I think a ton of them went to the crusher in the 80s and 90s. Nobody wanted them (nobody wants them still) and the payout for crushing them in that government crush for cash program probably paid more or close to the market value for the car. I remember David Freiberger (former Hot Rod mag editor) saying they were paying like $900 a car (maybe a little less). That was good money back in the day for these colonnades, considering you probably couldn’t pay someone to take one off your hands, especially junkers or ones that sat forever. I bet these were trading hands for well under $500-1000 at that time. Crushing made financial sense. The earlier stuff was still desirable and worth more, so not as many went to the crusher.

 

The 1973 Cutlass ‘S’ and Supreme were the nicest looking A-body from the four GM divisions. After that year, because of the stricter bumper regulations, the unique design was not as appealing.

Wonder what the front end would had looked like if the ‘73 model was released in 1972 as planned, prior to the front bumper 5-mph regulation? Though, Oldsmobile designers did the best job out of all four divisions minimizing the 5-mph bumper both in size and aesthetically.

The ‘73 H/O and 442 are a testament to the the design, using styling cues from former years. Interestingly, the black version of the H/O that year had black painted SS-III wheels instead of gold.

 

When I had the 73 in the picture above I thought real hard about cutting the front bumper and removing the center section and making it a split bumper. Like the 70 camaro. Never got around to it. Didn’t have the resources and know how as a 17 yr old kid either. I think it would have looked pretty good.