Folks, this car above is a Regency. Is is not a Ninety Eight. This is a Ninety Eight:
I am often asked about this car, so I decided to clarify what a "Regency " was. As Oldsmobile was transitioning from "your Father's Oldsmobile" to the "New Import Oldsmobile"
They were phasing out the older Oldsmobile and walking away from their customer base. In the process, they wanted to give the traditional Oldsmobile buyers one last shot a buying an Oldsmobile. This was the car:
The Oldsmobile Ninety Eight was phased out after the 1996 model year. The Buick Park Avenue was a new car in 1997. Oldsmobile Ninety Eight did not get to live to see another day. I feel personally they could have just built the Ninety Eight a few more years on the same assembly line or moved it. They could have just made one trim level until the Oldsmobile transition was complete in 2000. The Ninety Eight Regency Elite Series II would have been a great value. GM had done it before with previous cars. The Eldorado ran its course, the Ciera ran its course, and when the Fleetwood switched over to the rear platform in 1993, they kept the other Fleetwood and sold it with the Deville line and called it Sixty Special. Not Fleetwood, but Sixty Special.
Oldsmobile had done this very thing before that they did with the Regency in 1997-1998. In 1984-1985 when the C Body Ninety Eight went front wheel drive, Oldsmobile like Buick said they needed a larger fully loaded rear drive V8 powered car. It kind of makes you wonder they knew the C Bodies were not going to be succesful or that abandoning that market was not a wise move.
In 1984-1985, they created what they called: Delta Eighty Eight Royale Brougham LS. Lets refer to it is officially called: Delta 88 Royale Brougham Luxury Sedan. I admit, I liked this car. It was very attractive. This car had the seats, the grille, the V8, the opera lamps, taillamp trim and a host of other features that were on the last rear drive Oldsmobile Ninety Eight Regency Brougham of 1984. This is an example:
Two ads for the Delta 88 Royale Brougham LS from AM6's website:
**Notice the interior and the Ninety Eight Regency trim.
Now.. look at this ad for the last rear drive Oldsmobile Ninety Eight Regency Brougham:
*** Notice all the trim and interior.
Their logic for doing that was because of this FWD Oldsmobile Ninety Eight which no longer used a V8 or had that "big car" look.
Fast forward to the future to 1997. Oldsmobile was phased out after the 1996 model year. Oldsmobile decided to give the Oldsmobile buyers that last shot for a traditional Olds. They then did the same thing they did in 1984-1985 again for 1997-1998. It lasted two years again. It was called Regency this time. They took the seats, the grille, the wheels and the "Regency" nameplate and put these things on an Eighty Eight. They did not carry over the fuel door release, the digital gauges, the ashray being on the upper part of the rear door, the trunk pull down feature.
When you see this car advertised on dealers lots and websites, they will very often say it is a Ninety Eight when it is clear it is not. They will call it a 1997 Ninety Eight Regency or 1998 Ninety Eight Regency. There was not a 1997 or 1998 Ninety Eight.
The Regency coming at you on the street could pass for a Ninety Eight if you do not look for several key things: There is a "Regency" emblem in silver script with a black background on the front fenders. The rocket logo on the grille is black. The Ninety Eight Regency only had rockets with a red background. The rear wheels are not skirted. The taillamps are from the 1992-1995 Oldsmobile Eighty Eight. The Taillamps changed over on the Eighty Eight in 1996. On the trunk there is nothing that tells you the car is an Eighty Eight. There is a emblem that says "Regency" on the trunk.
Oldsmobile dropped the package in 1999. They created a special model for the Eighty Eight's last year. It was called the 50th Anniversary Edition of the Eighty Eight . It took the Ninety Eight seats an the interior and carried that over to this car. This car looked like any other Eighty Eight except for the exterior trim. This is a quote from GM Information:
How to recoginze a 50th Anniversary Edition:
This special edition includes the following styling cues:
24kt gold-plated Oldsmobile logo hood emblem
Anniversary Edition side-door badges
Gold molding on the doors, quarter panels and bumpers
Front-to-rear side pinstripes
Oval-shaved 24kt-plated Anniversary Edition medallions on both rear C-pillars
24kt gold-plated Eighty Eight and Oldsmobile emblems as well as Anniversary Edition badge
This has been the story of "The Regency " and the end of the Eighty Eight.