KW5413

OK, I just did a simple Google search on "Cutlass Extreme'' and this quickly popped up. Looks to be from 2013. A number of pictures of a '77. This had the badging stuck onto the vinyl. The badge maybe the only thing extreme on this car. Notice the badging is screwed on. Probably didn't stick well to the vinyl.

But, you guys know these cars inside & out and can tell if it has any other er, um, upgrades. This has been an interesting read, in many ways. And I have to agree that dealers would...still will...go to extremes to sell a car.


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mcam

Sorry but you are incorrect on this one. I remember the tv ads in Minnesota for the cutlass
extreme editions in the late 1970s and i have seen a few in person over the years.
I seem to remember the earliest examples being pre-1978 collenadale cars with swivel buckets
and the special roof badging seen on the post 78 example seen here. Probably a regional thing
at the time, but definitely happened and not just a stick on label made later.

Jon442

My dad was an Olds dealer. I can remember in the early '80s we were installing the stainless roof bands. They were quite popular and we had a local guy installing them. Probably did one or two a week for a while. We didn't add any extra badging, just had the bands installed.

I remember in 1978 that 98s were hard to get for some reason. So what I did was to order Delta 88 Royales loaded up with equipment so that they were as comparable to a 98 as possible. Then I would take them to the trim shop down the street. They would install a padded vinyl top, opera lights (98s had them, 88s did not) and Regency emblems (from a 98). We advertised them as the Delta 88 Royale Regency. They worked out as a good alternative to the 98 until 98 production resumed. So, there are cars out there that were dealer-made and are no doubt very rare, but not necessarily any more valuable than a stock example.

Michelle Gossman

69HO43

Since this thread got necromanced a couple of times in its life, it is interesting to see all the dealership or zone/regional gimmicks they used to make the cars stand out more. Because there's always those that want to be different. The GMO, RMO, Xtreme (or eXtreme), Special editions, etc., weren't exactly GM produced cars by the NAME, but they did have the Y68 Special Appearance package that existed between 78-81. Not 100% sure on the marketing strategy, but it seems like it was made for regional dealerships to "personalize" their cars after the fact by adding the SE, eXtreme, or GMO badges and such. It was available on Supreme models, it consisted of the wide stainless "band" with a "Cutlass" logo only, maybe buckets and consoles but I haven't verified that, and for 1979 and 1980 only, came with Calais grilles and front header panel on a Supreme, which is the same as the car that the OP posted (1980). R47 body style only. 1981 Y68 had special paint colors on their Calais grilles installed in the Supreme, Silver Fawn Firemist or Dark Jadestone Firemist, which were normally available only on Toronado and 98, making the factory 81 Y68 grilles sorta special, too, with different part numbers due to the body paint color inside the grille holes. There were no special engines or anything with the package. Drivetrains were whatever was factory available at the time. AFAIK, there were no 350s installed in these cars from GM.

They did pull some more of that later on in the 84-ish models. I recall at a dealership in Charleston, SC, they had a Carolina Gold edition on the dealer lot. Another regional thing with a gold emblem depicting NC and SC. Same with the 88 Cutlass Supreme Classics doing similar things like the "Cutlass GT" (North Carolina's Tops and Trends) and an "LV2" which essentially was nothing but an aftermarket spoiler and decals.

The one thing that Oldsmobile did for 1984 from the factory was the 84 Special Edition (RPO WJ3) for whatever reason, 2 door only once again. I don't know if it was similar to the Y68 of old, for dealership marketing, but they did come with some cool emblems and also lower body color paint in the chrome inlays if you bought N66 14x7 SSII wheels and Autumn Red Firemist body color, which typically is a Toro or 98 only color. No buckets or console on those cars, but they did get the Regency Velour treatment on the seats. On the center dash vent they drilled 3 holes and installed an SE emblem over the black printed rocket and two were used as stick-ons for the sail panel, which said "Cutlass Supreme" with the block of "Special Edition" right underneath. Not that this enhances the thread all that much, but more for a historical entry for additional information about these "SE" cars of the late 70s and early 80s. Interestingly, I have a December 83 version of the dealer ordering book and there's no mention of the 1984 SE. So it must've been later in the model year.

Chazmoney$

HERES ONE I BOUGHT LAST YEAR....

rocketraider

I like the special trim option cars but as you see there are a lot of people who are extremely (!) dismissive of them- especially the 1988 GT. Having been involved with the NC Sales Zone on that one I simply don't understand the vitriol against them.

These are the same people who claim GM didn't build cars after 1972, and even then believe they never built anything but 67-69 Camaros and 68-72 A-body musclecars.

The trim package cars were the right car for their time. I never understood the need for it on Cutlass, since it was already the best selling car in America, but the trim package and regional sales zone packages made things a little more interesting.

Is your 80 black or dark claret?