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OLDSMOBILE Cutlass Models/Series Timeline, Specifications & Photos

Generations: 2
First production year: 1961
Engines: Gasoline
OLDSMOBILE Cutlass S photo gallery

Oldsmobile introduced the fourth generation of the Cutlass in 1973 as a 1974 model year and offered it in a few trim levels and a choice of three bodyes: coupe, a sedan with four doors, and station wagon.

The 1974 model was also known as the Collonade due to the new GM “Collonade” A-body platform. While the oil crisis affected the U.S. market, the car industry faced a new challenge for fuel-efficiency. But GM responded by expanding its range of personal luxury vehicles.

It was the era of fake-cabriolet vehicles, with a hard-top, no B-pillars, and two doors. The Cutlass S featured a vinyl top that covered the roof and the wide C-pillar that incorporated a small window. At the back, the sloped trunk lid created an image of a dynamic car in full acceleration. But despite its engine, it was a personal luxury coupe.

Inside, the carmaker installed all the bells and whistles it had in stock. The entire interior was covered in leather or vinyl, and the piece-du-resistance was the swiveling driver seat, which rotated 90 degrees on the left for easier ingress and egress. Also, that move cleared the path for the rear seat passengers. The dashboard was vinyl covered and centered around the driver, with a tilted center stack. A center console separated the front bucket seats and created a personal area for each of them.

Under the hood, GM installed the 350 ci engine (5.7-liter), which was the middle way between the top-spec 445 ci (7.3-liter) and the weak 260 ci (4.3-liter). Oldsmobile offered the Cutlass S exclusively with a three-speed automatic transmission. The car was part of the most successful Cutlass range, which managed to get the top spot in the U.S. car sales for two consecutive years.

full description and technical specifications
gasoline engines:

OLDSMOBILE Cutlass S 5.7

OLDSMOBILE Cutlass photo gallery

Introduced in 1961, the Cutlass' first generation was available in two body shapes, sedan and station wagon, and was built on the GM's Y-body platform shared with the Pontiac Tempest and Buick Special.

It was the early '60s, and the car design started to switch toward boxier-looking styling. In those times, the Cutlass broke the covers of magazines and made its presence felt on the streets. But it was not the design that mostly attracted customers but the engine underneath its hood, which was an all-aluminum V8 mill that was later carried over to NASCAR racing. The name "Cutlass" was previously used by Oldsmobile in 1954 on a show car unveiled at Motorama.

The car's look featured four headlights at the front with a flat slatted grille between them. Its edgy line on the upper side of the front bumper was extended towards the rear, while a descending, curved line ran along the bodywork from the headlights to the rear bumper. The four-door sedan was launched at the same time as the station wagon, while a coupe followed in May 1961 and a convertible in the following year.

Built as a compact-sized sedan, the Cutlass was fitted with benchseats both front and back and standard fabric trim. Later, the De Luxe trim added a vinyl interior and bucket seats for the front occupants. The flat and low-mounted dashboard was slim and featured a raised, rectangular instrument cluster in front of the driver, where the speedometer covered most of the area. It was flanked by a clock on the right and two rectangular gauges on the left.

The aluminum V8 engine was available with either a two-barrel or a four-barrel carburetor mated to a three-on-the-floor manual gearbox with an option for a three-speed automatic. Later, a four-speed manual was added to the options list.

full description and technical specifications