Johnny Lightning 1976 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme

During the 2000’s there was an odd fascination for vehicles that most of us car enthusiasts would like to forget: the 1970’s big cars and subcompact cars.  For Motormax and Johnny Lightning they would be the forefront in this uncharted territory and while there are some common models there are a few unique ones as well.  One of them is this Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme coupe and for 2017 it gets resurrected in the new Johnny Lightning lineup.

The Cutlass line is the mid-size offering from Oldsmobile for four decades starting in the 1960’s, with the Supreme the high-end line of the Cutlass family.  While many of us would remember the late 1960’s Cutlass models with the sporty Rallye and 442 models, by the middle of the 1970’s that eroded to just a big fat luxury coupe with powered-robbing emission controls.  Still this 1976 Cutlass Supreme had some style with this sleek coupe profile.  The Colonnade roofline was part of a new roof design for GM that allowed for a sturdier roof design to meet safety standards, and the Supreme took it a step further with an arrow design on the roof and side opera windows.  In 1976 the front-end was changed with quad headlights and waterfall grille that contours around the front edge of the hood.  The interior has seating for four with driver-oriented controls and round jet-like air vents.  The engine is a 350 CID Rocket Turbo V8 that produces 180 horsepower through a three-speed automatic transmission.  This would be the last-generation for the large Olds Supreme as the next-generation went to a smaller platform and also resurrected the 442 name.

For such a boxy vehicle it was unusual to find it with a sleek roofline, which is what drew me to the gold example released in 2004.  The front-end has quad headlights with signal lights below, detailed grille in silver, and lower bumper also in silver.  The sides have Cutlass Supreme badges on the front fenders, lower silver trim, and the diagonal opera windows on the white roof.  The rear has a sloping design with vertical taillights and silver bumper, while the wheels are 6-spokes on rubber tires.  For 2017 the details get even better as the Olds really stands out in blue with only the rear Colonnde bar painted white this time around and sporting 5-spoke wheels with blue rim just like on past Cutlass models with body-colored rallye wheels.  The front has black grille inserts, amber signal lights, front and rear license plates, more detailed and visible badges, more chrome trim, Oldsmobile badges on the taillights, and even pinstripe lines across the upper beltline.  Sadly the hood on my blue tester was ill-fitted as it sticks up on the left-rear corner.

The base underneath shows off the engine, transmission, drivetrain, and the restrictive exhaust system with the catalytic converter, while the hood opens up to show off the V8 with detailed block and front accessory drive belt components.  The interior in tan shows off the excellent detailing of the four-seat layout, detailed door panels, 2-spoke steering wheel, shifter on the console, and the dashboard with the round air vents.  Boxy 1970’s cars are not my thing as they lack style, yet somehow this Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme managed to find style in the back despite the large size and blocky front-end.