Man, these cars were everywhere when I was a kid, along with the Cavalier, Celebrity and Grand Am...

I think one of the "Golden Girls" drove a light blue Calais.

My first car! The 88 maroon color 5 speed manual. 2 door. Loved that car.

The handbrake lifting the centre console box, and yet they hoped it would go toe to toe with a BMW?! 😂😂😂

I had a 1988 Grand Am coupe with the 2.5 Tech 4. It was slow, but not as slow as my dad's 85 Century with the 3.0 V6 and its amazing 110 horsepower and 0-60 somewhere between sunrise and sunset.

I have an '87 Buick Somerset, and it's still in good condition. I use it as a weekend car. Despite the fact that I live on another continent

That explains it! I use to own a 1987 Pontiac Grand Am LE sedan in the year 2000 with the 2.5 Iron Duke I4 with 92 HP. It felt faster on the highway because of the high end torque or 132, and the speedometer reached 85 mph on the dash. That engine was good for its time and I was 19 years old as well. My dad gave me the car in 1999 with the blown engine that he destroyed. I've put a new Iron Duke engine and it purrs like a kitten for a $1,000. Besides replacing the starter, alternator, motor mounts, battery, AC, rear shocks and brakes The good ol' Iron Duke kept on truckin. But the three speed auto transmission couldn't hold the reliability, but the engine did.

My first was a 1988 stormcloud-gray 4-door - I ❤❤❤ 'D THAT CAR!!! Ultimately, I couldn't keep her because the parts I needed were no longer available, she was used, well-battered before I got her, but when the sun came up every day, I couldn't wait to take my "Cali" on adventures! The interior was like driving a living room - Just enough space - And, I loved the naugahyde/velour "furniture" ! I miss those interiors - Today's vehicle "furniture" hurts me all over! 🙄🙄🙄 Best American car I ever had - It should NEVER have been discontinued, some are still out there on the road! I miss you so much, "Cali" ! Thank you for uploading this! 🚗🚗🚗👏👏👏🥳🥳🥳

Thank you for sharing this review of this GM car. I took my drivers test in a 1986 version. It was good with the 3300 V6 and the digital gauges. It was replaced by Achieva which was no achievement. It was interesting to see how GM was thinking back then. The Pontiac Grand Am and Buick Skylark were similiar back then, but Pontiac Grand Am stood out and it showed in the sales department. They kept making changes on this cars ovcer time. I recall the commercials "Calais by Oldsmobile". They are here on You Tube. Interesting fact: When GM was downsizing its cars the N Bodies were supposed to replace the G Bodies. The Grand Am was supposed to be Grand Prix and Calais was supposed to be Cutlass and Skylark/Somerset was supposed to be Regal. The plans changed. It did not help that the E cars arrived for 1986 looking exactly like the N cars. The 1986-1989 Toronado looks so close to this Calais and the Skylark looked like a Riviera. GM made some big mistakes back then.

The armrest/emergency brake thing reminds me of an issue with my 1987 Chrysler 5th Avenue. Mopar installed front seats that were a bit too wide for the cabin. In order to adjust the power seat you needed to squeeze your hand between the door panel and the side of the seat. I guess that kind of stuff happens when you take a Plymouth Volare and convert it into a luxury car..

We had a 1985 Old Calais with the Tech 4. Great car. It had a nice interior, drove and handled well, and was reliable.

Had a 1985 Calais in medium blue. I loved that car and it was good to me. Wish I still had it.

I had this exact car! It was a silver 85 with blue interior. It was the classiest little compact car ever built and yes it was a very well done GM fwd car. I bought it from my cousin who had put 160K miles on it and I commenced to put about 7K more on it before the engine developed an oiling problem and I had to sell it. Apparently it didn't like being run at a constant 85 mph on the highway and I didn't know of the 2.5L Iron Duke's quirks at that time. The 4 cylinder version was indeed good handling yet good riding, but the V6 was more front heavy and thus average for a fwd. I got compliments by surprised occupants every time someone rode in it. They all said the exact same thing, "This is a nice car!" Hated to have to sell it and drive something else but I did replace it with a compact 4x4 and never really looked back.

Funny they called this chassis firmer than expected. These cars were engineered for a sedate feel in a small package, aping the Cutlass Supreme at a lower price point. They were popular and were durable enough to live into the 90s in large numbers. They weren’t a Jetta or a 626 but they had a very distinctive all American feel. The Olds would be my fav N body along w the Buick.

The 2.5 iron duke was the most reliable version of these N-cars. Quad 4's and V-6's were a nightmare to work on.

Can you imagine an automaker selling a car these days that had two items colliding like the hand brake and arm rest in this car? It sure was nice when people didn't throw first world fits about every little thing back then.

Had a Buick summerset regal

Man, I really miss 80's velour seats. I can't stand leather seats. They might take longer to wear out. But they're not at all comfortable. I'll take 80's velour or some sort of cloth anyday.

Very funny about the parking brake and center storage compartment! Probably didn’t matter as much for people who never use the parking brake with an automatic. 😂

The 86 Calais went with a narrow offset Console compartment that no longer interfere with the parking brake lever.

Its a classy looking little American compact. Thinking in "1985" terms, its quite attractive.

This wasn't the greatest car in the world, but it was good value for the money. I took a three hundred mile trip with a friend of mine in one and it was fun to drive and ride in. It was quiet, had a good ride, and its three speed automatic transmission was a good deal smoother---and better---than the high-tech 'nightmare' transmissions of today. Driving around town netted a solid 22-25 mpg, but we averaged nearly 28-30 on the interstate. It also had one of the coldest air conditioner of any car I have ever been it. She kept that car for over ten years and the only thing she ever did to it was replace the water pump, and get new gasket seals for the Iron Duke-4.

Bring Oldsmobile back, The Cutlass was so cool

One of my uncles had one for a number of years. He never mentioned anything about problems, so I assume by that, and the fact it was very popular, it was a good car.

There’s only one thing I never understood about these cars. The GM N bodies were derived from the J body, just a longer wheelbase. However, so was the Chevy Corsica and Beretta but they were L bodies. Structurally they were identical to the N body except for the rear beam axle on the Beretta.

I honestly prefer the 4-Door N-Cars because they were more practical. The Oldsmobile Calais, Pontiac Grand Am, and Buick Somerset and Skylark were much better cars than the X-Cars they replaced. Chevrolet did not get version of the N-Car until much later, but they did come out with the L-Body Corsica and Beretta in 1987

I have an ‘86!

Was this the era of “This is not your fathers Oldsmobile”? I always thought the slogan was hilarious

"Young upwardly mobile" aka Yuppies 😂😂😂

Later updates of the Buick Somerset were the most fluid looking of the bunch, with a pretty cool, albeit sort of weird, interior design that had separate units for the gauge cluster, and head-unit just sitting on top of the dashboard like they were glued on. Pretty snazzy for the day. Olds eventually made a 442 version of the Calais in the 90s with the new for GM Quad4 engine, which, I think, was another disastrous engine for them.

This is retro? Man, I sure feel old.

had a 87 Calais, with the Rally pack, loved that car..not one issue with it in 3 years of ownership...still miss the little coupes

The Calais was taken from Oldsmobile's top line Cutlass, and that top line Cutlass used a name last seen (1976) on Cadillacs. _(9/23/2023)_

I had a brand new 1987 Calais GT my first new car.after owning it for 6 months a taxi ran a stop sign and caught the right front pretty good. I got it fixed and my father made me trade it back to the dealer for a 85 Eldo. How the new owner got my number but called me about a year later asking if the car was ever in an accident because it had an electrical fire😮

The armrest design, to paraphrase Pee-Wee Herman in the same year. “We meant to do that.” 😂

The Calais was a gutless street car but a good looking stock car and IMSA road racer.

The parking brake was just in the first few months of production . We finally had it corrected mid year .

To me, the Calais looks like the Oldsmobile Cutlass' mom

@1:57 Looks like a Jeep. A comfortable Jeep. XD

I had a four door V-6 Calais company car. Soft ride and uninspired. I drove it hard and did not break.

I had two of these an 86 and 87 I love both of them they were both two-door and light blue the 86 had more room in the front seat meaningless seat track went back a little bit further I loved everything about these cars obviously because I bought the second one I would love to have another one

That’s beautiful. I’d love to have one exactly like that.

That is one beautiful car !

Why are the front fender and door and different color than the back...

the buick somerset regal version was my favorite

Funny, it looks like GM would have gotten them a car with matching paint. 1:19

I kinda want one but it would have to be the V6 with a manual.

4:55 marvel of American engineering

Love the Calais!

1.wasnt the calais trim on the gbody cutlass? lol for years i called it the ca-lias 2. are the buick 3.0 and 3.3(3300) v6's part of the 3.8/3800 v6 Family????

You have to wonder what GM was thinking with that storage compartment situated above the parking brake...I can only imagine that the designers assumed the car was going to get a pedal brake like many other cars of the era.

Is it just the lighting, or is the paint mismatched at 1:37 and 1:48? 🤔

Really like the optional variable shade paint scheme per body panel...

Almost got hit by one of these in 1999. I was walking to my school bus and a teenager with the license plate "Princess" drove around my school bus with the stop sign out. Police paid here a visit when she was at her high school later on that morning

As fun as the 80’s were, I’ve forgotten how basic most cars were. The government had neutered the automobile industry so no matter how good they look, most cars didn’t have the performance that guys like me wanted. But, a lot of them were fun to drive.

The two door versions of this and the Grand Am had more of an European look to them.

The first N cars were just what I expected from the general, Buick, and Oldsmobile were cheaper than their traditional H-C body cars, but not Honda or Toyota though.

Nancy and I loved our 87 4 door Calais. By then the Tech IV was 105 hp. in these, and it was amazingly quick. We often drove to our son's college 150 miles away, and we got 36 mpg on long trips, and 28 mpg in regular driving. Quiet, trouble free, good car all around.

I think MotorWeek was always pro domestic brands, and they never talked about reliability on the American brands

Mr. Auto Executive sir? WHAT!? Um it turns out we forgot to design the center console hinges with limiters… No worries kid just attach a piece of string between it and the frame. Now let me get back eyeballing my secretary and smoking indoors. Yes sir thank you sir!

I'm design school you get kicked out for copying someone else's work, making only minor changes, then turning it in as your own. At GM you get promoted to Division President.

A perfect budget american canvas for bosozoku style mod!

The body panel colors don't match on the silver car. And GM wondered why people started paying over MSRP for a Honda?

While the Calais was a nice execution of the N-car styling and made the most of the curvy formal back window and roofline, I still think the Grand Am was the best executed design, yes even with the much maligned ribbed plastic body cladding, overall of the N cars. I had a facelifted 91 Grand Am with the 6 cylinder engine and enjoyed it immensely. The interior plastics quality was typical GM abysmal for the time, but the appearance of the interior sporty designed cockpit was the best of the bunch.

We had a 1989 quad 4 Cutlass Calais. On paper it should have been fun, my first car was an '86 escort so this thing seemed peppy. That thing had terrible brakes. I remember trying to stop in perfect weather, sunny day and still bumping into the car in front of me. It was loud and rickety and even though in a straight line it was fast, it was kind of a scary car to drive It just seemed flimsy and cheap. Two-tone red and silver, it did have its charms...

Them things were junk. My dad found one for 500$ back in 1997 that was going to be my 1st car but it would over heat, smoke, stall and would run one day and refuse the next. We gave it to my gf's uncle and after a year of trying to get it running he paid me 20$ to pull it to the scrap yard. I was happy to have it at 1st but after a week of it not running no matter what we did, we went looking for a better car... Ended up with a 1990 Chrysler Le-baron convertible! We got it from my buddy from school and he bought it out of the showroom at Wadale Motors in South Knoxville. It being my 1st car, it didn't survive long! After that one broke down for good I started driving an old Chevy G-20 cargo van my Papaul had. It was the best thing I ever owned! (he put a sbc dirt track engine in it before he passed away and it was TOO FAST)

The Cutlass ciera, was built in Framingham, Mass. (Boston suburb).

Anyone else notice that the door on the silver car did not match the rest of the car? Good ol GM quality.

@4:56 GM Systems Engineering team must have had a tired integration staff closing out 1984's product development cycle to hack around interference between two design components.

Back when you did not have to worry about a GM drivetrain. These days their 1.4, 2.4, and 3.6 will give you nightmares when you get the bill from your local mechanic. They all have common problems that are well known. Really upsets me because I have owned a number of great GM vehicles during this time period. How did it go so wrong for them?

Well, I was young then but I'm not sure about upwardly mobile. 😂

Yes but that arm rest! 🤔

LOL! 2:09 That looks like a convertible Flintstones mobile. And tsk-tsk, driving that thing with no seatbelts!

My parent's bought me the darker blue 2door new in 89 before my 16th birthday. It had the quad4 and was a great car. I rear ended another car 3 years later and even though the body shop did a super job I wasnt happy until I traded it. Big mistake!

God, these 1980's domestic auto reviews are tough to watch. They're so careful not to say a single bad thing about any car.

You could get this in a V6 or a Toyota Supra second gen for just about the same price in 1986. Crazy how many flops and mulligans the big 3 got before SHTF.

Just think of back then when a new prospect shows up at an Oldsmobile dealership to try this car out only to be disappointed not by the power train, not by the high lift -over trunk, but the laughable armrest/emergency brake lever debacle! “Nope, no thank you, I’m good”. How frustrating this had to be for the salesman. I’m sure the best made their most cunning efforts not to demonstrate/ draw attention to this GM calamity. Or, on the plus side be like “Nah you don’t want this car friend, why you’re an intelligent person 🤓, treat yourself for just a few dollars more and step up to the Cutlass supreme!”😁

id like to go back to 1985

The Olds Cialis

They seemed like a good idea at the time.

Earlier models looked much better that later, “modernized” models that just made the model look out of date by 1990. Plus, what’s not to love about some mid ‘80s faux chrome?

Better than the Omega X-car it replaced!

My mother had this car ,grey

Everything 80's was great, not just cars.

Damn, I had a Pontiac Grand Am that looked very similar to this.

I had a brand new 1986 color gold 2 door. 4 cylinder. Biggest POS i ever bought.

Quad 4's were powerful but had alot of head gasket problems...

This replaced the Omega.

Was the Corsica build from the N platform

Always thought the Calais had a classy design, simple, yet sophisticated

Basically a bigger J car with X/A car powertrain.

Hey @MotorWeek, do you have the test of the four-door sedan version that hit the following year?

1985 Maxima 3.0 v6 made 157 hp. This is the reason I hated American car.

My old car

The new “Oatsmobile”

4:43 lmao

People can bad-mouth this era all they want these GMs were good looking well built cars that 3800 engine was world class, they actually put a lot of quality and Engineering into these trying to sell the public on the smaller front wheel drive configuration so they gave it their best, I still see a lot of these on the road

All it needs is a ' wind up ' key on the trunk.

Wonder if any of these actually was ever driven in calais..?

2,700 lbs wow