Between 1964 and 1972, Oldsmobile sold a unique mid-size station wagon. The Vista Cruiser had a raised skylight over the back half of the roof of a Cutlass wagon, providing a special skyward view for the passengers sitting in the rear. Sales of this family transporter overshadowed interest in Oldsmobile’s “regular” Cutlass wagon, such as this example. The seller’s nice ride looks to be a sweet weekend cruiser with plenty of life left. From Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, it can be yours for $21,000 from its listing here on craigslist. And it’s another vintage tip brought to us by Tony Primo!
The Cutlass dominated Olds sales from the early 1960s through the balance of the 20th Century. The third generation was in production from 1968 to 1972, the latter being the last for the unusual Vista Cruiser. When the Colonnade design was developed for 1973, no effort was made to incorporate the special roof treatment of the VC. Oldsmobile sold 31,913 VCs in ’72 while regular wagon sales were a fraction of that at 7,979 units (like the one here).
No major issues seem to be present with the seller’s 1972 Cutlass. The mileage may or may not be accurate at 63,000, but we’re told it runs quite well. Under the hood resides a 350 cubic inch “Rocket” V8 paired with an automatic transmission (TH-350?). Some degree of bling is present, but we don’t know if it adds up to any mechanical mods.
The body and yellow paint seem good, and the interior is okay with a likely redone front bench seat. It’s a 5-passenger wagon, as the 7-person set-up was reserved for the Vista Cruiser. Extras include an AM/FM radio with CB and spiffy Cragar mag wheels all around (to impress at Cars & Coffee). Are you a buyer at the seller’s asking price?
What kind of dumas would buy a Cutlass wagon and not a Vista Cruiser,,in my best Red Forman voice, who was VERY similar to my old man, surprised?. Quite frankly, I don’t ever recall a non-Vista Cruiser. The mags are a great touch, the knee-knocker tach, not so much. They were wonderful cars, got us to dentist appts, Hebrew school, grandmas on Sunday,,,hey, wait a second, those weren’t pleasant things, a pox on you, Cutlass wagon,,,great find.
Vista Cruisers looked nice, but they were probably a bit more pricey than the standard wagon. Regardless, they outsold the standard anyway. The reason VC’s were dropped in ’73 was because GM came out with a full-size wagon platform that was shared with Chevy , Buick, Olds and I believe Pontiac, a behemoth whose rear window slid up into the roof.
I think those clamshell tailgate “Custom Cruisers” you mentioned came out in ’71 and outsold the VC by quite a bit (maybe even 2:1)
The clamshell wagons were all full-size B body models (Caprice, Bonneville, etc..), not really intended to fill the Vista Cruiser slot in the lineup. All of the GM lines (with the exception of Cadillac) continued to market an intermediate line wagon as well.
Olds sold a Vista Cruiser through the 1977 model year, though for 1973-77 the “Vista” part was just a sunroof and not the raised roof. The raised roof and longer wheelbase on the 1964-72 Vistas was done to accommodate a forward-facing third row of seating. This third row sat on top of the rear axle, so it was higher than the first two rows and the raised roof was needed to provide headroom. The lesser Chevelle and Tempest wagons had a rearward-facing third seat and thus did not need the raised roof, though the third seat took up what was otherwise cargo space.
👍 as Howard said love the mags, no roof rack offers a sleek silhouette, beautiful lines. If it was colored in Antarctic Blue it could be the sportswagon the Griswolds ordered lol. 👪
I’m not sure if these wagons were “intermediates”, the Vista Cruisers (and standard wagons without the added windows) were pretty good sized vehicles. I believe they were the largest wagons Olds offered. Anyway, it’s too bad about the front seat. If JC Whitney offered upholstery, that’s what you’d get. It’s a pretty good looking car otherwise but look at it closely for rust, as the tin worm was not kind to these. A word about the Vista Cruiser’s top windows. They can hide a lot of corrosion and often developed leaks. This car of course, won’t have that problem.
Terrry, in these years, Olds and the rest of GM had the full size wagons, with, as someone else mentioned, the clamshell tailgate.
Largest wagons in GM history.
In answer to your question, Howard, me. As cool as the VC is, I don’t need the added size. Plus I prefer the smooth roof. Great colors and the wheels make it stand out.
As for Vista Cruisers and Sport Wagons, they were larger than the Cutlass and Skylark wagon to compensate for not having a full size wagon from ’65 til ’71. The clam shell style brought them back. As for the Collonade cars, the Vista Cruiser then came with a pop-up sunroof. I believe that was exclusive to Oldsmobile.
Hi Nelson, keeping in mind, my views differ greatly from my old man and Red Formans. The numbers don’t lie, and most, like what 4 to 1 bought VCs, it’s what set it apart from all the other makes at the time. Apparently, people were willing to cough up another $300 bucks( $3774) over the standard Cutlass wagon ( $3440), a lot of money then. Heck, that bought 3-$100 beaters( Ramblers)
If you still have your ears on, Nelson, I want to apologize for that remark. I was merely pointing out the insensitivity people like Red Forman and my old man had. Not sure why they did that, everybody was dumb except them. My daughter says it was because they went through a war, and came back feeling superior, “you’re free thanks to us” mentality. As mentioned, I’m not that way, you buy whatever trips your trigger, and that’s what they fought for. Hope we’re cool.
No worries, Howard. I’m perfectly fine being me. Sometimes I am the dumas in the room. I also respect everyone’s opinions even when I speak out about them. People truly did fight for that right. Keep the comments coming. There are those of us who appreciate your insights.
Well, you can’t cruise the vistas in this one, LOL! A nice wagon, but I miss the roof racks. Despite what roof racks did to the looks, they sure were (and are) handy! GLWTS!
We had a 71 clamshell Olds. My dad’s all time favorite car. Big, comfortable, fast with the 455. THAT, my friends, was a Station Wagon!
Grew up with a white 71 Vista Cruiser, parents bought new and we had it in the family until it finally rusted away around 1982. When you slammed the tailgate about a pound of rust dust and flakes fell out of the bottom. Was my older brother’s first car, remember him fishtailing it down the street in the snow. It was a beast, could haul whatever you wanted and never let us down. Great to see this non-vista beauty, very cool. Love the Cragars. Best wishes to buyer and seller!
I still don’t know how Americans went to SUV’s when these were available no body wanted them and now the compact SUV. They got nothing on this! Yeah there was the mini Van, let’s just forget about those.
heres another nice ride that’s been for sale for at least 6 months. at 20k it should have sold so there must be something going on.
Could just be the color, bamboo and saddle is an acquired taste.
I too love the Cragars, but 68-72 A body Buicks and Olds really shine with a set of Keystone Klassics, Just a touch classier.
Even better would be American Torq-Thrusts!
We didn’t. Bought a 97 Ford Taurus wagon. Decent car and we camped with a family of 4, german shepherd, and canoe on top.
Seen a few recently and predict they’ll be going up in value as well. The oval design was weird enough to get popular again.
And mini vans actually killed the wagon, happy to never have owned one.
My parents had a 1967 Vista Cruiser, my sisters had a 1969 and a 1971 each. Dad replaced it with a 1972 Kingswood Estate Wagon, which is a Chevy clamshell. The 1967 had the 330 2bbl, and it was nothing to write home about. My sisters. 1969 with a 350 4bbl was a slug too. The 1971 had a 455. That jumped. The Kingswood had a 350 2bbl. Sluggish too. The 4bbl with higher compression definitely helped, as did more displacement. We had a 1965 Delta 88 with the high compression 425. That could leave rubber. I know these weren’t hot rods, but to a young kid, stuff like that mattered then. After the Kingswood, dad got a 1983 Custom Cruiser with a 307…Now that was the doggiest of them all. :)
The Cutlass was cool for the Vista Cruiser option. The LeManns was cool because you could order it with the GTO nose. I don’t remember anything cool about the Buick Sport wagon!(lol) Working at a Pontiac store when the clam she’ll came out, the techs hated them!
The Cutlass was cool for the Vista Cruiser option. The LeManns was cool because you could order it with the GTO nose. I don’t remember anything cool about the Buick Sport wagon!(lol) Working at a Pontiac store when the clam shell came out, the techs hated them!
very cool car
My Dad had a 72 Ford Country Squire and I used to rough house with it ; ) I never could appreciate the big barge approach, the row boat handling etc. but now, seeing that nice ’72 Olds front end glommed on to a shizzload of sheet metal makes today’s SUVs look blah and without personality. I always am wondering “they (the big 3) retro’d some of the big 3 muscle cars, why not do a station wagon or 2?” It would be a blast to see a “new” 2025 Super Wagon, with 600hp and options galore, with a retro Chevy, Ford, Mopar etc. snout on it. Imagine this : A Station Wagon that could handle corners and have no CO in the way back?! What would this world come to…. ; )
What a beautiful wagon! These were not very popular as the More expensive Vista Cruiser outsold them by a wide margin. Still, these were lighter, had a shorter wheel base by I believe 4 inches ( no 3rd row seat option) but still had the comfort and utility of the Vista Cruiser. Most parts from the GM “A” bodies of that time will fit such as rear sway bars, boxed control arms, springs, brakes, and such making them easy to upgrade for better stopping and handling. The 350 inch Olds is no slouch but an easy bolt in with out going to the heavier 455 would be a 403 Olds from the late 70’s trans am using a cam, heads, intake from a late 70’s high compression 350 and add a 200-4R overdrive for effortless cruising. Needs a vintage AC unit to keep the lady happy! All in all, a really great ride.
Love the comments , ME I love anythung American