Oldsmobile does not build many cars like the Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais: a 2-door coupe / 4-door sedan with 2.3 L GM Quad 4 engine, built from 1984 to 1991 in the age of turbocharging and the first electronic engine management.
Where it came from
The Oldsmobile Calais is a compact car that was manufactured and marketed by Oldsmobile from 1985 through 1991, superseding the Oldsmobile Omega and named after the city of Calais, France. Renamed the Cutlass Calais for 1988, the Calais shared the GM N platform with the Pontiac Grand Am and the Buick Skylark/Buick Somerset—and was superseded by the Oldsmobile Achieva in 1992.
Previously, the Cutlass Calais nameplate was used on top-line versions of the Cutlass Supreme coupé (differing from the Supreme only in minor trim details) from 1978 to 1984. There was also a Cadillac Calais model, sold from 1965 to 1976.
Under the skin
Under the skin sits 2.3 L GM Quad 4 engine; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. The gearbox is a 5-speed manual / 3-speed THM125 automatic. The layout matters: the engine drives the front wheels, the packaging choice that gives a small car a big cabin. The wheelbase is 103.4 in. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
In context
Where it sits in Oldsmobile's history is not in doubt: the Oldsmobile Omega / Oldsmobile Firenza came before it; the Oldsmobile Achieva followed it; it was built at Lansing, Michigan (Lansing Car Assembly), United States. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Ferrari Testarossa, the Jeep Wrangler, the Renault Espace. Nearby in the Oldsmobile catalogue sit the Oldsmobile 442 and the Oldsmobile 88.
The money
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.
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Oldsmobile Cutlass1961