The Oldsmobile Toronado is a personal luxury car manufactured and marketed by the Oldsmobile division of General Motors from 1966 to 1992 over four generations. The Toronado was noted for its transaxle version of GM's Turbo-Hydramatic transmission, making it the first U.S.-produced front-wheel drive automobile since the demise of the Cord in 1937. The Toronado placed third in the 1966 European Car of the Year competition and won the 1966 Motor Trend Car of the Year award in the U.S. Sharing the GM E platform introduced by the rear-wheel drive Riviera in 1963 and adopted a year later with the front-wheel drive Cadillac Eldorado, the three models shared the E platform for most of the Toronado's 26-year history. The name "Toronado" had no prior meaning and was originally selected for a 1963 Chevrolet show car.
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Fourth generation (1985-1992)
The final generation Toronado made its debut in 1985 for the 1986 model year. It was even smaller on the outside, lost its body-on-frame construction in favor of a unibody platform, and was the first Toronado since 1969 to feature hidden headlights. For the first time ever V8 engines were gone, with the fuel-injected version of the Buick 231 cu in (3.8 L) V6 now the only powerplant available. The new Toronado also came with a nearly 16% price increase over the 1985 model.
Inside, a new digital instrument panel and optional voice alert system were employed and the same luxury features were offered as standard equipment and options as before. Standard seating was a cloth 60/40 bench with center armrest. For the first time since 1970, Strato bucket seats were offered as an option, and they included a full-length center console with a horseshoe-like "basket handle" gear shift similar to that found in some 1960s and 1970s Buicks and Chevrolets. Upholstery choices included cloth or leather.
GM's timing with this latest downsizing proved to be off the mark. Gasoline prices had dropped dramatically — below $1.00 per gallon in many parts of the U.S. — by the fall of 1985, against corporate soothsayers' predictions of $3.00 and up. As a result, buyers chose to "buy big" in 1986, with cars like the Lincoln Town Car and Chrysler's long-in-the-tooth, V8-powered Fifth Avenue setting sales records for the 1986 model year. Along with its shrunken sisters, the Eldorado and Riviera, the Toronado suffered a serious sales decline which would never be reversed. Critics blamed the downsizing, as well as "cookie cutter" styling that looked too much like the cheaper, less-luxurious compacts at GM, notably the Oldsmobile Calais, Buick Somerset, and Pontiac Grand Am.
In mid-1987, Oldsmobile attempted to bolster sagging Toronado sales by introducing a sportier model called the Troféo, which boasted standard leather bucket seats, faux dual exhaust, more-aggressive styling, and a stiffer suspension (the highly regarded corporate FE3 package, with retuned shocks, struts and other components).
For 1988, changes for the Troféo included new seats and monochromatic paint; both Toronado and Troféo benefited from larger climate control buttons and rear three-point seatbelts. Additionally, power increased with the introduction of the new Buick 231 cu in (3.8 L) LN3 V6 engine. Wire wheelcovers were deleted from the options sheet. Other changes were minor and mainly cosmetic.
The 1989 Troféo, which was no longer badged externally as a Toronado, could be ordered with the Visual Information Center: a dash mounted touchscreen CRT that controlled the vehicle's thermostat and radio and also supplied advanced instrumentation such as a trip computer. The following is a link to pictures of various CRT screens.[29] The VIC could also serve as the interface to an in-car hands-free cell phone. Troféo also received standard anti-lock brakes and a new steering wheel with controls for radio and climate control. Toronados now had standard bucket seats with console or an optional split-bench.
For 1990, the hood was the only carryover sheet metal as Olds designers redesigned the body, increasing the overall length by about 12 in (305 mm), enlarging the trunk. A drivers-side airbag was standard equipment. The 1991 models made remote keyless entry and anti-lock brakes standard, increased horsepower, with an optional ultrasuede upholstery. The optional moonroof no longer required ordering bucket seats, however, a fully digital instrument cluster was now only available on Toronado models equipped with a front bench seat.
Also for 1990, a new CRT touchscreen control center became an option for Trofeo models that integrated basic vehicle controls (climate controls and vehicle settings) and audio system settings, and also included a built-in "navigation system" (directional compass and trip computer). The system could also integrate an optional integrated cellular phone that was mounted in the vehicle's center console. In 1992, General Motors (GM) and Avis Rent a Car pilot tested a GPS navigation system in select rental Trofeo models equipped with the touchscreen at the Orlando International Airport in Florida. The pilot systems included the built-in cellular phone and a computer-synthesized voice guidance system. Named "TravTek", the system was monitored by AAA via an antenna mounted on the car's trunk, and included directions to AAA locations around the Orlando area. A similar system utilizing a separate color display screen later became a dealer-installed option on 1995 Oldsmobile models.
The 1992 models brought back wire wheels as an option. Troféos got a stiffer standard suspension (the formerly optional FE3 package). By this time the trend towards SUVs and away from personal luxury coupes was too strong to counter. Oldsmobile discontinued the Toronado and Troféo at the end of the 1992 model year, with the last Toronado rolling off the assembly line on May 28, 1992. The Toronado and Trofeo were ultimately replaced in the lineup in early 1994 by the Aurora sports sedan, which made its debut then as a 1995 model.
Source: Wikipedia
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