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1979 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Regency Coupe: A Pristine Time Capsule
I miss traditional luxury. What is luxury today? A Range Rover? Grand Wagoneer with glass roof and multiple TVs in the headrests? Rolls-Royce Phantom? Ah, but once upon a time, folks with middle-class budgets but high aspirations could get something far superior. Like a Ninety-Eight Regency.
Oh sure, it had, depending on your luck or your friendly local Oldsmobile dealer’s due diligence, perhaps indifferent assembly, weak paint, and glorious gadgets that might not necessarily, you know, work. But they did have presence.
And in 1979, you could still get many domestic vehicles in both coupe and sedan form—a nice bonus. Today, you’re lucky if you can even find a sedan. For those who don’t want a 4×4 pickup or SUV or potato-shaped crossover, you are out of luck when it comes to many manufacturers.
But in the final year of the ’70s, you were spoiled for choice. And that was just in your local Olds dealer’s showroom! Want a coupe or sedan? No problem. The Ninety-Eight Regency sedan and coupe were the top of the line, unless you preferred the swanky front-wheel drive Toronado personal luxury coupe.
And thanks to the corporate-wide downsizing for the 1977 model year, these biggest, Broughamiest Oldses were still a rather tidy package to drive, park, and enjoy while still retaining lots of stretch-out room inside and trunk space out back.
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As the ’79 Oldsmobile brochure extolled: “Uncommon luxury in a beautifully engineered automobile. You should expect much of Oldsmobile’s most luxurious series. And Regency does not disappoint.
“The interior room within the Regency Coupe, for example, is more than generous, with impressive head- and legroom, front and rear. The inviting loose-cushion-look seats are specially padded, contouring them for a fit and feel much like your favorite easy chair.”
Of course, today, everything has to have firm, sometimes uncomfortable bucket seats in a cavelike environment with Boring Black or Gloomy Gray interior. And I ask, why? Because the new manufacturers are cheap? Or because 2025 car customers don’t care? Why can’t we get a marvelous, cushy blue interior like this anymore?
I miss vast color choices, coupes, sedans, and ultimately, the entire Oldsmobile division. They were so very popular in my metropolitan area when I was growing up.
And that’s why I was so happy when my friend Jayson Coombes spotted this car on October 26th at the second annual Buick Olds Pontiac Cadillac show held in Grapevine, Texas. If this car looks showroom new, that is because it basically is.
This Regency has only 2,100 miles on it. And it was sold new at the same dealer Jayson’s mom bought a new ’83 Cutlass from, back when coupes, sedans, and GM were still most popular.
I loved the colors, too. This Regency is painted in pretty, but perhaps somewhat boringly named, Light Blue Metallic, with a matching full vinyl top and interior.
This is basically as close as you’re going to get to a brand-new 1979 Regency Coupe in 2025. It was just stunning.
For 1979, all Oldsmobile Ninety-Eights came standard with a 350-cubic inch V-8 with four-barrel carburetor and automatic transmission, as befitting Oldses’ top-of-the-line model.
A 350 diesel V-8 and a 403 gasoline V-8 were optionally available. And while slightly less flossy Ninety-Eight LS coupe and sedan were offered for luxury car bargain hunters, the Regency was the top version, with its much more sumptuous floating-pillow seating and other finery.
The Regency coupe had a base price of $7,875 (about $34,690 today), a curb weight of 3,946 pounds, and 26,965 were produced. The Regency sedan was far more popular despite its slightly higher asking price of $8,063 ($35,500); 91,862 were sold for the ’79 model year.
But it’s likely that few of those 26K-odd Regency coupes are as nice as this example now! It was a pleasure to see this car through Jayson’s photos. It could only have been topped by seeing it in person.
And I still pine for a new luxury Oldsmobile coupe or sedan such as this, though that day will likely never come.
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A beautiful automobile! Those were the days….
Yes they were. Great cars back then. I was selling Pontiacs at that time.
My intro to fatherhood was changing from 280 ZX to Custom Cruiser–with wires and extra woodgrain! It was a great ride…traded it in with 200K for a new Sub. Had the Olds 307-wasnt burning a drop of oil! I miss those days too
Had the 1977 four door version, same blue color, almost identical interior, with the 403. Put over 300k miles on it. Something not obvious were the handling improvements over the previous GM C-body cars. I miss that car more than any other I’ve owned.
Mom had a gold Buick 4 door of this vintage, that thing was fast-ish. She always talked about “The passing gear” when it would kick down and get up and go. Certainly not fast by today’s standards but you know how it goes.
You know the old saying,” Nothin goes down the road like a Pontiac.” But in reality, all the old GM cars of this era really stood out as the best riding cars. My dad had one of these Ninety Eights and even if it got rear ended and bumper ripped off, still went straight and floaty down the highway !
My best-friend’s parents bought a brand new 1977 Olds 88 four-door. Beautiful car! His parents loved it, up to moment they found it factory equipped with a Chevy 350. They immediately traded it in for a 98 with an Oldsmobile Diesel 350. I moved away and lost contact with them. I’m sure the love affair with the Diesel was also short lived.
Wow – can you say “mistake”? I own an Olds 88 (with a real Olds 350), but there was certainly nothing wrong with the Chevy 350 – something one could not realistically say about the diesel 350.
I had one of those in dark green. I drove it from NJ to Fla, it used 99 gals of gas one way and it was like riding on a yacht. There was not another car on the road that I’d rather have been in.
I agree with you on the ugly interiors now days. At the end of my selling vehicles career – 2014 – I became so tired of Black and the different shades of it that I hate black vehicles.
I attended that show and had an opportunity to discuss this time capsule Oldsmobile with its owner. It really is an amazing car. I doubt that there are many vehicles out there with this low mileage that are in original condition.
Is that an early F-85 convertible off the starboard side? A Tempest?
These boats had comfortable seats and they would cruise all day.
I dropped an Olds 403 in my 64 Buick LaSabre after 2 Buick 350s developed head gasket leaks or cracked heads. Instant hot rod! Cruised that car up and down the East coast.
I have always been a fan of the downsized coups and sedans beginning in “77 after my great ’76 Custom Cruiser 455 wagon. I am also a long time fan of “sleeper” sedans. How do I convince my wife that a late ’70’s ’98 4 door Regency sedan with leather, smooth top, and door handles and badges removed. LS swap, suspension and wheel and tire upgrade in a dark blue or maroon colour. Probably a great driving road car. HMMM, permission or forgiveness? Probably only one answer.
I have a 1977 Oldsmobile 98 Regency coupe, very similar to your feature car. It’s an incredible survivor, but with a few mods. Has a 500c.i. Cadillac engine, shift kit, tube trailing arms, floor shift, and 1996 Impala SS posi rear end. She’s a sleeper. Has 2 rare options, it’s vynl top delete (roof is body color) & radio delete. I love these cars! So roomy and comfortable. Thanks for a neat story on these beauties!
I have a 1978 Oldsmobile 98 Regency coupe, very similar to your feature car. It’s an incredible survivor, but with a few mods. Has a 500c.i. Cadillac engine, shift kit, tube trailing arms, floor shift, and 1996 Impala SS posi rear end. She’s a sleeper. Has 2 rare options, it’s vynl top delete (roof is body color) & radio delete. I love these cars! So roomy and comfortable. Thanks for a neat story on these beauties!