1962 Oldsmobile Starfire Holiday Hardtop

Most of General Motors vehicles were revamped during 1961 and came roaring back in sales the following year to gain the largest market share in its history with record production from all of its five divisions. While compacts such as the Chevy II attracted many buyers, Olds advanced to similar success with its compact F-85 line with more performance options that became the Cutlass 4-4-2 in the 1964 lineup.

At a time when division engineering and styling enjoyed some autonomy, Oldsmobile added a fifth line for 1962, the Starfire, as the hot offering on its 123 inch wheelbase cars. Handsome styling and exhilarating performance brought 34,839 buyers into Olds showrooms along with 7,149 convertibles sold.

As standard equipment, the cars were fitted with the 394 cubic-inch, single 4-barrel engine rated at 345 horsepower, Oldsmobile's highest output engine that year and available only in the Starfire. The Starfire convertible carried the highest sticker price of any Olds for 1962, $4744, while the hardtop was priced at $4,131; expensive cars compared to the top-of-the-line F-85 Cutlass Jetfire Sport Coupe priced at $3,049 and the bottom Chevy II at $2,003. 1962 proved to be Starfire's best year as sales steadily declined thereafter, down to 13,019 hardtops sold in 1966 when no convertibles were offered and the final year of the line.