What's the difference between a cutlass s, cutlass supreme, holiday? Etc..

 

VIN
Price
fanciness of trim
external shiny trims

there's a lot to learn and it varies by year also.
so, what year?

One great source of info is your factory Chassis Service Manual and the Fisher Body Manual, which set forth the model names and what the VIN would be for each of those sub-models. And every other tidbit of info right down to how the trans works inside. These are not very expensive and you can always find a buyer for them also....

Some years, the 442 was only available as an option, say, on the Cutlass Supreme model, and not the F85. Some years the 442 was a separate model according to the VIN [68-71]

Generally, "Holiday" means no post between front and rear window
as opposed to "Sport(s) Coupe" which has that post

I use this memory trick- if the family is on "Holiday" or vacation as you Yanks say, you don't want a post interfering with your pointing out those awesome rock formations as you drive thru the Wisconsin Dells. Therefore, no-post = Holiday. I cannot figure how a stick in the middle of the window came be be "sport"y

Town Sedan is a 4-dr [in '67 Cutlass anyhow] with (edit) a post between front and rear windows [was "no post"]. It is on the cover of the Owner's Manual.

Salesman's Literature will have the models and pictures of how they differ also.

 

Cutlass S: "Regular" trim level with 2 doors in certain years ('68-'72?).
Cutlass Supreme: High trim level, all body styles except station wagons (some years included both hardtops and posts, others hardtops only).
Holiday: Hardtop (pillarless).
Etc.

- Eric

 

Body style, trim and options. What years do you want to compare? The answer varies from year to year.

 

Show me a 2 door Cutlass Supreme Post in the 68- 72 range you mentioned....

 

The post body is lighter and cheaper, thus more performance oriented? I dunno, I'm guessing here, Octania.

 

Lighter by maybe 100 lbs base weight. Other than that? Nothing much especially if you start adding options and upgrades to engine/driveline. The same post body was used on 70 f85/442, 71 / 72 Cutlass S models.

 

I'm probably not going to add anything new here - merely going to organize it differently.

Cutlass S: A mid-range Cutlass trim level that began in 1968, situation above the Cutlass and below the 4-4-2 and Cutlass Supreme. They were only two-door models.

Cutlass Supreme: The most luxurious model of the F-85/Cutlass hierarchy.

Holiday: This was Oldsmobile's way of saying "Hardtop." Back in the 1950s, when hardtops were the latest thing, many manufacturers gave names to their hardtop models - Buick's was "Riviera" and Dodge's was "Lancer" and so forth. There can be a Cutlass S Holiday coupe and a 4-4-2 Holiday coupe, but the bodystyle with the B-pillar was called the Sports Coupe by Oldsmobile (and many others, although I've seen some brands call their hardtops Sport(s) Coupes as well). Think of it more about marketing than a real automotive term.

You also said "etc" but I don't know what other lingo is causing you problems.

Otherwise, depending on the year, the hierarchy is:

F-85
Cutlass
Cutlass S
Cutlass Supreme
4-4-2
(It's possible the Supreme cost more new than the 4-4-2 - someone will correct me here I'm sure)

 

Good point. Supremes were all Holidays... but does that apply in all years?

Anyway: Fixed.

- Eric

 

It's not true that Supremes were always Holidays.

 

Yes, but which years were they not? I mean, which years before 1973, when hardtops were eliminated from the GM lineup?

- Eric

 

1967-69 there were Supreme posts.

 

Thank you. I'll change it again...

- Eric

 

1968%20Oldsmobile%20Prestige-46-47.jpg

 

But not in a 2dr, which was the original point. You could get a Town Sedan Supreme, but not a Sport Coupe Supreme.

And to the OP's question, which comes up a lot from newbies, the differences were primarily trim, upholstery pattern, and the level of base equipment. For example, in 1970, the Supreme base configuration was a high compression 350 4bbl motor, though you could order the low compression 350 2bbl motor as a downgrade option. Lesser Cutlii came with the inline six as the base engine.

Of course, starting with the 1970 model year, the Supreme 2dr got a unique "formal" roofline and a different grille, not offered on other Cutlii. Starting with the 1973 model year, the Supreme body became even more different from lesser Cutlii. Of course, mechanically they were the same (and headers still fit ).

 

Joe, you trying to say the Cutlass Supreme 2 door post didn't exist in 1967? Shocked! I Tell ya I'm just shocked by that. Especially since the 442 could only be ordered on the CS body that year. I don't know what you're smokin this morning...

 

Sorry, you are correct. I was thinking of the 68-69 model years, not 67, as shown below:

 

Ah so the town sedan has the post
It would be interesting to marry the Holiday sedan and the wagon and have a postless 4-dr wagon... or the Club Coupe with the wagon and have a Nomad-eque 2dr wagon.

 

You mean, like this?

 

What would have been cooler yet and in keeping with the evolution of the Olds wagons would be to have a Custom Vista Cruiser? After all the Vista Cruiser was the upscale Cutlass Cruiser. Why not have the Custom Cruiser and Custom Vista Cruiser. Yeah too much duplication of Vista. So maybe the Custom Cruiser and then the Strato Cruiser? It would also follow the naming of a car after an aircraft....I know Strato Cruiser is awfully close to Strato Chief which is a Pontiac model, but so what?

Still think they should have continued with convertibles on the Ninety Eight after 1970 too.

 

Like this?

 

Well I gotta give you top marks for trying Joe, but no . That's not really a 'full Vista roof'. I know they called it a 'Vista Roof with solar cool glass' but that's really a stretch IMO. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe that CC model only made the briefest of appearances for 1991-1992, then it just up and disappeared. The 'big boat cruisers' coulda shoulda woulda been a bigger hit from 71-76 IMO with full Vista Roofs. The 'traditional boxy looking" CC had a fairly long run from 78-86 but didn't have VC roofs either. Can't see it being a height issue.

What I was getting at is I'd have liked to see the equivalent of the 64-72 VC full elevation glass on the top of a CC.

 

I know. Besides, the 91-92 cars had Chebby motors.

At least it was a better implementation that the "Vista Vent" on the 73-77 cars.

 

Vista Vent?? LMAO! That's a pop up sun roof anyone could install. Wonder if anyone on this site can do a CC with vista roof, or a 73-77 with true vista roof with photochop???

 

From the same marketing department that brought you "Rocket V8".

Oh, how the mighty have fallen...

 

In later years a Cutlass was a fwd pos known as a Calais, the Cutlass Supreme was the rwd GBody with Oldsmobile badges, and often (but not always) Oldsmobile engines under the hood.

Roger.

 

Well, THIS is a 1983 Cutlass Calais, NOT a Supreme:



Just to clarify, This RWD platform was an A-body until the 1982 model year. The FWD Cutlass Ciera was released in 82 as the new A-body and the RWD cars were designated the G-body. The FWD cars were supposed to completely replace the RWD cars, but fortunately GM came to it's senses and built both (sorta like Ford with the Probe, which was supposed to be the new FWD Mustang). The Calais model name was used on the RWD cars through 1984. The FWD N-body Calais was released for the 1985 model year (and paced the Indy 500 that year).

 

And this is the 1978 Calais - RWD.



In 1980 or 81 I believe the Calais also had an aluminum alloy hood.

I think the Calais Roger is referring to is the introduction in 1985 FWD model? I owned one that I factory ordered with a 5 speed and loaded to the gunnels. Had the 4 cyl Tech 4 engine which was a decent performer.

 

He is, as I pointed out above. I owned one of the 1985 pace car replicas with the silver upholstery for a while. (Neither of these pictures is the car I owned, I just stole them from the web).

 

Unless I missed it, I didn't see anyone mention
that the first year of the Cutlass Supreme was 1966
and only in the 4-door Holiday (non-post) body.

 

OK, I got it wrong. But thanks for not giving me a hard time over my error.
I kinda assumed that Oldmobiles changed platforms and names the same time as the Buick Century. I used to own a '79 Century GBody, and somebody told me he was breaking an '83 model (I think), so I went to see if it had any parts I wanted. But of course it was a completely different car.

Allen, what is the car next to the Olds in your pic?, looks like a Fiat to me.

Roger.

 

No idea, that was 30 years ago....only thing we were concerned with was hiking up to that glacier to ski down it. That was taken at the Columbia Icefields in October 1985.

 

Yup. When GM went to the FWD A-body platform in 1982, Buick transferred the Century nameplate, but Olds invented the Cutlass Ciera name. Of course, Buick had been using separate Regal and Century nameplates since 1973, whereas Olds just called everything a Cutlass.

 

Wow ...

Who knew the assembly lines had been under attack by an army of sawzall's & a JC Whitney catalog.

 

To address the OP, we need to know which model year is being talked about.
Many different cars have been named "Cutlass" over time, the same can be said for Toyota Corolla, Ford Escort, and many others.
Later versions mostly share only the name with early ones.

Roger.