Olds Cutlass Supreme

 

When Matt and I started dating, he would pick me up in the 1977 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme he had recently acquired. It seemed like it was a mile long, and made just to have a polished set of longhorns attached to the grille. Anytime I got to drive it, I would think about it and then joke that folks put those there so they could actually see where their front bumpers were. That thing was made to be the ultimate in comfort and luxury, and with how clean and well cared for it was, it was as comfortable as the year it was sold.

It was one of those rare estate finds that Matt was lucky enough to get his hands on. The gentleman who had originally purchased it had just passed away, and through the right connections, Matt was informed of the pristine Cutlass sitting in the man’s garage. He jumped at the opportunity to purchase it from the surviving family and actively drove it for a few months.

We happened to go on our first date only a few weeks after Matt had taken possession of it. Since he already knew that I had an appreciation for old cars, I think he was delighted to show me more cars and see what I really knew. I just remember being excited, both by the cool car and the date. I knew he really liked me when he handed me the keys to the Cutlass and asked me to follow him as he delivered his Mom’s car to the airport so she could get home the next morning. He entrusted me with his car. And then every other one since, but I digress.

The Cutlass was fun to drive and comfortable to cruise. We took a couple road trips with it and never once did I notice my sciatica flare; the seats were like sitting on clouds. It had an 8-Track stereo and the radio picked up reception in canyons and on mountain passes where it shouldn’t have gotten signal. All of the original paperwork was in the trunk from the purchase, along with thorough service records. The original owner ordered it from the factory with the 403 V8 engine. It was powerful and got out of its own way without trouble.

We sold it before we got married, probably about three years ago. Every now and then we talk about how fun it was and that we should have simply held on to it. But life is such that certain toys come and go according to needs, circumstance and priority. But this will always be one of my favorites in what I will call our shared-life-car-collection.