Junkyard Find: 1989 Oldsmobile Toronado Trofeo
Now that we’ve admired the junked ’90 Olds Cutlass Calais International Series, let’s move a couple rows down in the very same California self-service yard and check out another Adventure In Doomed GM Marketing.
I’ve been fascinated by the Troféo for quite a while. The main appeal of the Troféo was, apparently, its futuristic electronics coupled with crypto-European styling.
GM’s marketing wizards decided that Roger Moore’s daughter, Deborah, plus a low-buck exploding-helicopter sequence would really make those Troféos fly out of the showrooms.
This one doesn’t have the optional touch-screen Vehicle Information Center, but it does have a Space Shuttle-grade control system for its cassette-based sound system.
Check out this flat-loading cassette player!
The styling really didn’t have a lot of recognizable European-ness to it, and the archaic Buick 231 V6 and slushbox under the hood probably didn’t cause any nightmares in Stuttgart or Munich.
The weird Trofeo logo did have a certain zombie-cult appeal, however.
The Air Force vet who owned this car finally decided he or she had had enough of the ol Troféo. Next stop… well, you know.
Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a writer who has lived in Minnesota, California, Georgia and (now) Colorado. He has toiled at copywriting, technical writing, junkmail writing, fiction writing and now automotive writing. He has owned many terrible vehicles and some good ones. He spends a great deal of time in self-service junkyards. These days, he writes for publications including Autoweek, Autoblog, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars and Capital One.
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As a European, I find the original 1960s Toronado fascinating. A big FWD V8-powered car? Unheard off. I also appreciate the early 1970s Toronados. I can live with the late 1970s Toronados. But the '80s Toronados like this one are just boring and ugly.
I was fascinated by these as well and had actually considered buying the far nicer 90-92 version but instead went for another T-Bird. The 3800 v6 was fine and relaible but what made me leary was problems with the digital display and the cheapo Rodger Smith era plastics. It's a shame GM did not offer the 3800 s/c in these to earn their premium car status.