the smog control off too. Gotta love the good old days!

    Like 0
  15. Avatar David

    People forget that front wheel drive in an American car for the masses was pretty revolutionary when this car came out. Didn’t the X-cars make the cover of Time or Newsweek around 1980? I remember thinking the Citation X-11 and its 60 degree V6 (who had ever heard of such a thing?) was pretty cool. It’s too bad the execution wasn’t perfect.

    Like 3
  16. Avatar Dovi65

    The 1980s were troubling times in the USA automotive kingdom. There wasn’t much praiseworthy, and a great deal that was cringe-worthy! The imports had their fair share of clunkers as well. That said, I’m a sucker for losers LOL. I like this one. I like all the X body variants. The cheesy stripe kits? the tacked on plastic aero kits? bring ’em on! The odd, the weird, and the unloved of the automotive world seem to find their way to me. Someone’s gotta love them

    Like 4
    • Avatar dweezilaz

      Isle of Misfit Cars resident here too, Dovi.

      The back story is sometimes worth more than the car.

      Like 2
  17. Avatar Sonic R

    I was about to buy this car, traveling 300+ miles from Detroit to Buffalo to bring this home.. had a local friend check the car out and report to me, began negotiations for sale and for me to pick up the car, the next morning someone is going to give them more than $2500 unless I came that moment (mind you I’m 5 hours away) and hand over $2500 for the car as is…
    the car was NOT drivable as it sat, brake lines completely rusted out, cooling fan not working and engine was already at 250 degrees after running for a few minutes.
    I had to walk away from a car I’ve searched for for decades, I was ready to put in the work for restoration, but for $3000, I can go buy a Citation X-11 and drive it home, and so whom ever successfully took my dream car from up under me… but my search continues, I exude patience and accept I may never realize a childhood dream.
    Laugh away, I have passion for cars that are the butt of all your jokes.

    Like 11
    • Avatar Poseur Member

      I feel you bro.

      I love Vegas.

      There. I said it.

      Like 5
    • Avatar Miguel

      I salute you Sonic.

      The oddest cars are the most fun to own.

      Like 5
    • Avatar theGasHole

      1) I’m glad it’s gone cos it’s only 4 hours from me and for $2500 I would have bought it
      2) I’m even more glad that you (and I) dodged a bullet as it sounds like this one was not quite as good as it looked.

      Cars like this are virtually impossible to find. They were not loved ever, or saved. I know they are oddballs in the truest sense of the word, and that’s what I like about them.

      Like 3
    • Avatar dweezilaz

      Thanks for the deep dive report, Sonic.

      That’s a shame.

      Though I loved my Citation, the Omega, for me anyway, was the best looking. Especially the tail lights and brand identity.

      That was one of the reasons I traded it for the 86 Calais that’s back in my driveway today. I loved the way it looked and it had 60,000 fewer miles on it.

      Keep up the hunt. It’s crossed my mind to replace my 05 with an X as my main ride. It’s a sickness.

      Like 2
  18. Avatar Will Fox

    Having owned 3 1981-83 Buick Skylarks including one T-Type, I can tell you this particular Omega Sport is probably THE nicest and most complete example left today!! With only 700 built, I’m willing to wager less than 20 can be found today! No, it’s no split-window Vette or Shelby GT500, but it IS one rare beast! The 2.8 V6 (if equipped that way) are prone to give up head gaskets/cam shafts. The “Iron Duke” 2.5L four is the most durable of the two. Treat it right & they run real well.

    Like 2
  19. Avatar Joe M

    I like these odd ball cars, something that is a complete product of their time and disappear just as quickly, rarely survive, even some bizarre Mustang variants in the late 70s early 80’s they sure loved their stickers back then. I wonder how the marketing genius that thought of replacing performance with stickers is doing now? I think some of these morons descendants are still in management at these car companies. Like Ford “we bon’t need to build cars anymore”, dopes!

    Like 2
    • Avatar dweezilaz

      Joe, that was a result of the industry’s primitive hardware to meet smog regulations. Lowered compression ratios, restricted breathing ,air pumps. Smog equipment beta testing on the public.

      So stickers were the response.

      You get it. They were products of their time and, to tell the story truthfully, that needs to be taken into account.

      Like 2
  20. Avatar RichS

    Needs a dumb engine swap. A V8 Archie kit intended for a Fiero could easily be adapted here and create some serious torque steer. I love it, but I am a teen of the 80s so this crap is right in my wheelhouse.

    Like 3
    • Avatar dweezilaz

      Yes; X Car engines and transaxles turned around in the Fiero. Chevy Chevette front suspension.

      80s historical markers, each with their own story.

      That’s part of the fun.

      Like 1
  21. Avatar Jubjub

    Grade school classmate’s mother had this exact car.

    Whenever I see a GM X body, I wonder what kind of decent quality, ten year old serviceable GM was traded in for it. It had to have been good enough for the consumer to return for their latest offering. Then all of the subsequent disappointment. A time when a decade old used car would’ve been a safer bet.

    And true about the popularity of these X bodies at first. Everybody seemed to have one and they were a good idea hamfistedly executed. My old man would’ve bought one but we needed a bench front seat, so ended up with a Reliant K. While not perfect, was a little better developed and didn’t have that ropey GM FWD steering.

    Like 1
    • Avatar Dweezilaz

      Oh yeah.

      All those X car buyers could have been a gold mine for GM and wound up alienating an entire generation from domestic cars. Especially GM!

      Like 1
  22. Avatar T C

    Examples of oximorons:
    Quiet storm, jumbo shrimp, military intelligence, Sport Omega…
    Still I like the odd-ball stuff like this. Grand Ma had a light blue Omega way back when. Just think how fast it would have gone with all those stickers! And the whale-tail spoiler?! Move over foreign tuners!

    Like 2
  23. Avatar DeadmanRising

    I had the Pontiac version-ran great, drove great, but went through brakes like water through a leaking bucket. Even worse, the body rusted out-door bottoms, rockers, trunk lid-everywhee. Still love them Oldsmobiles, though.

    Like 0
  24. Avatar Joe

    Oddball cars?? Well, I bought my girlfriend a cherry AMC Concord 4 dr. around 1985. Only problem….it had a wheezy Audi 4 cyl. that pumped oil like a Texas well. Too bad, as the car was near showroom condition.

    Like 1
    • Avatar dweezilaz

      Definitely a gold standard for oddballs, Joe.

      Like 0
  25. Avatar Bradley Howe Member

    I personally like all the x cars. They were different and not the same old thing. From the vertical radio in the dash to the styling they were good. I’m actually impressed that GM could make four different cars with their own personalities out of the same platform.

    In terms of size I think they’re just about the right size. Talk about a major step forward in space optimization compared to the cars they replaced. I also agree with the comments as to leading to the A cars which did have a long and successful run.

    Just to set the record straight, the x car front cradle was used in the rear of the P car (fiero) but it was not turned around but rather just moved rearward. The front of the cradle resides just aft of the seats in the Fiero.

    Had gm’s execution of the x car been as good as the design and theme I think we would have a completely different a market vis a vi the imports.

    Like 2
    • Avatar dweezilaz

      Ahh, Bradley, thanks for that. I was always under the impression the cradle was turned around in the Fiero.

      It’s unfortunate that the Xs were so much better in space, size, weight and efficiency compared to the NOVAs that came before yet just the opposite in durability and assembly quality.

      They were brilliant in packing so much into such small packages but the execution was criminal.

      What GM laid down with the Xs on paper has been a template for my car purchases since: small size, maximum interior room, fuel economy, ride and quiet.

      A major market change and millions spent to launch these cars torpedoed by half baked engineering [steering racks, V6 leaks, brakes] and sloppy assembly.

      Gigantic self inflicted corporate wound.

      Beta testing using hundreds of thousands of a company’s customers is always a bad idea.

      Followed by the Js : anemic engines, drivability problems, little to no distinction between the 5 brands and sticker shock prices. Another misfire on launch.

      And through the 80s the same story would be repeated with the downsized FWD C bodies, GM 10s, Ns and shrunken Eldorados, Toros and Rivieras.

      The Xs are perfect examples of what was wrong and right at GM entering the 80s.

      Like 1
      • Avatar Bradley Howe Member

        Shouldve been a golden decade for GM. They had the potential for superior engineering, etc but penny pinching accounting and careless assembly doomed them.

        The asians had better assembly quality, and engine machining, but someone is honest, component quality from fabrics, plastics, carpets, and obviously very inferior in the asian cars.

        However people were paying attention to build quality and reliability more than material quality. People chose 80 per cent cars assembled at 100 percent versus 100 per cent cars assembled at 80 per cent.

        Ive oned many brands from all the domestics and most of the imports and the asians were inferior cars perfectly executed. Gm and Fords were superior vehicles executed badly. Despite that i have a collection of primarily 80s domestic and foreign. Honda, Toyota, pontiac, chevy, ford.

        Like 1
      • Avatar dweezilaz

        Dead on, Bradley.

        You said that perfectly.

        Like 0
  26. Avatar Mitch Ross Member

    When these came out, the Camry, Stanza, fwd 626 etc were years away. These cars, design wise, were way ahead of everything in their size and price class. You can’t judge yesterday’s cars by today’s standards. Reliability was not goodnight and these cars were often the last domestic car in a household. Sad

    Like 1
  27. Avatar jeff

    I had a 83 pontiac phoenix SJ model ( in 1996 ) with the Rear Spoiler ……… Not that bad of a car , once I went to Sam’s Club and put some Pirelli tires on it.

    Handled much better once i put new rubber on it

    Like 0
  28. Avatar Terry Lewis

    It did!!! And i know who and where!

    Like 0
  29. Avatar Vernon walker

    I bought a 1981 Olds Sport Omega brand new in 81, put 240.000 miles on it with no problems and I still have it. Has 2.8 V6 with 4 on the floor. I had the car to 140 mph. Would go alday at 80 plus and was fun to drive.

    Like 0

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