“It offers so much and delivers so little.” Those are the words of Mr. Regular for the 1999 Oldsmobile Bravada mid-size luxury utility vehicle, which is described by the host as the worst car ever featured on RCR.
A badge-engineered model that wasn’t properly differentiated from the Chevrolet Blazer and GMC Jimmy, the Bravada comes from an era when General Motors was nothing more than vaporware. Bland designs, bad engineering, woeful quality, and too many brands fighting over the same customers, the biggest of the Big Three in Detroit didn’t fare well back then.
The most expensive wannabe Blazer you could buy in 1999 used to retail from $32,000 or thereabouts, which makes the Bravada $49,000 adjusted for inflation. In other words, Oldsmobile used to ask more greenback for this sorry excuse of an SUV than GMC is asking today for the Acadia Denali.
To understand just how bad the Bravada is, “the ride finds bumps that aren’t even there. You can turn the wheel for imaginary turns that aren’t there and the car keeps going straight.” According to Mr. Regular, “the engine protests throttle input, and it moans and acquiesces like a father caving in.”
General Motors also had the audacity to emboss the nameplate in large letters where the front plate should be, which is somewhat understandable if you analyze the exterior design. There’s no denying that Oldsmobile delivered one of the most forgettable SUVs in the history of American utility vehicles, which is funny because the S-10 Blazer is instantly recognizable.
Logan, the owner of this particular example of the breed, knows how bad it actually is. The reason he’s driving a Bravada boils down to money. Logan thought that $1,800 for a body-on-frame utility vehicle is good value, but immediately after buying the damn thing, the heater core went kaput.
The Bravada didn’t survive past the 2004 model year because making cars for people who aren’t into cars isn't a profitable business model in the long run. Alas, Oldsmobile was consigned to the history books in April 2004.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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