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.
Always thought these were neat looking cars as a kid, and didn’t know what the interior looked like until fairly recently. It feels like GM’s interpretation of a cooler and more luxurious version of the Taurus from the time inside. (I’m sure it was a nicer car overall too… definitely upscale from the Taurus anyway. I’m intimately familiar with that gen of Taurus though, as my grandparents bought an ’01 lightly used and then it became my brother’s daily driver when they got a lightly used ’08.)
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)
I had a 98 green saddle interior. Great car bought new Sold in 2010 . Had not one problem or complaint about the car. The stylish look of the car is timeless with the coke bottle belt line like the old charger. Comfortable ride mpg 25 round town almost 29-30 highway
Beautiful, functional, and fun “Lead Sled”. My Navy buddy still has his after 30 years. A BMW guy, he saw his Maroon ride through the showroom window while driving by an Olds dealership. He went in, drove it, and then drove it home and called me. I went over, went for a drive, and then sat in his garage drinking beer the rest of the evening staring at it. He still is.
Not on FB. What is the price?
Asking $3000.00
I was a sales manage in an Olds Cadillac store when the Aurora.came out. I kind of remember our owner showing me a showroom poster for a Cadillac Aurora. I hope someone kept it. . I also remember an Oldsmobile rep pointing out that the only place the car had “Oldsmobile ” on it was on the radio face.
There was a Cadillac Aurora show car in 1990 that didn’t really have anything to do with this car, it was a RWD concept.
https://gmauthority.com/blog/gm/cadillac/cadillac-concepts/1990-cadillac-aurora-concept/
I had a 1995 first year model in the light sand brown.
The North Star V8 cruised so well.
Peppy and quiet was fantastic with the sun roof open.
Trips to Florida at 80 to 90 mph cruise in the spacious leather heated seats with dual AC was great.
I sold it with 150 k on the ticker and did very lil to the vehicle.
Olds was onto something but decided to cut size and remove caddy engine which killed it.
Being a loyal Olds Enthusiast I bought one of these. I was a young professional and Olds was supposedly being reinvented. I had hoped for an innovation similar to the 66 Toro. Great top end, handling and power for a 4.0. Lots of trouble spots. Pitiful
I will never forgive GM for destroying Olds.