JP’s A to Z Challenge – D is for Dynamic 88

When I was a kid, no car was more boring to me than an Oldsmobile. Maybe that’s because there were so many of them owned by members of my extended family. But now, I find them more appealing. Especially when I find an ancient survivor still being driven every day in wintertime city traffic.

Oldsmobile’s 88 (or sometimes Eighty-Eight) series was it’s bread and butter model for years. It was not as fancy as the big 98, but bigger than the smaller F-85/Cutlass series that eventually became far more popular. And among 88s, there were always different flavors, like the Super 88, the Delta 88 and even the short-lived Delmont 88. But my favorite of all of them was the Dynamic 88. Can a car be exciting just because it is called Dynamic? It can’t hurt.

This 1962 model was never one of my favorites, though. The front end reminds me of an old electric razor. In fact, I don’t think the stylists could figure out what it was supposed to be. Formal? Sporty? Modern? Traditional? There is a little bit of everything in this stylist’s stew of a car. But maybe that’s just me. Could that be what makes it Dynamic?

I remember this cold, snowy day when I was heading back to my office from a downtown court appearance. I saw this grizzled Oldsmobile parked on a side street and decided that I needed some photos, mainly because I could not remember the last time I had seen a 62 Oldsmobile anywhere or in any condition.

The owner was standing nearby and kindly allowed me to take these photos. I hope this poor old car got a little love after the snow melted.

Photos by the Author, January 24, 2018, downtown Indianapolis, Indiana.

26 thoughts on “JP’s A to Z Challenge – D is for Dynamic 88”

  1. My mother was a long time Oldsmobile fan, and at one time owned a black-on-black 98, seemingly as long as a city block. My younger sister has the distinction of near totaling it twice in a six month period! My mother gave up on American cars in the 80’s when she saw us kids driving around trouble free in Japanese cars, and went with Honda, but it didn’t keep her from shedding a tear when she heard that GM killed Oldsmobile in the early 2000’s.

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    • I had one, a 98, the last of the old square ones from the 80s. Once, probably around 2000 or so, it needed a repair best found at a dealer. Ed Martin Oldsmobile’s service area was down to a little 6-bay shop in the back, while the Nissan part of the dealer got the big main service area that had once been for Oldsmobiles. I knew then that Olds wouldn’t be around much longer.

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  5. I always wished GM of the 60s and 70s would have let the divisions have unique roofs. The common roofs were blinking neon signs that an Impala and an 88 were the same car, basically.

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    • Agreed. Also, that 1961-62 4 door hardtop roof is not a favorite – the C pillar can’t decide whether it wants to be thick or thin.

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  7. My goodness this car is riding low to the ground. All those cars of yesteryear sure had the impression of being like “boats” … this one must take up a half-city block. Hopefully when its owner saw how you photographed it and reflected on its past, it spurred him to spruce it up a little after the snow melted.

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    • Yes, this one may have been sagging a bit just through age. And I hope he cleaned it up. This car seemed to be right on the border between nice old car and irredeemable heap. Or maybe my standards are too high. Watch for my definition of nice old car next week!

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  8. My parents drove Oldsmobile 88s until 2000, when they switched to a Buick Park Avenue. It was sad to watch GM drive a grand old name right into the ground. Those were the days when customers weren’t just loyal to GM – they were loyal to a particular GM division.

    I prefer the styling of the 1961 and 1962 models to the much more bland 1963 model. The main problem with these cars is the Roto-Hydramatic transmission. Complete transmission failure before 90,000 miles was common. I wonder if the transmission on this particular car has been replaced.

    Oldsmobile seemed to be searching for a new direction in the early 1960s. The full-size line-up, in particular, was cluttered and confusing, as Olds tried to appeal to long-time customers and also poach customers from resurgent Pontiac. The division didn’t really find its groove until the Toronado and Cutlass Supreme debuted in 1966.

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    • I remember what a shock the 1965 88 was when I was a little kid. From that car, Oldsmobile went through its whole line and got a completely different vibe, right down the the more throaty exhaust rumble.

      I liked the 63-64, but maybe that’s just what was in showrooms when I first started to pay attention.

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  9. For whatever reason, you’ve prompted a realization…the only Oldsmobiles I can remember in my extended family all had diesel engines. Those were all followed by another brand.

    This ’62 was a good catch and I agree…it’s not the most elegant Olds made during the ’60s.

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    • “Those were all followed by another brand.” – I’ll bet they were!

      In my extended family and circle of friends, it is almost easier to list the Oldsmobile years and models of the 1960’s and 70’s that were not owned as the ones that were.

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  11. I have to wonder if a car company of today would go for the name “Oldsmobile”. Even all those years ago, starting the name with “Old” seems like counterintuitive advertising. Anyway, the name obviously didn’t hurt sales back in the day. Heck, the 88s were popular enough that even this non-car guy remembers them.

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    • Perhaps it helped back then that the guy who came up with Oldsmobile was named Ransom E. Olds. After he sold out to General Motors some time before 1920 he started a second company using his initials – REO. That company built an early truck it called the Speedwagon. You have probably heard about a band that knew of this vehicle. 🙂

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