1959 Oldsmobile Super 88

The late-1950s was a busy time for Oldsmobile designers as new designs and styles were introduced three years in a row. A General Motors designer named Chuck Jordan had gotten a peek at the Chrysler line for 1957. The tail fins and low roofs made the 'Forward Look' of the 1955 and 1956 cars instantly outdated and stodgy. The 'Suddenly it's 1960' slogan was all too true. General Motors quickly responded by introduced mildly restyled vehicles for the 1957 model and all-new designs for 1958. Chrysler was relentless and its bold new styling made the 1958 General Motor's products pale in comparison. For 1959, Oldsmobile introduced the 'Linear Look' with improved visibility due to the Vista-Panoramic windshield, and restyled interiors with the Safety Spectrum Speedometer.

The Super Eighty-Eight was positioned above the Dynamic Eighty-Eight and below the Ninety-Eight. It had a wheelbase size of 123-inches and a length of 218.4 inches, which it shared with its dynamic eighty-eight sibling. The 394 CID V8 with overhead valves and 4GC Quadra-Jet carburetor was shared with the 98 Series. It included all the standard features found on the Dynamic 88, plus additional chrome trim and molding, parking brake light, sponge vinyl headliner, deep twist carpeting, 9.00 x 14-inch tires, and special emblems. The interior was upholstered in a variety of colored leather, cloth, or morocceen. It had the same list of body styles as the Dynamic 88 except for the coupe. The list included a convertible, 2- and 4-door Holiday hardtop, station wagon and sedan. Just like the Dynamic 88, the holiday hardtop and sedan were the most popular, with 38,467 and 37,024 sales respectively. The total super 88 production accounted for over 28-percent of Olsmdobile's total 1959 production.

by Daniel Vaughan | Aug 2020