You have to compare them against their contemporaries. At the time they weren't bad.

 

ok forget the 750, the 740 looks the same, and so does the 540, although the 540 is probably a better direct comparison.

http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2...mobile-aurora/

in 2016 dollars the aurora would've been like $60k, so not quite twice more than a base 7 series ($80k) but the full 750iL yea probably haha... apparently the olds V8 has "556 fewer parts" than the lexus V8, so it's even more durable!! (jk we all know how that turned out) and it's also apparently true that the "highly rigid body" broke GM's test rig at the time, which i guess goes to show how crappy everything else was at the time loooool... i'm not getting one of these any time soon but i just like cars like the aurora where you can tell it's designers really wanted it to be good, GM execution at the time just let it down i guess...

 

Save your money and just drive the LS400. It's not like the car is going to melt in bad traffic/weather.

 

At that time (1990s) very little emphasis was being put on interior plushness, unless you talked some really serious money. In general, the Europeans did a little better than the Americans or Koreans. But most mainstream vehicles were essentially a sea of monotone or two-tone plastic inside with some wood tone trim here or there.

No offense, but I thought your Dad's 1990 Lincoln Continental's interior was only marginally better than the ones used on the Taurus/Sable that that-vintage Continental was based on.

 

I remember when these came out. I was in high school. I gushed over them, as I found them incredibly unique and beautiful. I think of it as the beginning of the end for Oldsmobile, though, when you refuse to put your name on your flagship sedan. As I recall, it had a unique badge and they left the word "Oldsmobile" off the car, though later I believe they added a "by Oldsmobile" badge to the "Aurora" badge on the trunk lid.

 

Oldsmobile went through an existential and identity crisis from the late 80's when they quit making the G-body(RWD) Cutlass Supreme. GM killed Oldsmobile when they quit making that car IMO, it was their golden goose. People didn't like the new FWD Cutlass Supreme, coupes were going out of fashion anyways. Your entry level Ciera was extremely dated and cheap, the only people buying your IMO ugly mainstream 88 and 98 sedans were WASP war veterans who had always bought Olds and were too set in their ways to buy something else.

Getting back to the whole existential crisis, they launched the "not your father's Oldsmobile" campaign. Yeah go **** in the Cheerios of your loyal customers by telling them we don't want your business. I'm sure all those young, successful 20-30 somethings are running right off to buy Oldsmobiles because they're such great and stylish cars.

 

In 1994 my parents traded in their '89 Camry for a '94 Cutlass Supreme 4 door. After having numerous issues covered under warranty and having it towed to the dealer for a second time, my mom had enough and they traded it in for a '95 Camry (my opinion, still the best Camry made to date), which they kept for 10 years.

 

I can't get past your comment.

 

i crack up for a good 7-9 seconds every time i look at this picture. i just did right before i typed this. even now i'm still smiling

 

lol i know... but i love it and only want it to have to go through nice, easygoing highway miles. the V8 needs space to be let free, it's also pretty fuel efficient assuming you're just asking it to maintain a constant speed, but having to accelerate back up to speed is what really kills the mpg. i just want to minimize the 'phantom miles' from the engine running but the car not moving so i know the mileage figure is truly an accurate reflection of how much it's been used.

 

i can't believe it i actually saw an aurora today! it was a nice dark blue 1st gen. i must say in person there's definitely some presence to it, i definitely need one of these in the future lol...

 

You are correct about the 3rd generation Camry being the best one ever done, from a build-quality point of view. I have posted on this issue a number of times in other threads.

 

Pretty much any Toyota from that era is a safe bet.

 

You have weird tastes my friend LOL

I too would just drive your LS400. Thats what its for, to drive and enjoy.

 

hahaha i don't blame you for thinking that but it's really because whenever i see any of those mid 90s GM cars i just think of my high school autoshop teacher





and start cracking up. nothing to do with actually thinking it's a really well built car or anything.