Who also loves it when Doug reviews these run of the mill of the cars instead of the quarter million dollar exotics?

@rv9990

8 ай бұрын

This indeed is way more interesting.

@TzadikTheManic

8 ай бұрын

Me and based on the views of his other vids, maybe 75% of his viewers :)

@b0bbytrucktricks

8 ай бұрын

Agreed

@411Adidas

8 ай бұрын

Especially since I have one in white sitting in my barn rn. Haha. The v8 was great for how small it is.

@wandeling127

8 ай бұрын

I agree. I find this also much more interesting than another giant SUV.

Hi Doug, I was the lead creative interior designer for this Aurora at GM. My team and I designed everything in it. (Except for that rear vent knob!). We had a blast working on that project. I still have a lot of the sketches. We had free reign with the content. The materials used was another story. Thanks for your positive review! Still proud of that work.

@deltajohnny

8 ай бұрын

You did a GREAT job! 👏👏👏

@23ofSeptember

8 ай бұрын

Question: Why did GM and other car makers move away from driver oriented consoles/dashes? I loved them as a driver. However, it seemed like in the early 2000s car makers decided that it had to focus more on the passenger and so they started making these really plain clusters with big knobs to make it easier for the passenger riding shot gun to control.

@gyoergypecsi

8 ай бұрын

I came from Europe, I moved to Canada couple of years ago. When I first see a vehicle parked by the curb and it had only one "brand name" on it: AURORA, I had no clue what is it? It was a good start, dropping Oldsmobile brand and using a stylized "A" as a logo and using the Aurora name only. But GM never was able execute something special well. The story is the same here: GM supposed to terminate the Oldsmobile brand when Aurora unveiled and go with the brand AURORA. And build vehicles with European/Japaniese influenced design and technology. But GM always failing due to desing/engineering/manufacturing/marketing (pick one of it, pls.) and this mistake/error ditch the project forever. Hyundai started with a Hyundai Genesis sedan... and they made it a successful brand, we know as GENESIS today. This is the path that GM had to follow back in the day. But they failed.

@gyoergypecsi

8 ай бұрын

The driver oriented cockpit in the AURORA came from SAAB, I'm 100% sure about it! Let's check the interior/cockpit in the Saab 900 NG (1994-1998) and it continued (and looked much, much better) in the first generation SAAB 9-5 (YS3E, 1997-2010)...

@mikezerker6925

8 ай бұрын

I was a kid when this debuted! I loved the look of it when it came out and still think it looks good!

I owned an '97 Aurora and it was one of the best cars I've ever had. Roomy, comfortable, luxurious while at the same time it hauled ass like nobody's business. The icing on the cake was that it looked phenomenal...it bore s striking resemblance to the 4-door Maserati Quattroporte of that same year. PS. The Bose sound system was second to none....a very impressive car from top to bottom.

@billmcmahon9697

6 ай бұрын

I worked for a business owner that had this car new, and it was a big deal.

@peteshea8010

6 ай бұрын

You've never heard a real sound system if you think that Bose unit was "second to none."

@Martin.Wilson

6 ай бұрын

@@peteshea8010 For a factory system...you've obviously never heard it. What factory sound system was better in the '90's?

@bradford_shaun_murray

6 ай бұрын

Seems to me the dreaded Aurora would surprise red light pundits who would scoff and snigger at it and its equally "loser" driver, and then the smirks and sniggers would turn to shock and even a touch of awe as they didn't expect a car that looked like an old school 90s ufo to accelerate like an actual old school ufo from a 90s made for tv low budget sci fi show! It wasn't cinema level ufo acceleration from reports, more made for that low budget tv level ufo acceleration. But nonetheless it was not to be messed with as the ultimate budget sleeper-sleeper sleeper sedan! I wouldn't be surprised if back in the day grannies late to have heart medicine prescriptions filled racing to the drug store before closing to prevent heart attacks would not only actually have heart attacks due to this cars ufo like acceleration but would be accidently winning red light drags in the process during those heart attacks.

@glennzanotti3346

6 ай бұрын

@@peteshea8010 Yeah, I was never impressed by anything Bose. I had Bose in one of my cars, and it sucked. My current Audi has a Bang & Olufsen system, and my sister's Volvo has a Harmon Kardon system. Things have gotten WAY better lately.

There was sort of a "hierarchy" of the GM brands. Lore tells it when you were a young first driver you'd start with a Chevy. You grew up a bit, wanted performance and had a bit more money so you traded for a Pontiac. Then a few years later you decided you want the performance but wanted luxury entwined with it so you traded up to Oldsmobile. Get a little older, maybe a tinge of gray, performance dwindled to luxury in your eyes so Buick it is. Finally you rounded it off in your retirement age with a Cadillac just in time to afford one for the pinnacle of American luxury.

@ressljs

6 ай бұрын

That was my understanding too. Except I was never too sure what Pontiac was supposed to be. I heard in the 50s and 60s, Pontiac was the absolute no-frils, basic car below Chevy. Then it rebranded itself as sports car division. So I wasn't sure if it was like a Chevy, but better, or maybe edgier?

@killercan10

6 ай бұрын

@@ressljs Yea that's pretty much what happened to it. The "better looking" performance cars over the performance cars at Chevrolet. It got really muddy for Pontiac in the 90s and 00s until the Solstice, GTO and the G8 showed up. Those were cars that Chevrolet did not have at the time at all. Camaro was dead, they had the front drive SS cars (Cobalt, Malibu, Monte Carlo and Impala) those 3 Pontiacs showed there was some hope left, but just too late. And I'm sure if they pushed stronger and better marketing, they could have sold more of those 3 and stayed exceution.

@adotintheshark4848

5 ай бұрын

In the 70s, Olds was among the top selling American brands and their cars were stylish. GM sort of let the brand go during the 80s until they were just making "me-too" boxes indistinguishable from a million other cars. Buyers forgot about them. When the 90s came GM tried to revive Olds but it was too late.

@joeshoe6184

5 ай бұрын

I think that was by design.

@adotintheshark4848

5 ай бұрын

back then, from bottom to top, it was Chevy, Pontiac, Olds, Buick then Cadillac.@@ressljs

Loved this car as a kid. A year ago I found a clean one and drove it for a year for grins and giggles with my other cars. It really was a great car. Things you missed: the rear was self leveling air shocks, all the wood in this car was real burl wood, and the unibody structure was so strong for the time it broke GM's crush test machine for cars and they had to put it on the truck one.

@rairadrai

8 ай бұрын

That explains why he kept saying no rattles.

@elmayimbe5094

8 ай бұрын

WTF? The wood was real in this?

@ogisgarage9721

8 ай бұрын

Dough is the automotive equivalent of CNN. Lots of biased info, some of it true, most is omitted

@elmayimbe5094

8 ай бұрын

@@ogisgarage9721 , he was more detailed up to like a year or two ago. I live here in San Diego and one day I will see him.

@MediumRareSteak

8 ай бұрын

Did all cars have that? Or just the ones with the Autobahn package?

As a European this car is dream tier. In the 90s we still had fairly boxy cars, some Japanese imports being the exception, so seeing these cars in American movies was quite the culture shock.

@sambone8213

8 ай бұрын

Funny from the American perspective of the time, these were seen as a relatively cheesy alternative to Lexus/Acura/Mercedes etc. Also didn't help they were driven by mostly senior citizens which killed any kind of cool factor. Thirty years later, this definitely brings back the 90's American nostalgia vibes.

@bovedli

8 ай бұрын

Same opinion here. I am from Hungary. And all we had were Ladas, Suzukis, Daewoos and some crappy old Mercs and BMWs. I always loved american cars. Nothing compares to the American people’s need for comfort. And growing up, low middle class, my parents always had shitty small cars. I think Americans take these things for granted. I gotta admit I fuckin love GM. I have a C5 Corvette now and even that is just insanely practical and so straightforward. Lovely to be honest. But I guess what’s not available is always more desirable.

@matveyfeniya9979

8 ай бұрын

​Same here. I grow up In asia where Jdm cars are very cheap and everywhere. Those american cars fascinated me so much. I saw amrican people ball sck jdm cars so much and little or no respect for their country made make me very sad. If you drive a american v8 cars here You're like a god of car guy. And better than most jdm cars too. I don't know why they don't see that.

@OrtadragoonX

8 ай бұрын

@@matveyfeniya9979I’m a very patriotic American and I love both Japanese and American cars. I’ve owned six American cars and about 8 Japanese cars. I think the reason the JDMs took over in the 80s and the 90s was that they were good at one key thing we were not good at. American D3 always struggled to build good compact sedans and coupes and our four cylinder engines left a lot to be desired in terms of refinement, power output (there were exceptions there, however) and reliability. Simply put, Honda and Toyota (and to a lesser extent Nissan, Subaru, and Mazda) built superior compact cars in every category. Their compact economy sedans were better in almost every way, they built superior compact sports cars (compare a Pontiac Fiero to a Toyota MR2 and you’ll get where I’m coming from), their compact trucks were MILES ahead of our domestic options (the only good S10 has a LS V8 swapped into it; otherwise Toyota or Nissan all the way), and they were very competitive in the mid size and full size game starting in the late 80s. There are areas where we excel and still do in many cases. We build better full size trucks than the Japanese, the pony car segment (well mainly the Mustang since the Challenger and Camaro are both dying this year) has no competition from Japan and are the only semi-affordable V8 sporty cars in the world, and we build world beating high end sports cars for a fraction of what the Europeans charge. But the compact segment, especially back then, was a dominating segment of American auto sales and the competition was ferocious. And simply put, the Japanese built better compact cars than we Americans ever did. And still do today, since our D3 has mostly exited the compact car business entirely. We lost and the Japanese won. It’s really that simple. My taste in cars, compact sporty sedans with good economy, leads me to Japan. Because we never did a good job at it. Compare a 1998 Chevrolet Cavalier and a 1998 Honda Civic. The Civic is the WAY better car in reliability, fuel economy, performance, and refinement of the driving experience. And that’s where the Japanese have always dominated and we Americans struggled.

@bovedli

8 ай бұрын

@@matveyfeniya9979yeah cause they always say that GM build quality sucks. But they always had nice cushioned leather seats, great low end torque bulletproof V8’s, Air conditioning, electric seat adjustements, and cruise control, even automatic shifter. What they don’t seem to get that cheap cars here in East Europe didn’t have none of that stuff and the build quality STILL SUCKED 😂😂😂 oh and our cars didn’t have any space! Small and uncomfortable! My parents didn’t even have electric window switches until like 2000. Lol. So in my opinion USA had much higher standards in their automobiles which is not a suprise because of the distances they drive and the big differences in climate.

My mom's name is Aurora, so she had to get one. I drove it a few times, and it was exactly what it was meant to be - a comfortable, fairly high tech for its day, and high quality piece of transportation. It was probably comparable to something like a BMW 525-528 in its comfort/performance level. I thought it was a pretty advanced and elegant looking care. Shame it didn't work out.

I owned a ‘98. By ‘98 Olds made many small, but important, changes to the suspension, brakes and interior trim. Mine was black with chrome wheels. As you observed, the fit and finish was excellent. I put 238,000 miles on it. Not only was it a great performer, but it had really good fuel economy. I loved every minute driving this car. Thank you Doug for a great presentation. You forgot one really important aspect of the Aurora project. Not only was it an Indy pace car, the Aurora engine was a winner several times over in various racers over several years! I also believe that it had much more h.p. than advertised.

@rtflone

6 ай бұрын

@roysmith6118 I don't get the stogy Oldsmobile reputation. Have we forgotten the Olds Cutlass, the Olds 4-4-2, the Jetfire with the Rocketfire V8 engines? The 1962 Olds Jetfire was the first turbocharged production American car. That's right 1962. A tv show did a great feature on the Jetfire. I won't mention names but the show's initials were Jay Leno's Garage. By 1964 Olds OHV engines ranged from 250 to 455 cubic inches. By 1966 you could get a tri power 4-4-2 with a hi performance cam and Ram Air induction. By 1970, the 4-4-2 came std with a 455 ci big block. Not exactly your granddad's Oldsmobile..

@randr10

6 ай бұрын

@@rtflone It's in the name: Old. The 442 was a classic car by the time this one was made, or at least the good ones that people still think are cool, and there was not much cool about anything they made in the '80s and '90s and they weren't fast or sporty. This Aurora may have been an exception, but you can tell by the badging that even Olds designers were trying to distance themselves from the brand. I actually owned a late '80s Delta 88 for a while with the 3800 V6 and it was a great car. Quicker than I expected and way better on fuel than I expected too. It was still somehow better on fuel than any V6 full or midsize V6 sedan I've driven since. Got low to mid-20s around town and crowded 30 on the highway. I beat the snot out of that car too and it still got great mileage and was very reliable.

@BrainFuck10

6 ай бұрын

Those Aurora race engines were putting out 650hp, there was even an Aurora GTS-1 race car that looked ultra sexy..👌

@pyrexmaniac

5 ай бұрын

Word has it that Auroras made junkyard operators wring their hands in anguish.....due to the car's remarkably over-engineered unibody structure. The 1990s Mercedes S class was benchmarked for structural rigidity.

@garymiller4141

5 ай бұрын

I had a1966 442 with tri power 4speed trany.Had the engine built,the car was a true sleeper.i loved that car but being young with a led foot I aquire to many speeding tickets,my father said he had used up all of this favors for me keeping my license and he did not want to bury me so the car had to go.Most beautiful car I ever owned and worth a small fortune today.

The exterior design is quite good. 30 years later, it doesn't look bad at all, it has nice lines.

@paulsz6194

8 ай бұрын

...If you like the front end of your Oldsmobile looking a Saturn . I can see a lot of similarities between this Olds & the Taurus of that time...too many curves and no front grille , could have been contributing factors to its unpopularity.

@rachelblack3816

8 ай бұрын

I wish new cars still looked more like the Aurora than what they look like now-- new car bodies have so many creases they look like they've already been in an accident before they leave the new car lot. Hate them.

@reflex3843

8 ай бұрын

@@rachelblack3816 Let's not even talk about the size of the grilles.

@GeoffWhittaker

8 ай бұрын

I want to like it, but I can't not see a monte carlo looking at this.

@irishuwould5185

8 ай бұрын

It’s a beautiful car

I unironically really like the styling. It does the no grille look WAY better than modern cars tend to. It's only a shame the rest of the lightbar doesn't light

@rairadrai

8 ай бұрын

The tech was available back then on. The Lincoln Mark VIII had full neon light up taillight bar

@devintariel3769

8 ай бұрын

I had one with a nasty radiator leak...but she never got hot. And I was able to do the radiatior myself. Very tight space.

@JonathanMoosey

8 ай бұрын

Doug was wrong when he said no other carmakers did away with the front grille. It was common on many Ford/Mercury models and the original Infiniti Q45 also went grille-less. Of course both companies had abandoned the no grille look by the mid 90s.

@Dragunov302

7 ай бұрын

What? Bro modern cars all have massive grilles

@ajaxa9

7 ай бұрын

@@JonathanMoosey My Avanti was built in late 1962

These things looked like spaceships when they came out. It was a sad day when GM discontinued the Oldsmobile marque. My mom had an Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser when I was a kid. I lusted after the 1990-1992 Oldsmobile Toronado Trofeo. My uncle had an Oldsmobile 98 that spoke to you. Americas longest running car brand, ruined by years of GM bean counters, “good-enough” executive mentality and badge engineering. The Aurora was too niche to save the whole division. I shed a tear for Oldsmobile.

@chrisk920

4 ай бұрын

The last good car Oldsmobile made was the 442. Full Stop.

@davidmagen415

4 ай бұрын

My first new car , a 1978 Olds Cutlass. I thought I was IT. The car was a icon of the time🏖️olds had the best color matching wheels 🏖️

@NorceCodine

3 ай бұрын

I think GM CEO Wagoner in the 90-s was a disaster. "Ol'boy" executive who also killed off the EV-1, when no other car company had even a paper sketch for an electric car, let alone a production car.

I was in one of these, my buddy had one. They are not slow and don't just "keep up with traffic". They do move quite quickly for such a big car. You can definitely feel the torque hit you. This car probably had more HP than anything else in its class. It was probably near the top for all models in the 90s.

@willc5512

8 ай бұрын

Its more the body being FAR ahead of its time. Cars now are just getting active grille shutters which close off the grill. This one grill was eliminated completely! The mechanics were a recycled cadillac mill with a more radical camshaft (than the caddy). IDK if the lack of a grill is a good attribute with the Northstars KNOWN overheating issues. AHH GM 🙂 They definitely made a greater effort on this car so thats gotta count for something!

@freddymarti

8 ай бұрын

@@willc5512 Much of the air goes under a vehicle to be brought up by the fans.

@rallychamp2003

7 ай бұрын

Doug has been totally spoiled by modern sportscars so if it doesn't do a sub 5 second 0-60 then it is slooow.

@MSWMSW1

7 ай бұрын

@@willc5512 Both the 1980's Firebird (beginning in 1982) and the 1980's C4 Corvette (beginning in 1984) didn't have any grills. This was YEARS before the Aurora began production.

@SpiderCollector000

7 ай бұрын

I have always liked these cars, and have a car in the same class which is a Mark VIII which definitely had more power and moved a little better than the equivalent Cadillacs with the larger 4.6 engines. A lot of people dont know about the Shelby Series One, which used the Aurora engine and they had a forced induction version that put out a good amount of power. The Northstar engines had a lot of issues for many years before they were fixed, but I dont recall the Aurora having this issue. The later Aurora models actually had dropped the V8 in favor of a snappier V6 if I remember correctly.

When this came out I remember thinking how incredibly futuristic this car looked….It hasn’t held up well, but I still appreciate it.

@QuintusAntonious

8 ай бұрын

I thought from the side profile it looks like the stereotypical car a kid draws.

@bradygiltz5160

8 ай бұрын

It held up really well

@grahamstefaan

8 ай бұрын

It held up better than anything else. Looks amazing still.

@Ar1AnX1x

8 ай бұрын

I respect brands taking risks to impress their customers

@themysterycook7320

8 ай бұрын

Looks like a molten Saturn!! Aged about as well as one of them blobbendale 65 year old male strippers who have spent far too many years in the Floridian Sun!!!

Who said the Aurora was a failure? I used to see them absolutely everywhere. And I spent a few months with the 2nd gen Aurora and it felt absolutely magical, very smooth ride, buttery smooth power delivery and fantastic engine note, and looked stellar at the time both inside and out.

@bryanmiller2023

8 ай бұрын

​@@ArbitraryFilmingsThe Cutlass was junk compared to the Aurora, it sold more because it was an affordable car most people could afford at the time. My family had both and the two vehicles in the same brand were really an odd match. Had GM done something similar with the Cutlass instead of rebadging the Chevy the brand may have had a chance of surviving. I honestly think the 2nd generation Aurora was purposely allowed to stylistically flop so the brand wouldn't continue as most of the execs at GM during that time knew little to nothing about design.

@sebikelifeusvetparatrooper

8 ай бұрын

DEEZ NUTZ.

@JayCAlan

8 ай бұрын

Ya I disagree with Doug that the second gen was just a boring sedan. That car was outstanding, striking in styling, completely unique, and actually better than any Caddy of the time.

@juanzingarello4005

8 ай бұрын

@@JayCAlan I actually liked the 2nd Gen more. Not to discredit the 1st gen model but the 2nd gen model just looked cleaner and less cluttered on the inside.

@juanzingarello4005

8 ай бұрын

@@ArbitraryFilmings Oldsmobiles biggest problem was Buick. With Buick in the same picture there was really no point to the brand. Buick was clearly a premium car while Oldsmobile seemed to suffer from Edsel syndrome (a brand that people could not figure out where its placed on the luxury spectrum). Unfortunately, the same fate would fall Mercury. I feel Ford really screwed the pooch with Mercury by failing to move Lincoln upmarket (like GM did with Cadillac) and placing Mercury more at Buicks level. I know Buick sticks around now mostly because of China but it has clear differences between Chevrolet and Cadillacs. Mercury on the other hand, literally had little differences with Fords.

This also had adaptive steering feel. As your speed increased the steering would tighten. It was not a slow car either, it was quite fast for it’s day. My father bought one of the first in our town off the showroom floor. It was an excellent car compared to other offerings in its day.

I worked at a GM dealership in the late 90’s to early 2000’s and I remember really liking these cars. They were very comfortable! The “tuck” on the wipers (as I used to call it) was even on my 97 cavalier Z24. I remember when I saw the 2nd generation re-design of the Aurora I wasn’t so much a fan. This one was in beautiful shape and kinda like a rolling time capsule.

Worked at an Olds dealer in 96 and we sold Aurora....it was meant to challenge Lexus and had the northstar derivative. The seats were designed ground up and unique to that vehicle support wise and leather quality. Unfortnately as Doug mentioned it was too little to late it seemed and a few years later Olds met its demise. Most people coming on the lot either bought Pontiacs or if going for this level of vehicle bought Cadillac as far as GM.

@tientrinh943

8 ай бұрын

What do you do now

@headliner733

8 ай бұрын

No, they all bought SUV's. The Bravada sales picked up the same time as all SUV sales picked up. Everybody wanted an SUV.

@80s_Boombox_Collector

8 ай бұрын

Yeah this car went up against the Grand Prix which was much more popular. Even the 3rd gen Taurus SHO was a competitor for those who wanted that type of swoopy look.

@MrProminister

8 ай бұрын

​@@tientrinh943 He does write a comments on KZread.

@stevenwilliams1805

8 ай бұрын

​@@headliner733people still want SUVs.

I always loved the design of the Aurora. That and the last Buick Riviera were gorgeous cars that you almost never see anymore.

@AsphaltPlanet1

8 ай бұрын

I always thought that the Riviera was the more attractive of the two, but they were both beautiful

@truthserum5310

8 ай бұрын

I own a mint 81K mile 1999 Riviera. I like the car way more than I thought I would. Feels smooth and solid.

@revolutionday1

8 ай бұрын

My favorite thing about that model of Riviera was the huge font they used on the gauge faces, for the geriatrics, even though I was still quite a young dude at the time. I have never understood why some car manufacturers seem so determined to make customers have to squint to read the same information, and think it's an intelligent design choice.

@truthserum5310

8 ай бұрын

@@revolutionday1 The font and gauges of the 95-99 Rivy's were retro versions of the gauges from the First Gen Riviera's 1963-1965. In addition to the 99 SC Riviera that I own, I also own a 1965 Riviera.

@orangetd88

8 ай бұрын

Man, the Riviera was a gorgeous car. Haven’t seen one in quite some time in the road. Such a shame, too.

I was 12 when this car came out and I was obsessed with it for a minute (and to a lesser degree the Oldsmobile Intrigue). It was a very unique car for the era, thanks Doug. Revisiting my youth.

@watchmanonthewall14

2 ай бұрын

I bought an 01 V6 and drove it for 15 years. A friend of mine had an Intrigue. Although they looked similar, the Aurora was a much better driving car.

Man, my grandma had one of these when I was a baby (I'm 26 now) and that car is one of the very few memories I happen to have from that time. Hers was a blue-ish silver with a navy blue leather interior. That car was so subtle because if you punched that V8 it would smoke any 4-cyliner car. My dad told me once when we were with the family, he was driving the car around Lincoln Nebraska and some kid with a suped-up fake hot rod type car revved his little engine at a light. When the light turned green my dad said he floored the Aurora and it left the kid in the dust, lol. Great review Doug!

My Mother had one of these. It was actually a really nice car and it drove awesome. But, the fear of engine issues and the starter being buried inside the engine was the drive to dump it before the miles got too high.

@BorisBidjanSaberi11

8 ай бұрын

Ahh the north star headbolts

@adamhayden5152

8 ай бұрын

The 4.0 v8 is a pretty reliable motor and the starters are super easy to change. Much easier then buried on the bottom side of the motor. I’ve changed many of them and it takes about an hour max.

@mtnman1984

8 ай бұрын

@@BorisBidjanSaberi11 I don't think the 4 liter had those issues.

@thomasbrown7980

8 ай бұрын

My dear late wife owned one of these, it was a really nice car.. The ads said “not our father’s Oldsmobile” but even that backfired as the Olds fans apparently wanted their father’s Oldsmobile>”

@realyield

8 ай бұрын

@@user-bl4dj4zg7u @matt9c1 a family member had 250,000+ miles on theirs, very regular oil changes and she ran well.

I love it when Doug reviews a car like this. He knows the views will be crap, but he knows he'll enjoy making it. It's my favorite type of Doug video.

@eddiejaimess

8 ай бұрын

You know you’ve made it when 200k views in one day is considered crap😂

I had an 03 and really loved it. I think it was the last year. Most comfortable back seats I've ever sat in. It looked different from this one though

I was a car Porter at a Oldsmobile dealership in Phoenix when this car was brand new. I remember driving it and being in awe of all the switches and lights on the dash. The car was ahead of it time

Ive had two of these, a 2001 V8 and a 2002 V6. They were actually very comfortable vehicles and both were surprisingly reliable. I was always worried about the 4.0, but it only ever needed regular maintenance even though I was young and drive it like I stole it. I had a blast with both of them and still want another one, but this time I want a first gen. There's just something about these that I really like.

@dylantran8492

8 ай бұрын

I absolutely adore my 95!

@elmayimbe5094

8 ай бұрын

Did the 4.0 have head gasket issues from the head bolts like the 4.6? I was never worried about the 3.5. However, the 3.5 should have been the 3.8 supercharged.

@Z0Sick

8 ай бұрын

Yes my buddies blew up. Head gaskets we’re non existent 2 months after he got it 😂

@Jphoa

8 ай бұрын

Probably just nostalgia for you

@remasher

8 ай бұрын

Prob they used normal bolts for the engine head

A car to continue 7 production years is not a failure. This car as a kid in '95 looked pretty futuristic to me. A lady at my church then had one with the chrome wheels and it was dope. It was then a couple years later other makes started to pick up on the design like the '97 Taurus and Sable while the Mark VIII was already there as a coupe for '93. To me those four cars paved the way for the elegant ellipse design and to me that said futuristic.

@Long-nd8bq

8 ай бұрын

Well said. I remember all the rounded futuristic shapes coming out in the mid-late 90's. I was a teenager then and remember driving many of these cars. My favorite cars since they are simple to work on and seem to last if you don't live in the rust belt. Something about simplicity I can appreciate. Simple fuel injection systems, 4 speed transmissions, etc.

@samuelisch2196

8 ай бұрын

Well to put it into perspective, the Alero sold more units each year it was on sale than the entire 7 year lifespan of the aurora. I would call that a failure.

@garysmith8455

7 ай бұрын

@@samuelisch2196 Also the final model and car to exit the assembly line before OLDS closed down!

@lokisgodhi

6 ай бұрын

I agree, not a failure. The problem the rest of Oldsmobile's line up was archaic.

@nuthinbutlove

6 ай бұрын

I just commented that this put me in mind of my '03 Taurus. That car had a powerful engine, was built solid, handled like a dream, and had a smooth and quiet ride. From the reviews I've come across I know I got lucky with a great one.

The other really interesting part of this car is the safety. They tested the crash test of this car, and it broke the crash simulator GM had. They had to use one of their Heavy Duty Truck Crash ranges to find out how well it survived. What a fantastic car.

The Oldsmobile Alero and intrigue were underrated cars at the time. Probably general motors best cars they put out in the early 2000s.

@fez3327

7 ай бұрын

I bought an Alero 18 months old V6, it hauled ass. I liked to drive it, I could get 37mpg on the highway at 75mph. Seats were rock hard, fit and finish was pretty bad on the interior, but I liked it. I got T-boned it folded in half, I'm glad my daughter wasn't with me, her car seat ended up in the trunk. My wife's door and seat were one, and the side pillar was pushed mid-way in. I walked away with glass in my mouth and underware. I moved up to a Caddi SLS that was on the Chevy dealers used lot, that car was pretty good too.

@workingcountry1776

3 ай бұрын

Alero was a great looking steaming pile of throw away 100,000 mile garbage. That car was probably $500-1,000 worth of gm investment per car away from being as reliable as mid-late 90s delta 88 but with better handling....

Love the creativity of 90s American cars. The Aurora did not fail miserably, it sold well for a while and was critically acclaimed

@bwofficial1776

8 ай бұрын

GM's late 90s sedans used to be everywhere. The second-gen Aurora is also a great-looking car and very comfortable. The Oldsmobile Cutlass was the best-selling car in the US for many years until the Taurus came out and shook up the market with aerodynamics. There was still some brand appeal by the time the Aurora came out.

@A-classic-smithy

8 ай бұрын

Seeing one of these was wild in the late 90s. The oldsmobile aleros sold extremely well, still see them at the auctions. Gm has it's faults, and so does the imports, this was very comparable to the imports of the day and these were WAY cheaper.

@Eatinbritches

8 ай бұрын

"Creativity" 😮😅

If you can, I'd like to see you get your hands on a mid-90s Riviera with supercharger. That was an interesting cart that still looks kind of fresh nearly 30 years later.

@luiselapostolfeliz2421

8 ай бұрын

I know, it's not a new car built today. It's low on tech by 2023's standards but I love it.

@wowdogeful

8 ай бұрын

Okay in which reality does this car still look fresh? It just screams 1990s all over, especially in the interior. Literally no one designs cars like this anymore, and for good reason.

@champsammy13

8 ай бұрын

I had a 97 Supercharged 3800 Series 2 Engine. 😌

@luiselapostolfeliz2421

8 ай бұрын

@@champsammy13 If Oldsmobile exists, sales would've been on fire.

@truthserum5310

8 ай бұрын

I own a mint 81K mile 99 Riviera (last year of the Rivy). Garage kept it's whole life. I need to get Doug to review it.

Owned a 95 when they first came out. A few QC issues being an early build but nothing major. Headroom was compromised a lot with the sunroof and the seatbacks were uncomfortably low and hit me in the shoulder blades. The trunk was big but the opening was pretty small and compromised by the mounting location of the CD changer. That being said the highway ride was very smooth and unusually quiet. The tech was very forward for its day. The engine was also a great feature. It idled so smoothly you could balance a nickel on it at idle (won a few bets with that one). Still have the original brochure that had two sides, one showing the development process and the other side the finished product. Thanks for allowing me to revisit it.

I have always loved the Olds brand, I’ve done reports on them. All the way thru college, actually. I remember when these were out, I thought they were very interesting and curvy. And I always wanted one of the last “Final 500” Oldsmobile models. I ended up getting a 2004 Oldsmobile Bravada a few years back now. I love driving it, I’m going to put a sound system in it soon. I also have a 2008 Saturn Aura 3.5 V6 that I’ve had for over 12 1/2 years now since high school, so I guess you could say I have a thing for dead GM brands and nostalgia lol. Good review of a great car.

My dad had a few of these as fleet vehicles. His business picked them up for something insane like 30% under MSRP due to dead sales. They weren’t quick or fun to drive, but they were really good cars. I inherited one in high school that had 140k on it. I put another 100k on it before it was too far gone and I still like that 30 year old cockpit design better than most new tablet mobility devices now.

Only Og's will remember the title "The Oldsmobile Aurora Was GM’s Failed Attempt At Futuristic"

@thadynakat

8 ай бұрын

yes

@devongee1776

8 ай бұрын

Are you anticipating he’s going to change the title? Lol. It’s a grammatically correct statement outside of all of the capital letters.

@Apetrvpvisualz

8 ай бұрын

Indeed

@nick0164

8 ай бұрын

imma comment just in case u get like 20k likes😂

@nathanlowe5346

8 ай бұрын

@@devongee1776apparently changing the title and thumbnail of your video causes KZread to promote it more. Not sure why but I’ve heard other KZreadrs talking about it. Maybe that’s what they were talking about it

I'll never forgot when my girlfriends father purchased one of these in the 90s and surprisingly bragged about it. Everyone was getting the all new Lexus, and he was frustrated that no one cared about his Aurora. Seems like it was a cooler car than people realized. Seems like a case of GM/Olds waiting too long to update their brand, and their last harrah went largely unnoticed.

The 03 Aurora was my first car, and it was powerful and smooth riding, but above all the space dash and the roomy bench seat, was so much fun.

My grandparents had two of these. Incredible car. My grandpa knew how much I loved driving it, so I got to spend a lot of time behind the wheel of these for years. Probably one of the smoothest engine and transmission pairings I’ve ever driven. That Northstar V8 gave it effortless acceleration. Each of theirs had over 120,000 miles without any issues. They’re a rare site on the road nowadays, but Oldsmobile really did a great job with the Auroras.

@luryix9982

8 ай бұрын

Most of which is fairly accurate except for while I work in the gm dealership those north stars were a problem child, and known for leaking oil

@OrtadragoonX

8 ай бұрын

@@luryix9982 And blowing head gaskets, and cracking blocks, and leaking coolant, and having engine electronics that were almost as unreliable as a British engine. The Northstar was an AWFUL engine that GM wasted way too much money and time pouring money into. I was happy to see that pile of mediocrity get discontinued and Cadillac adopt the LS engines for their V8 models.

@XVXC-M8

8 ай бұрын

@@OrtadragoonXMmmm… American Engineering

@headliner733

8 ай бұрын

​@@OrtadragoonX Stop trashing the car...in a public forum nothing is a good car. Everything is trash everything is a piece of shit everything is garbage. You people will trash a damn space shuttle if you had the chance. Show some respect. When someone dies you don't celebrate their life by trashing it you talk about all the good things they did. Same with an automobile. It is obsolete. It is discontinued. It was a fabulous automobile way ahead of its time that was better than its Cadillac rival in all aspects except acceleration. Which could be fixed with a 4.6 swap. The 4.6/4.0/3.5 NorthStar series engines are wonderful machines. Drive them like they're a Lexus and keep the coolant system serviced and you won't have no issues with them. Driving them like their Corvettes will send them to the shop on a tow truck just like any other vehicle.

@OrtadragoonX

8 ай бұрын

@@XVXC-M8 we can engineer good cars when we play to our strengths. In the 90s we were constantly attempting to beat the Germans at their own game. Which wasn’t one of our strengths. When I think pure American engineering excellence, I think of things like my 99 Trans Am. It wasn’t a perfect car by any means, but as a performer for the price that car was amazing.

i had a 96 , it was a great car , the bose cd changer in the trunk held 12 cds, also the battery was under the back seat and mine lasted 10 years ., because there are no temperature extremes to degrade it ,another quirk was the exhaust was supported by rubber grommets that had to be replaced periodically, so i kept spares , mine was a touring model and had the gold emblems , great review doug thanks

@gtemnykh

8 ай бұрын

Nothing “quirky” about rubber exhaust hangers lmao

@PlanBProductioninc

8 ай бұрын

@@gtemnykh lol yeah it was strange , in order to change them you had to support the muffler with a jack , very strange system , also the car had airbags and the rear failed and jacked the back of the car way up in the air ,another of the many fixes that had to be sorted out

@j0wt0ng

8 ай бұрын

99% of the cars had and probably still have rubber grommets holding the exhaust

@DUCKSAREEVILLLLLLLL

8 ай бұрын

​@@PlanBProductioninc You probably had a switch in the trunk to turn off the suspension air bags when jacking it up. If someone didn't turn off the rear air bag suspension, the system could break.

@PlanBProductioninc

8 ай бұрын

@@DUCKSAREEVILLLLLLLL I remember I went out in the morning to get in the car and the rear of it was way up I know there was an electric eye under the car that supposed adjusted levels but I ended up removing the bottom of the rear seat and pulling the fuse and it went back to normal

This is so awesome that you reviewed this! I always thought the Aurora was a beautiful car. It's such a bummer that it couldn't save Oldsmobile.

I really find that car interesting! About shared parts: Being from Europe, I recognize the gauge cluster being suspiciously similar to the Opel Omega B of the 90s, Opel being also a GM brand at the time... so maybe not shared in the US, but on other markets...

My mom had a ‘97 back then and it was… great! I was 16/17/18 at the time and I loved driving it. It was “cool”. It looked cool. It was “fast” enough that it was “cool”. It was by far the nicest car mom ever owned up to that point. Thank you for bringing back those memories!

@glowboy6098

8 ай бұрын

What happened to it?

That wood inside is real!, no joke. There was a performance package available the Autobahn trim, higher rated tires, different gears as well as pcm for 140+mph crusing watching the gas gauge move too. Amazing build quality for a gm.

7:53 I love the angled driver stuff. There is no way anyone is messing with your radio when you are driving!

We owned a 1998 Aurora and we loved it. We still find ourselves thinking that we would like to still be driving it. It was a delight on long road trips. It had two drawbacks. One, it was easy to get stuck in deep snow and, two, (this was the dealbreaker for us) the finish coat on the 98s didn't bond well to the primer. Our car began losing large pieces of paint and a new paint job was $8000. Now I could afford the paint job. Boy I miss that car.

Aurora wasn't a failure on its own merits. It was an outstanding car for it's day. It's remarkable what they produced and got away with releasing, especially under the GM umbrella. The design was really striking, both inside and out and it was the touchstone for the last chapter of Olds lineup. Overall, the biggest single problem with Olds was the Ciera. That's what people in this time thought of when anybody said "olds"...grandma's Ciera. You could walk into the showroom, see this thing in the middle of the floor and have a Ciera next to it. One note...the Gen 2 Aurora wasn't supposed to be an Aurora at all. It was supposed to be the second car in the Aurora lineup, the Antares. Accurate that sales slumped to the point that GM decided to scrap the more expensive to manufacture flagship and just badge it as Aurora for the duration, but it honestly wasn't too far off of the original in most ways.

@turnne

8 ай бұрын

A lot of reliability issues....including the head gasket issues of the Northstar based engine. Paint peeling issues since GM had not quite figured out how to paint aluminum for long term use

@johnl5434

8 ай бұрын

That was the problem. Reliability. My brother had one and is an engineer and would sort things out. Then the engine pfffttt…something bad. He traded it on a Chevy pickup that he still has almost 20 years later.

@LeviRamsey

8 ай бұрын

By the late 90s, the Intrigue and the Alero gave Oldsmobile a pretty nice lineup alongside the Aurora 3.5 and 4.0, but it was alas too late.

@turnne

8 ай бұрын

@@LeviRamsey and reliability too poor to compete with the Japanese brands

@GiordanDiodato

8 ай бұрын

they really should have put the 3800 V6 in it.

THIS car did NOT fail miserably. The Aurora was not only a sales success but it also set new standards for structural rigidiity and styling that is still being utilized and copied to this day. Still not another car on the road that comes close to the unique styling of the 1st Gen Aurora

@adamstrachn

8 ай бұрын

I thought that was strange of him to say. These cars were extremely popular. At least in the Orlando area.

@iNeverHadMercy

8 ай бұрын

@nomenclature9607 I was fortunate to have a Pearl White 97. She was a winner. Had every option except the Bose Accoustamass Sound System. Only let her go because the price was right 🍺

@iNeverHadMercy

8 ай бұрын

@@adamstrachn she was popular in EVERY state 🍻

@Fourty_Something

8 ай бұрын

I had one of these back in the day, I loved it

@Gazdatronik

8 ай бұрын

Yeah, I read that during testing the Aurora broke GM's frame testing machine

In 2012, I worked at Walmart and a coworker on night shift bought one of these. I had never seen one before, and I thought it was a brand new car until I looked up the name and history later. That's how futuristic these look - even in 2012 (almost 20 years later), this looked like a brand new car to me. Today these look like "just another old car", but that speaks volumes about where vehicle styling headed, considering these are slightly older and a lot of times slightly better looking that many other old sedans.

Yes thanks for doing this car, I've had three doing the years, I loved each one, this car still looks good to this day, most don't know what it is, that's what makes it still cool, the car seating was very comfortable, it also felt good the way everything was positioned , the car wasn't extremely fast but it felt good to drive and press the gas, I think it was how tight the car felt with comfort , it had no bounce or sag feeling at all, it was very quiet as you drive it , no noise at all, it even felt kinda good around corners it felt tight and pinned to the ground , it felt safe , I can say it was well put together ,lol it's crazy that I'm typing this and Douge is saying the things I'm saying , I swear right as I was typing it was well put together, I swear to God he started saying it as I finished typing it, how freaking cool is that, it just made me smile, so I hope he reads everything I put and tell me if I said everything right on, all in all this car was and is still a nice representation of our much earlier days before we got to where we are now, the car would be awesome with a LS swap a nice soft flowmaster sound not the loud kind, a smoke grey pearl paint finish with some nice tires all shined up, light tinted windows, some new projector headlights that goes with today's brands, all black leather interior kinda plush feeling but tight for comfort, and there you have it , still a nice survival late 90s early 2000s badass Oldsmobile just waiting on anybody to test it's ability, that new LS gone launch this beautiful car right in front of whatever all the way to the finish line while looking good doing it... Leave your comments on did I leave anything out and do you agree, because now I'm looking for one to do so....

Always a good day when Doug reviews a quirky car 😎

@nicoligonzales9222

8 ай бұрын

😎

Oldsmobile was actually trying to take on the Germans with the Aurora and Intrigue. The Intrigue had an "Autobahn package" which upped the limiter from 108 to 128mph as well as gave it slightly different suspension and tuning. I had a 2001 Intrigue with that package.

@paralyzes

8 ай бұрын

Aurora had an optional Autobahn package as well.

@matthewlibanio8227

8 ай бұрын

They were excellent cars for the time just badly marketed. The OSV models were unbelievably cool and so good looking for their time and even today! The Intruigue OSV looked sinister and a super sleeper machine.

@thethomasj1795

8 ай бұрын

@paralyzes I had it up to 147. That's the fastest I ever drove, and despite having cars that wouldbeasily do that speed now I haven't done it since we had the Auoroa.

@TheZenmasterbee

8 ай бұрын

I daily drive a 2001 Oldsmibile Intrigue. It's a great car.

My teacher has this car, a 1998 oldsmobile aurora with green interior and a cherry metallic finish on the exterior. What a fantastic car! The V8 engine it had was so quiet for its time

I remember checking out a second generation brand-new in a dealership as a kid and thinking how much cooler and more modern a first generation looked in comparison. Left me confused.

The Twilight Sentinel not only was a coming home timer. It also switched on the headlamps when the ambient light went below a certain level.

@angelchristinem

8 ай бұрын

So it's an automatic light feature if you put it on today's lingo.

@edwinpowell3403

6 ай бұрын

The Twilight Sentinel dates back to the '50s on Cadillacs. It was controlled by a device on top of the dash, called an "Autronic Eye". When I was a little kid, my grandfather gave me one he'd pulled out of a '57 Caddy. It looked like a ray gun from a sci-fi movie from that era.

I owned a 99 Aurora, and later a 97. They're gone now, but this car will always hold a special place in my heart. There's just something about them I've always loved.

My grandparents purchased one of these new as well a 1994 Cutlass Supreme Convertible. I can remember driving around in this car back in the 1990s. I always thought it was large old persons car. Never knew it was designed to shake the image of being a cool looking, high end, futuristic car. Compared to their 1994 Cutlass convertible, the interior in the Aurora was miles ahead. Interesting fact, the generation of Cutlass Supreme also didn't have a traditional grill.

I owned the 2001 4.0 version and, outside of the TCC solenoid issue, the car was great. Cruising along at highway speeds gave you this feeling of riding on a cloud attached to rails. Peppy and responsive, yet comfortable, and the one I owned has more appointments and accessories than some of the Cadillac cars of the era.

I will forever love you for reviewing cars like this, Doug, I know they don't get as many views as your supercars/sportscar videos, but I love stuff like this so much so please keep doing them. From a preservation perspective, so many of the old cars like this are trashed with no real efforts made to document how they looked at their peak. These cars were an importnat part of history of the American automobile! For a lot of cars which don't really have any survivors, we are left with only memories. I think there is something noble about documenting survivor cares like this, even if it's only to sell on Cars & Bids.

@jrcars7017

8 ай бұрын

The ironic thing is that many did believe these were going to be collector cars when they were new, and treated them accordingly, expecting them to be worth real money one day. I think the mistake was not realizing that 90's cars were going to last much longer than the cars of the 50's and 60's, and the time before they became valuable was going to be decades later than expected.

I rented one for a business trip and was utterly amazed that this was an Oldsmobile. It had a truly wonderful ride and had great handling. What a shame it did not save the company. Too little too late.

I enjoyed your review. I had a 1998 with a pearl white exterior and tan interior, also a sunroof. I loved the exterior styling as well as the cockpit interior. The seats were comfortable, the ride was quiet and smooth. I really enjoyed the car. After watching your video I wish I had mine back.👍

I love cars from the 80's, 90's, and early 2000's. Those are the cars I grew up with. I remember these things when they were new and in driveways in my neighborhood. I liked Oldsmobile. My grandpa owned a few. Problem was GM had too many irons in the fire so I can understand streamlining their offerings and retiring Oldsmobile and Pontiac. Instead of having a Chevy on the same chassis they could have kept these brands alive and only had a few offerings so that GM as a whole wasn't competing internally against itself for sales numbers. Same could have been done at Mopar with Plymouth.

I remember seeing the very first one of these when it arrived at Browning Oldsmobile in Long Beach, CA. It was back in the PDI area of the service department, but they let me see and sit in it. The salesperson declared, "Oldsmobile is not printed anywhere on the entire car." I gleefully pointed out "Oldsmobile" was on the radio face plate, and am once again gleeful in mentioning the quirk to you.

@jeffshadow2407

8 ай бұрын

Browning Oldsmobile was in Cerritos (1980; new store in 1984). The Long Beach location was "Browning's Long Beach Oldsmobile", opened in 1991. I worked at both locations from 1990 to 2004. I also attended "Oldsmobile University" in January 1994 for a full week of training for the new Aurora.

I live in Poland and when I was a teenager in late nineties or early two thousands I saw almost identical Aurora and I had no idea what brand it was then. I found later it was Oldsmobile. I was quite impressed with its design and started to be more interested in Oldsmobile cars and american cars.

@rolandbudzisz6143

8 ай бұрын

Aż mnie ciekawi, gdzie widziałeś ten samochód 😮

@juanzingarello4005

8 ай бұрын

I've been to Poland in the mid-2000s and was quite surprised as to how many American imports I saw there. I saw a Hummer H2, Lincoln Navigator, Chevy Avalanche, Lincoln Town Car to name a few off the top of my head. Seems like these cars have a cult following there like JDM cars do here in the US.

@piotrbis8867

8 ай бұрын

@@rolandbudzisz6143 W Kłomnicach koło Częstochowy. Widziałem go kilka razy, ktoś w okolicy go miał.

@piotrbis8867

8 ай бұрын

@@juanzingarello4005 Yes , there is possibility to import cars from US or Canada into Poland and many people do this. We dont have 25 years old rule like in the USA but because of the taxes you have to pay when importing cars from outside EU its cheaper to import slightly damaged cars and then repair them in Poland.

@PtakJack

8 ай бұрын

It was a very big deal to have a American car in Poland in those days. The only real way to have an American car in Poland in the nineties was to import one from the US. there were companies in Chicago that specialized in sending cars to Poland. Wild times.

I had a 2003 and I loved that car. It wasn't great for the dogs and camping, so I traded it in for a Honda Element. But, I miss that Aurora. It had a lot of get up and go, and handled so nicely. It felt like I was driving a luxury car. And I loved how the radio and heat controls faced the driver.

I always liked these. I got my license in a 1973 Buick Riviera and I currently drive a 1997 Buick Riviera which is considered the sister car to the Aurora. Both forward thinking models by G.M. for sure.

I have always like the first generation Oldsmobile Aurora. The styling was ahead of its time and something not many people had seen when it launched. The Aurora did the tail light bar before tail light bars gained popularity, even though most of that tail light bar did night light up. I would love to own a first generation Aurora.

@Bartonovich52

8 ай бұрын

Light bars were actually winding down at the time. They were a feature on a lot of 80s cars like the 1982-1996 Buick Century.

@fordmavericksosx3569

8 ай бұрын

@@Bartonovich52Don’t forget the front light bar on the first & second gen Mercury Sable (1986-1995) The 1990 Grand Prix sport sedan also had one.

@craighutchinson5045

8 ай бұрын

@@Bartonovich52 didn't the foxbody capri have one?

@Skittleman2341

8 ай бұрын

@@Bartonovich52 Oh, okay. Well, this was the one car I remember from GM in the 1990s that had one. I am sure there were others, as mentioned in the comments.

@LlyleHunter

8 ай бұрын

Light bars began in Buicks in 1964.

I live in Chicago and I used to see a LOT of these cars back in the early 2000s. These cars would mostly be in the color white and would be seen in the hood with 22 inch chrome rims and 12 inch subs in the trunk. Ah good times those were. I never owned nor driven one but I do like them.

@Stressless2023

8 ай бұрын

Same here in Detroit - Once these started hitting the used car lots you would see all the young guys driving them with 20" rims, custom paint, subs, etc - These Aurora's became the go-to "hood rich" vehicles of the early 2000's - Same thing happened in the late-2000's with the 2002+ BMW 7-series, at least until they all inevitably broke down and got repossessed by the finance companies lol - Now the Dodge Charger/Chrysler 300 has the floor as the go-to hood rides.

I owned a 2001 Aurora and I loved it, so many good features and mine had the V6 called the “Shortstar”. The one Doug drove broke the frame tester because it was built so strong. I did have to replace the rear fuse box because of electrical problems but after that it was a dream car. Too bad an Audi ended it’s life but I survived and I would buy another if I could find one, they are disappearing from the roads.

@watchmanonthewall14

2 ай бұрын

I bought an 01 V6 and drove it for 15 years. I liked it more than the V8, as it was peppier, torque-ier, and better handling than the V8. Maybe there was a significant weight difference? Mine got 30+ MPG and was a fantastic long distance cruiser.

A version lf the Aurora V8 was in the 1992 experimental Oldsmobile Aerotech. Thars 1 year before the Northstar V8 im the Allante. The engine came from Oldsmobile R&D, but the Northstar branding was made for Cadillac. On a road trip my dad and I saw one of these at a rest stop and we were scratching our head at wth it was. We saw the owner and it turned out he was one of the engineers. He gave us a mini tour of it and he said it was one of the firsr few from the factory. I remember he seemed really proud of it and was happy to show it off. I occasionally look for these and would love one some day, but i have too many current projects.

My grandfather had 2 of these as I was growing up and I used to love them!! They always seemed super cool and ahead of their time, I’m excited for this because it was a very quirky car! Edit: Holy crap, what a trip down memory lane. I could remember what almost all of the buttons and dials felt like as Doug showed them in the video. The info screen with the lid, passenger climate controls/vents, the squishy black foam at the bottom of the rear cup holders. All of it brought back long lost memories. Thank you Doug, it felt good to remember some great times with my late grandfather!!

The no-grille design was used on the B3 Passat, years before the Aurora came out. Also the seat controls mounted on the door isn’t a German quirk exactly, the Lincoln Mark VII had it there a decade prior to the Aurora. The hidden windshield wipers trick had been around since WW2… lots of incorrect commentary in the video, a little disappointing. I enjoy seeing videos on common cars though, this was entertaining.

Sold our 98 with some 240k miles on the odometer, it was my child hood, and later high school and college car. I loved it, supremely comfortable, had plenty of power for the time! I would visit the town we sold it in years later and saw it still being driven around, but that was some 12+ years ago at this point.

Super cool to see, I know this car shared a platform with the 1995-1999 Buick Riviera. It would be super cool to see a dive into that one too, especially the supercharged model :D

My grandmother had one of these brand new. Freaking loved it when I was a kid. My grandfather and I still reminisce about it and how much he regrets selling it. I believe it was pearl white with the chrome wheels. I also think it was the last year of this generation so a 99 if I recall.

There are precursors from other GM cars in the Aurora: the band of idiot lights above the DB is from Cadillac; the data readout is a greatly simplified version of Buick’s info center; the Pontiac Grand Prix pioneered the driver-centric dash. The reason the Aurora drove so competently was because it was a 25 Hz design per GM leadership order. It resulted in some exterior design changes, but they pulled it off nicely. RIP Oldsmobile.

You should check Buick Park Avenue or Lesabre of that time. It also had separate lighting bar for the warning lights, separate passenger temperature control on the passenger door. Ashtray for every passenger. A great mix of 70th style and 90th technology. I had a 95 Park Avenue. Loved it. You should check it one day

Before or around the time they launched this car, my company was hired to do the catering for their dealership training. I never drove one, but I got to see a lot of the concept car drawings, models, and more. The training center lasted about a year or so I believe, where they brought in car sales people from all over, throughout the year, for week long training on the ins & outs of the car and how to sell it, what features they had and everything. It was an amazing opportunity to be a part of this little bit of history. I was still in high school at the time.

What I like about your KZread channel. Is that your car reviews are about any kind of vehicle. New and old to where everyone else is just doing just new vehicles. That's why I think your videos are much more interesting than all the other car reviewers.

Fun fact: An early, highly modified, prototype of this engine was used in one of the Oldsmobile Aerotechs in the early 90's to break a bunch of speed endurance records. I know this because I worked for Batten Performance in Romulus Michigan, which developed and built one of the two Quad 4 variants that were used in the Aerotech .

@jeffy210

8 ай бұрын

Did you remember the Intrigue OSV where they dropped a Northstar V8 in it? I had an Intrigue and always wanted a OSV

@justinjohnson1766

8 ай бұрын

Nice. Yeah I remember reading about that. Also, love your AutoBahn sign image profile pic 🤙.

@largol33t12

8 ай бұрын

The Aerotech prototypes used a Quad 4 boosted to an unbelievable 845hp! Not a typo, 845 hp.. They hired none other than AJ Foyt to drive it He hit an insane 260 mph. Remember, it only had 4 cylinders. They were considering a 4 Dr Cutlass Supreme with that engine to humiliate the BMW M5. I am still furious that the Aerotech never became reality. They don't have to give it that much hp. Just 500 is plenty for most people.

@zagnut48219

8 ай бұрын

@@largol33t12 IIRC, the single turbo Quad we built at Batten made 900hp, on pump gas. Something like 1100-1200hp on race gas. Something you don't hear about is that one of the Aerotechs hit a deer crossing the track while going 200+mph. I remember the video footage (wish I still had it). The deer was literally vaporized, nothing but a red misty cloud.

@zagnut48219

8 ай бұрын

@@jeffy210 vaguely. Another neat vehicle we did was for Ford. It was a twin turbo V6 Bronco II 4x4. I don't remember how much hp it made, but it was bonkers.

This has 100% of the features of my 1993 Lexus LS. My LS doesn't have the rear seat cupholders, the cornering light, or the Twilight Sentinel. And it did it at a lower price point.

My granduncle had one of these the year they were released. I remember really liking how it looked compared to pretty much everything else on the market at the time. Fun fact: The battery for this car isn't under the hood or in the trunk; it's under the passenger side rear seat. At the time when these were new, I was a car audio installer and one came through our shop. The other installer was tasked with installing a whole new sound system in it and couldn't find the battery. We looked high and low but couldn't figure it out. It wasn't until he threw his hands in the air and decided to run RCA cables that he took the cushion out for the rear seat and found the battery. Very weird placement indeed.

My friend's dad had one of these. I remember road tripping with this on our way to a travel hockey game. I was 12 and remember thinking it looked really wild back then, especially the tail lights. We were used to such generic taillights.

Went from a 96 Corsica to a 97 Aurora!! Let me tell you what a difference that car made in my life lol. To me it was a damn rocket at the time. Powerful, smooth, got amazing fuel mileage and mine was reliable as hell for the 4 years i drove the snot out of it!

This.... Was identical to the car my Dad ordered in 1995. It truly was an incredible car, with some teething issues. Fast. Quiet. Roomy. Good on gas and in bad weather. Only complaint was visibility issues; my Dad likened it to "wearing a baseball hat while driving", because of the steep windshield rake, but you got used to it. Had the car until 1998. He sold it to my uncle, who also drove it until about 2010, when an alternator, oil leak, and starter motor dying encouraged him to part with the car (look up how to service those things.) One of the truly best vehicles of the era; he traded a 5-series for it (and swore off BMW for 20y because of that 5, then bought a 335, and swore off them again), and didn't regret it, other than the service department... Which was typical GM at that point.

I have a second gen. 2001 Aurora with 176,000 miles on it. It looks new still and I'm quite proud to drive it as now I am the only one on the road with an Oldsmobile.

@watchmanonthewall14

2 ай бұрын

I bought an 01, V6 and drove it for 15 years. It was a fantastic long distance cruiser that got 30+ MPH on the highway.

This car was my graduation present from high school in 2005, I rode the wheels off lol. Great car. Never had any issues. ❤

@enlightenedg3843

8 ай бұрын

How many miles did she end up with

I've got a few fond memories of this car! I'm in my late 20's now, but when I was much younger, say around 5 or 6, I thought this was the coolest, most futuristic car I had ever seen. It looked like a spaceship to me, and that light bar was absolutely wild! Although, as a kid, I didn't know the center didn't light up. It's not as though the bar was set very high for me back then, but I was in love with the way these cars looked! My old neighbor from across the street, Ed F., had a two car garage with a white 1995 Aurora inside, parked alongside a yellow, Targa-top Porsche 911. I wanna say it was a 1978, but it may have been older - I can't quite remember. He later traded the White Aurora for a Final 500 (second generation) he had managed to acquire as it's first owner -brand new! He moved out of State around 15 years ago or so, and I have no idea what happened to the cars, or even if Ed is still alive. He was one heck of a neighbor, though, and I miss those days. He would let me come over any time I wanted to look at his cars. He would also let me sit in the driver's seat and pretend to drive them, which was awesome, being a 6-year-old! While everyone else I knew was having fun with Gameboys and Tomagotchis, I was goofing off around my neighbors cars, and I had a blast doing it! Those two cars, and my Dad's 1987 GMC Sierra 3500 (single cab flareside) were among the very first cars I ever got to know, and they kicked off my life as a car enthusiast! I'd love to have one of these as they're becoming increasingly rare, although parts are also hard to find nowadays. Still, it would be a wonderfully unique, comfortable, fly-under-the-radar, IYKYK-type of daily driver car, which is the best kind of daily driver car, honestly. Thanks for this video, Doug! I love the old quirky stuff, but especially this! Thanks for the throwback! I enjoyed that little trip I just took down memory lane.

It was like a "blue collar" luxury car. It was a brand to hate, and forget....sometimes like work ( lol ), but it did it's job for as long as the brand stayed....transporting people around. It was also a unique brand, with some nice, or cool, styling. Those warning lights, above the gage cluster, reminds me of my grandpa's 1958 Olds, so that is nothing new really. And I am sure us Canadians had that CD changer, specially when the harsh winters came 😉😉

When I was young and new to driving (2010ish) I really wanted one of these because they were relatively cheap for me and seemed to check the boxes.

Use me as the "I miss and love when Doug does reviews of old cars!"

@chrismasey6959

8 ай бұрын

Wholeheartedly agree!! Love these videos the best!

@stevenwilliams1805

8 ай бұрын

I think we can thank Cars & Bids for the return of older vehicles.

I owned a 97 Aurora early in my adulthood, and it was a lot of fun to be honest. It was sporty (enough) and the suspension was awesome. It was comfy and I enjoyed the hell out of it. Until the Northstar inevitably died and I learned how much it costs to fix Cadillac things haha

I love my second generation Aurora. Most of what you already went over but with auto everything. Auto wipers, lights, climate controls. I rarely touch anything but the turn stock.

Funny, at first glance I thought it had the same jellybean shape of my old Ford. Then I realized it had a sleeker design, but still a few similarities. I do recall seeing it when it was new and thinking it was a nice looker, but this tour makes me really appreciate it. The cockpit looks so comfy I wouldn't mind driving it today.

Doug, this is quite an unexpected surprise that you're reviewing an American passenger car from the era of the 80's to the 2000's again, especially something like this Aurora or any other General Motors product. I have to say, I love it!!! Its always a good day when you review some truly quirky cars, nonetheless the severely underrated stuff like this, and I'd love to see you do some more vehicles like this. One suggestion for a car I would want you to review is a 1999-2005 Pontiac Grand Am, perhaps a GT or a Ram Air version. It would be really cool if you can try and review one of those. These cars are shockingly quirky, such as with two sets of working reverse lights, air conditioning vents that you can litteraly orient any way you could, the trunk release button on the inside of the drivers door, and even some other interesting design and styling quirks too.

@honestyisthegucci

8 ай бұрын

Speaking of Grand Ams would love to see an 80s Firebird. The one with pop up headlights. Especially the pacecar one with the 3,8l V6 Turbo from the Grand National

@DougDeMuro

8 ай бұрын

Thank you -- I appreciate hearing that :) Cars & Bids has allowed me to go and review some of these old oddballs and still have it make financial sense. I'm thrilled with it!

@christopherpotomski8463

8 ай бұрын

@@DougDeMuro Maybe even a 2004-05 Monte Carlo SS Intimidator and a 2006-2007 Monte Carlo SS.

These were such a nightmare at the dealership I refused to do any more Aurora warranty work as a line mechanic. We had a family friend that owned one that ended up parked in our back yard for years, I refused to work on it because the wiring was insane.

I remember taking a '95 Aurora for a test drive. I'm 6'3" and my head was brushing against the headliner. The salesman sitting next to me told me that GM interviewed more than 50,000 people for their input before they designed the car. I asked; "Were any of them over 6 feet tall" ?

Hello Mr. DeMuro, A beautiful, appealing (for me as an Austrian, haha!) and spacey American car, this 'Oldsmobile Aurora' which I still like very much today! It's cool that you do such exceptional car reviews and also feature older cars! Many greetings from Styria, AUSTRIA 🇦🇹, Christoph G. :-) ((If you ever come to Austria, you can introduce me to my Renault MEGANE Grandtour Mk3 (2009) Privilege 2.0 16V CVT (140 HP) on your channel, if you want, haha!))

I am so happy this popped up on my feed. I haven't watched Daddy Doug in quite a while. Before I watch the video I will share my thoughts on the Aurora. Back in 1998 my father and I leased matching Oldsmobile Auoras. They were the best-looking cars out there. Big heavy sedans that have power, they handled pretty well, have huge interiors, and are very comfortable. The biggest difference between our cars was that my father's Aurora had the Authoban package which had no speed limiter, had a stiffer tuned suspension that didn't affect ride quality because it still ran on 16" wheels, and had a sunroof. While my car would hit the limiter at about 120, his would get close to 150, and I was able to confirm that on a lonely stretch of road. Design wise there was nothing else out there that looked like the Aurora. It was such a head-turner. Mine was bright silver, and in certain light looked like a different color. It looked like a spaceship. I pulled up to a friend of mine's house one night and she said it looked like a spaceship pulled up to her house. My father's was jet black. With the marker lights on his Aurora looked like a panther prowling through the night. We received many compliments. Both cars were leased for 4 years. Both were dealer-serviced on a regular basis according to GM's schedule. I changed the oil on my car more frequently because I was racking up the miles. I would occasionally use a quick lube for that. All the major work was done by the dealer. As comfortable, and great looking as the Aurora was, the reliability was not great. In our respective first 6 to 8 months of leasing the Aurora my father's car was plagued by electrical issues that required the ABS abd BCM computers to be replaced. Once the issues were repaired on his car it was fine for the remainder of the lease. I can't recall anything major. He had an oil leak from the oil pressure-sending unit that he didn't even know about. The dealer found it and replaced it under warranty during a routine service. Mine on the other hand had issues from the moment I took delivery. It threw a check engine light as soon as the tires hit the pavement leaving the dealership. I had a bad EGR valve that caused the car to sound like a jet. The car wouldn't shift out of second gear. I needed new Transmission solenoids. It would have hesitation issues while driving like it was going to stall or had a misfire. The check engine light was ALWAYS on. The dealer changed plugs, wires, sensors, belts etc. It was ongoing. I do recall we both had to have the AC recharged. after 18 months Mine completely emptied out. No one knows why it happened. It was recharged and it was good for the remainder of the lease. My father's car needed to be topped off towards the end of his lease. My passenger-side window motor stopped working. There was a short. It took multiple trips to the dealership to sort. Finally, I was so frustrated I went to a local window shop and they told the dealership how to fix it. It needed a new wire harness that GM used exclusively on that car. My gas gauge wasn't accurate. The sending unit was replaced.It didn't fix it. The fuel pump was replaced it didn't fix it. I learned to live with it. The big problem I had was how the car ran. I traveled a lot for my job and was racking the miles up. I was also over my miles. with about 10 months to go on my lease and 64,000 miles I leave my office, get in the car turn the key and nothing happens. Barely cranks. The battery is good. Maybe the starter? There was a mechanic in the industrial complex where I worked. We push it over. He calls me the next day and tells me the motor is bad. WTF!?? He doesn't know how it happened. Oh, and BTW I'm out of warranty because of the miles. It was a total fiasco. GM didn't want to know anything. My insurance broker told us to put a claim in with our insurance carrier because we had mechanical breakdown insurance. They covered $2800 towards a motor. The only thing is a new motor for that car, A Northstar motor wasn't being sold directly from GM and they were about $15,000. My only option was a used motor. The service manager at HL Oldsmobile, Jack who I hope is still alive was great. GM or HL Oldsmobile wouldn't allow work to be done on the car because it was out of warranty and we weren't able to buy a new Northstar directly from GM. Jack directed us to a mechanic who could handle sourcing the motor and installing it. You have to remember this was back in 2000. The internet wasn't what it is today. Today everyone is online. The Indy mechanic finally takes delivery of a motor he likes. I think we had 3 motors delivered, and the 3rd time was a charm. I personally learned a lot watching them work on the car. I had no idea that the motor could be removed and installed from the bottom. I had never seen that done before. When putting the parts from the old motor on to the new motor he discovered the AC compressor was frozen. Upon further inspection, he discovered that the compressor seized and didn't free wheel like it was supposed to and somehow put enough stress on the motor that it broke a cam. I would find out years later that GM knew of this issue. It's very possible that the constant hesitation wasn't a misfire it was the AC compressor locking up and causing the motor to go into limp mode. I recall hearing a belt squeak on occasion and I did change the belts on both sides of the motor. So about $5,550, and 6 months later the car is fixed. It's driving ok, and the fuel gauge now works like it was supposed to. Summer is upon us and I am driving down to the Jersey shore. I enter the Garden State Parkway, I'm merging with heavy traffic going over the Raritan bridge and the car shuts down. No power, no start. nothing. I manage to get over to the shoulder. I had to call 911. I get towed back home. I parked the car and that was it I was done with it. I had it towed to the mechanic that did the motor. The ECM was shot. It shorted out. I left the car there until the lease was over. I needed a car. I leased my first VW and never looked back. Since 2001 I have only driven German and Japanese cars for use as my personal vehicles. My father was so disgusted by my experience that he stopped leasing from GM. for 23 years the man owned and leased nothing but Cadillacs, and Oldsmobiles. He leased himself back to back 300m's before going to Lexus and regretted not doing it years earlier. Looking back now I realize that it's experiences like this that caused GM to go bankrupt. People like me and my father were so accustomed to issues with GM cars always breaking down that we didn't know any better. I don't know if they are any better today, but GM has yet to produce a better-looking car than the Aurora. The sad thing is that these cars were so underappreciated. They did not sell well, and many didn't survive clunkers for cash. On occasion, I do search for them and the ones that did survive are so ragged out that junking them would be a mercy killing. Despite all the issues the Aurora is still one of my favorite cars. It's in my top 5. I have a ton of great memories from that time of my life that were spent in that car. If I found a 1999 which was the last year for that design, and in mint condition I might consider buying it. I'll give my thoughts on Doug's take after I watch the video.

@davidcarroll8735

8 ай бұрын

My family had a similar experience and no GM’s to be found anywhere in the following generation driveways.

I never heard of this vehicle before, but it made me feel sad for the designers and mechanics who came up with a very interesting and genuinely good car and it still failed.

@runningkirkwa2934

8 ай бұрын

You are probably 20 years old or younger

@victorsales3850

8 ай бұрын

@@runningkirkwa2934 I'm 26. I'm just not from where this car was sold.

I owned a black '95 Aurora. Doug you did make an error on this review. Twilight Sentinal is the system that adjusts headlamps from low to high beams depending on approaching vehicle lighting. The min/max adjustment is how close an approaching vehicles lights are sensed in order to change from hi to low.

@zzoinks

8 ай бұрын

Really? On Buick it was supposed to be the auto day night headlights, at least I think. But my Buick didn't have an adjustment, it just said it had twilight sentinel and it was supposed to do so and ao

The cruise control was on the turn signal stalk in the 80s on GMs as well. My first car was an 85 cavalier with only one stalk that operated the signals, cruise, wipers, and high beams. There was a smaller lever that operated the tilt. This was standard on every GM for the 80s and 90s that came with those features. Some moved the wipers to a stalk on the right or to the dash, but the trucks kept the single stalk.