The Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight was one of the General Motors brand’s mainstay models, remaining in production from 1940 all the way through to 1996. The last Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight in production, the twelfth-generation model, was produced from 1991 to 1996 and was only offered as a sedan. The aging Ninety-Eight nameplate was replaced by the Aurora thereafter, which was around until the 2003 model year – just before the Oldsmobile brand bit the dust in 2004.
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While the Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight has been out of production for 25 years, there are still some General Motors fans out there that would like to see this old nameplate make a return. A rendering artist on Instagram recently tried his hand at drawing up a modern-day Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight, but he put a rather unexpected twist on his digital rendering.
As we can see, this modern Olds is a full-size SUV based on the T1-platform Chevy Tahoe. While this may seem a bit weird, it’s actually a more realistic interpretation of a modern-day Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight, in our opinion. GM is shying away from passenger cars in favor of crossovers and SUVs, so if it revived the nameplate, it’s highly likely that it’d be a crossover or SUV rather than a sedan. The artist also envisions the vehicle as being a hybrid, incorporating a charging port in the center grille bar. He also included a raised section in the roof, which would provide additional head space for rear seat and third-row passengers and further set this badge-engineered Oldsmobile apart from the Tahoe on which it’s based.
Let us know what you think of this somewhat strange rendering in the comments below, GM fans. We’re not too sure what to think of it, personally, but we appreciate the outside-the-box thinking on display here.
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Comments
Two words missing here: VISTA CRUISER
I agree, should be a Vista Cruiser
I don’t see Olds 90 R 8.Looks like a Chevy Tahoe / Suburban with a jacked up grill,
Umm, a big NO! That is just plain awful.
It could have been way, way worse honestly.
Go look at the actual Oldsmobile Ninety Eight from the mid 90s.
I say build it using the Oldsmobile name and logo and build it in the USA at the Arlington assembly plant in Texas.
How could GM let the oldest car co. In the U.S.die. They were the experimental division of GM white great successes over the years. With so few manufacturers of coupes or sedans today, GM should bring back Olds exclusively for that market. Not everyone wants an SUV.
If made it could offer a challenge to the Aztec as ugliest vehicle made.
Lifelong olds fan . Bring it back
TO SAM McEACHERN,
THE OLDS SUV?? WRITE ABOUT A SUBJECT THAT MATTERS.
JOHN BENKO
If your going to use the Olds then bring back the Cutlass
Bring the Cutlass back
A 98?, no. A Bravada?, yes….
When I was a kid, our neighbor bought a new Ninety Eight most every year; usually in burgundy. He’d been doing so since the early 1970s. He was a real estate agent and said the Ninety Eight was the perfect car for him. It was luxurious for his clients and projected success without the feel of extravagance or too much wealth one might get from a Cadillac Sedan deVille. He probably bought 15 of them and I always looked forward to seeing his new one. After the run of the Ninety Eight ended, he bought a couple of Auroras but felt they didn’t offer the roominess and comfort of the Ninety Eight. He then switched to the Lexus LS and called it “the new Ninety Eight”; again it was comfortable and projected success but not overindulgence like a Mercedes-Benz might.
Those were the days. GM (now gm) once ruled America’s roads and society. Oldsmobile was the number three best selling brand in the US for a long time with a ‘just right’ marketing position that balanced value with luxury. Their perennial best-selling Cutlass Supreme found so many takers because it so perfectly balanced so many attributes. It was neither too big or too small, or too luxurious or two sporty. Like the Nighty Eight, it wasn’t too cheap and common, or too expensive and haughty-feeling. Oldsmobile at their zenith was always just right for so many Americans.
Yes remember seeing a Cutlass at every intersection back in the late 70’s and early 80’s. They were very sharp and fun to drive!
Olds was more than transportation. A bit classy a bit conservative, a bit sporty and very reliable.
And oh the 442, w-30, w-31 models we’re so special. An Olds was like a mechanical family member!!
Nice concept rendering, but Oldsmobile more than likely won’t see the day of resurrection; so it’s best to move on.
Why can’t people just let the old cats die gracefully…
Just like movies, commercials, and songs….
No creativity now a days…
“Reimagines”? All they did was put the name Oldsmobile on a current GM SUV and add the roof. What a waste of time.
Can we stop calling these absolutely terrible photoshops “artist’s renderings”
Slow day at the drawing board.
I owned two Ninety-Eights in the 1980s. My 1989 was truly one of the overall best vehicles I’ve ever owned. Bring it back!!!
i wish they would bring oldsmobile back one day
Not even close.
I’m a die hard Olds man. It brokey heart when the couldn’t find a way to restructure and save the oldest car co. In the U.S.
If olds came back, with more modern tech and style, it would sell big time.
The interest could be built in advance of the return of an American historic auto co. Just because it’s never happened before doesn’t mean it wouldn’t work.
GM grosse minoune Old says it all !!
Most manufacturers are abandoning coupes and sedans. For existing companies to compete with others for a small .market isn’t profitable.
That doesn’t mean that relatively small market is gone, only without vehicles to buy.
Olds could come back as trictly to supply the sedan and coupe demands. No trucks or suvs. Just beautiful, safe and efficient cars. Pontiac, Olds, Pymouth, Ford, Chevy and others are no longer providing cars. Olds could offer autos to cover those car buyers. Not everyone needs an SUV.
Jerry Lundegaard: “Oohhh yaahh, gotta get that Trucoat.” Sorry, that was the first thought when I saw Olds 98.
I was on the Bravada program when Oldsmobile was bubbling up with getting into the SUV dog fight. We got a tremendous amount of angst from Chevy & GMC through most of every battle we had to get it to market. The first edition had the Borg Warner 4472 All Wheel Drive transfer case that was only available on the old ‘M’ van. With the right tires, that thing was a beast in any condition. The standard Eaton lock up differential made it a very tough truck in mud, snow, off highway. We modified a Bravada with a LS V-8 engine and upgraded trans without any changes to the transfer case or axle. The GM gods shot it down for production. You could get all 4 tires to screech! Awesome.
Now there’s some extremely lazy badge engineering that will fortunately never see the light of day.
I love GM My first car was a chef Nove.GM should build the olds and Pontiac.
That’s a nice looking vehicle. I’m not sure I would choose that color, but they would have more offerings, I’m sure. When I was in the Buick business back when, the 98 was always hard to beat with the Park Avenue even though it was a very side car also. Bring ’em back!!
Click on 1st picture.
There’s multiple color choices
Great idea to revive !!! How about calling it a 98 Vista
I actually think its a cool looking vehicle.
I love the blue color & matching wheels & rugged tires.
Put 6.2 liter in it & I’d test drive 1 tomorrow!
Gotta keep it under 70k though.
Don’t forget REGENCY 98.with 5.7L had a 1978,every option factory gauge pkg,moon roof.leather,riding on cotton.wish had another.still have toro,cutlass Bring Oldsmobile back,Lose GMC nameplate keep Chevy trucks,hello olds 2022…..
My 2001 oldsmobile intrigue is great with a 3.5. Twin cam 6 cylinder its front wheel drive so an electric motor in each rear wheel and a battery would go in the trunk or a hatch back. It looks like a tesla anyway.
Very blah staying overall. The front end looks more like a Land Rover. The “Vista Cruiser” bubble on the roof looks like an emerging tumor; the proportions of it are all out sync. If you are going to go the full Vista Cruiser route with this vehicle you have to push the sides of the bulge out as far as possible to the sides of the roof. The rear end has no identity. Overall, this would not sell in a million years. The styling of the Tahoe and Yukon both outclass this rendering by leaps and bounds.
I liked Oldsmobile, especially the older Cutlass Supreme (not the downsized versions.). But there is no reason to try to re-establish a whole new Oldsmobile vehicle line anymore.
I think Oldsmobile would’ve gotten their hands on the GM theta platform any day than they would’ve on the T1 platform.