By the late ’80s, most Oldsmobiles were virtual carbon copies of their Buick counterparts. Even Chevy Chase mentions spotting an “Oldsmobuick” in the detective movie Fletch. Olds buyers of the day generally sported gray or blue hair, kept a Kleenex box on the package shelf, and recounted warm memories of fabulous Olds performance and styling from the ’60s and early ’70s. As an alternative to holding Oldsmobile’s hand while euthanizing it, General Motors cooked up sedan-shaped shock paddles called Aurora to restart its heart and soul. Clear! This 1997 Oldsmobile Aurora comes to market in what appears to be lovely shape, and the claimed 162,000 miles is nothing for GM interiors and powertrains of this era. Check out more pictures and details on this High Point, North Carolina classic on Facebook Marketplace, where a mere $3000 buys this aerodynamic ’90s sport sedan. Thanks to reader Cheetahkins for spotting this innovative and slippery Oldsmobile.
Leather and plastics from General Motors interiors generally hold up well both in durability and styling. Having evolved from the ’80s rectangles and button grids, this ’97 Aurora offers an ergonomic suite of dials, switches and buttons. Even the leather-wrapped steering wheel sports audio controls. Unlike modern vehicles, this Aurora’s cruise (assuming it’s working) will maintain a constant speed without abandoning its duty as you approach vehicles ahead. Amazingly, most 20th century drivers paid attention to the road. These seats look identical to those in my 2002 Buick Regal GS that remained fantastic at 292,000 miles. You’ll need more than dogs or kids to tear this leather, though a steak knife or daily abuse might do it.
While sharing a platform with Buick’s Riviera, the Aurora uniquely offered a 4.0 L47 version of Cadillac’s peppy high-tech transverse Northstar 32 valve V8. Aside from head gasket issues (normally a one-time fix with improved parts), most Northstar V8s enjoy long service lives and a satisfying balance of power and economy. The L47’s 250 HP even edged-out Buick’s supercharged 240 HP L67 V6. Thanks to Wikipedia for some details.
Slippery styling and a four-speed automatic that loves to coast should best the Aurora’s 26 MPG rating in modest driving, and the trunk offers plenty of room for family vacations.
Mercedes-style seat controls on the door, memory, and power everything made the Aurora an honest alternative to the pricier Germans. With people signing up for $600 car payments, this Oldsmobile might be easy to justify. Pay it off in five months and bank the rest into savings. Or you can buy a new car and wonder why the cruise control isn’t working 27 times on your way to Disney. Would you put your family in this well-kept V8 Olds?
Interesting looking rear end on these.I always thought
these would look a lot better if they were a bigger car.Theses
look really narrow from the rear.
Hey, angliagt. The second-gen Aurora was more “normal” and larger looking, though actually a little lighter, moving to the Century / Regal platform. I prefer the more unique styling of this ’97.
The 2nd generation Aurora was still on the G platform, along with the Buick LeSabre & Park Avenue, Cadillac DeVille and Seville, and Pontiac Bonneville. Oldsmobile’s version of the W-body Century/Regal was the Intrigue.
Fun fact: The Aurora was based on a discarded proposal for the 1992 Seville.
The second generation was absolutely not moved to the Regal/Century platform.
Thank you, Mike. That’s what I get for relying on my memory from two days ago. It looks like a Regal, but it’s the G-body, ala LeSabre and Park Avenue. Cheers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldsmobile_Aurora#Second_generation_(2001%E2%80%932003)