| At the very beginning of General Motors, the | | | | system. Just to be extra safe, Oldsmobile's also |
| divisions competed against each other, launching rival | | | | added side-impact bars which were welded into the |
| products in each other's markets, stealing sales and | | | | doors and head rests became mandatory equipment |
| confusing customers. Under the iron rule of President | | | | on all vehicles. |
| Alfred P. Sloan, inter-divisional rivalry was all but | | | | A 455 CID V-8 churning out 365 horsepower was |
| eliminated. Each marquee was assigned a place on the | | | | introduced. It would be the largest ever offered. The |
| GM hierarchy and each was given an image. Cadillac | | | | bore was now 4.057 while the stroke was shortened |
| was positioned at the high end of the luxury market | | | | up to 3.385 inches. A special honor was bestowed in |
| and Buick took lower end. Pontiac became | | | | 1970, for the third time in the division's history an |
| synonymous with performance while Oldsmobile | | | | Oldsmobile would pace the Indianapolis 500. An Olds |
| developed the reputation of being GM's experimental | | | | 88 had done the job in 1948, a much larger Olds 98 |
| division. If one wanted to drive tomorrow's | | | | had served in 1960. Now a Cutlass 4-4-2 convertible |
| technology today, it would be found first on an | | | | would do brickyard duty at the most prestigious |
| Oldsmobile. But lines blurred in the 1960s and | | | | automobile race in the world. |
| competition between sister divisions was fostered | | | | Production tumbled by nearly a third in 1970 despite |
| and rivalry, once forbidden, grew suddenly intense. | | | | even beefier performance packages. Insurance |
| One of the very hottest GM cars to hit the street in | | | | companies sounded the death knell for the entire |
| 1970 was Oldsmobile's 4-4-2 series. drafted from | | | | muscle car genre as accidents climbed. "Four-barrel, |
| Cutlass and F-85 variants, the beefy 4-4-2 was | | | | "four-on-the-floor" and even "bucket seats" became |
| welcomed into dealers' showrooms for its third | | | | dirty words that automatically shot insurance policies |
| season as a five-passenger coupe, a five-passenger | | | | into the stratosphere. In 1971 just over 7,000 of the |
| hardtop and a drop-top. | | | | hot Oldsmobile's would be produced and for the last |
| Sizzle is what 4-4-2 did best standing still. The | | | | two years of its life, 4-4-2 was reduced to an option |
| swoopy two-door had been downsized in 1968, | | | | on Cutlass 'S' models. |
| wheelbase shortened to the 112" wheelbase it had | | | | Jim and Audrey Frey of Coleville, Saskatchewan own |
| when originally conceived as a Rambler-beating | | | | this 1970 Oldsmobile 4-4-2 convertible. Jim swapped a |
| compact, back in 1961. Now fully evolved as a muscle | | | | restored '57 Chevy for the ragtop nearly twenty |
| car, engineers gave the Olds heavy-duty springs, | | | | years ago while ice fishing with a buddy, who--good |
| stabilizer bar, special shock absorbers and wheels, | | | | guy that he was threw in a rebuilt motor and a paint |
| special emblems, hood louvers, unique paint stripe, | | | | job. This Olds has the 455 CID V-8 with 400 |
| special tires and a high output engine. In 1968 the | | | | Turbo-Hydramatic transmission and 327 Posi-Trac |
| 390-hp version could go from 0-60 mph in just six | | | | rear axle. |
| seconds and did the quarter mile in 12.97 seconds. | | | | The couple has been busy restoring their pride and |
| Oldsmobile was sizzle and steak | | | | joy ever since they acquired it in 1980. Over the |
| Pleased with their results, for '69 engineers turned up | | | | years the Oldsmobile has received a new top, front |
| the heat on their performance Olds. The special | | | | seat upholstery, carpeting and numerous interior bits |
| "W-30" package was offered to the speed needy, a | | | | and pieces. |
| throaty "Force-Air" inducted 360 hp version of the | | | | This GM offering is just not another pretty |
| 400 CID V-8. Tricked out with special grille, stripes | | | | automotive face, either. The Frey's Olds hauled two |
| and unique identification cues these unforgettable | | | | kids and a big dog around all summer for years and |
| motion machines were benighted with heavy-duty | | | | even today the 4-4-2 easily zips pasts transport |
| drive shafts, special handling packages, heavy-duty | | | | trucks while hauling a 17-foot trailer on family holidays. |
| wheels and a wicked straight-through exhaust | | | | |