Lots of Show, Very Little Go.
Would you buy discount tickets to see the Rolling Stone perform live, if the price reduction meant the band would play very quietly? Would it be enough to just see Mick and Keith, or would you want to hear them as well?
While this question may seem absurd, Oldsmobile decided to ask customers roughly the same question back in 1977. The Seventies were a dark time for auto fans, what with low-lead gas cramping performance, high fuel prices, and inflation-inflated sticker prices, car ownership was never less fun.
1977 Oldsmobile Omega
Diminished Expectations
Worse, carmakers were under pressure from the federal government to improve fuel economy, this at a time when Americans had not yet fully embraced downsized, or small-displacement engines.
So, in a gentle—and perhaps misguided—attempt to lure sporty-car intenders away from fuel-thirsty engines, Oldsmobile offered shoppers free sporty stuff—but only if they went with base V6 engine. Let’s call the whole fiasco an experiment.
One Year Only
We’re talking about the compact Olds Omega, a likable clone of the Chevrolet Nova, and potentially sporty when properly equipped. And the “free” stuff was actually pretty compelling.
For 1977—and only 1977—Oldsmobile offered for free the SX Features Group when shoppers purchased four other fun items. That’s “nine items for the price of four” as noted in the ad seen here.
Here’s what you had to purchase:
V6-Sports Pack
Sport Gauge Group
Super Stock Wheels
Raised white-letter tires
Bucket seats
Here’s what you got for free:
SX Features Group
SX Décor
Custom Sport Steering Wheel
Dual Outside Sport Mirrors
“Open Road” FE2 Suspension
Rocker-panel/wheel-opening molding trim
Nice, but Slow
What this got you, as an Omega owner, was a really nice, good-looking car with a capable sport suspension that couldn’t get out of its own way. The car looked great, and the sport suspension really did improve handling. But under the hood…nothing but regret and sadness.
Engines
As noted above, to get the free SX Features Group, customers had to stick with the base engine. And that engine was the 105-horsepower Buick-sourced 3.8-liter V6. And while most were hooded to a 3-speed automatic transmission, a 3-speed manual could he had.
Now, a 145-horsepower Chevy-built 5.0-liter V8 was also available, but ordering it forfeited the SX Group discount. Note that California residents could also order a 170-horsepower 5.7-liter V8, which came only with an automatic. Either V8 would have been a dramatic step up from the V6, and would have made this sporty-looking Oldsmobile fun to drive, as well.
Price
And what was that the free package worth? For 1977, the SX Features Group retailed for $187, that’s about $1000, inflation adjusted.
No word on how many shoppers availed themselves of the promotion, but it’s worth noting the free-package deal disappeared for 1978. We suspect most SX-group-equipped Omegas were ordered with one of the V8 options, making for a great-looking, reasonably sporty—by 1977 standards—compact coupe.
“Rugged” V6
We hope the copywriter responsible for this sentence never found ad work again:
“To make it go, there’s a rugged 231 V-6 that’s got plenty of muscle…”
Not sure what’s meant here by rugged, but we’re sure no one familiar with the car ever described the V6’s output using the word “plenty.” The guy that wrote that line would probably buy discount Rolling Stones tickets.
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Oldsmobile Omega SX pictures
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