The Literary Acquirements of Joe's Trip to the Wrecking Yard, Part 2

Mostly deformed index fingers.

Glancing through the Sounds Systems and Electronics supplements to the 1985 Oldsmobile Ninety Eight owner's manual offered a glimpse into what luxury car buyers wanted (or, at least, what Oldsmobile THOUGHT luxury car buyers wanted) in their cars in 1985.

The onboard calculator looked pretty nifty.

The 1980's were a time of rapid growth in the electronics (and particularly the portable electronics) industry, so it only makes sense car manufacturers would want to get some of those sweet, sweet electronics into the dashboards of their cars. The manual showcases several different types of sound systems, including those featuring dual cassette decks, CB radios, and programmable AM/FM. The manual was even kind enough to show those with deformed hands how to operate their systems.

The sales brochure was perhaps the most interesting piece of the '85 Olds Ninety Eight trifecta of documents. Featuring a full-color spread of information and photos, the obvious theme was "luxury, but ALSO high tech!" The piece de resistance of the brochure is a full-color centerfold of the car, complete with a man who could either be YOU, or perhaps your butler/driver.

Probably much sexier before the pages were creased.

Next to the centerfold, a glimpse of the luxurious interior, with plush seats that were sure to please any bottom.

Them's bottom-pleasing cushions right there.

 The pamphlet summarizes that there is a "special feel in an Oldsmobile". Having owned an Oldsmobile of similar vintage, I can verify that this is true. It is a feeling luxury, but luxury that is somehow only surface-deep. Still, it was a "luxury" that I did enjoy.

The Literary Acquirements of Joe's Trip to the Wrecking Yard, Part 1

Today after work I took a trip to the local Pick-n-Pull "do it yourself" car wrecking yard to see about acquiring some luxury sedan seats for as-yet undetermined purposes. I always enjoy looking through the old cars, wondering what kind of "life" they lived prior to their ultimate fate of being picked to pieces and then crushed into metal cubes.

This will do nicely to hold the documents in my 1988 Ford Festiva.

My search for seats was fruitless, as most of the leather ones were cracked and most of the cloth ones were stained. The two or three seats that DID look very good were unfortunately in cars which smelled as if they'd been in the yard a bit too long and feral cats had discovered how comfortable a 1982 Cadillac Eldorado seat can be.

However, the trip was not altogether fruitless, as I discovered and purchased a few bits of interest. One of these was a mint-condition padded-leather owner's manual cover from a 1990 Cadillac Deville.

I also picked up an original owner's manual, sound system and electronics supplement, and original brochure to a 1985 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight, as I am very interested in cars from this era (within and just after what automotive journalist Murilee Martin refers to as the "malaise era" for American car manufacturers, 1973-1983).

Original owner's manual and supplement from 1985 Oldsmobile Ninety Eight Regency

In Part 2 of this posting (coming tomorrow), I'll have more pictures and details on some of the contents of the "Sound Systems and Electronics" owner's manual supplement, as well as pictures and commentary on the blast from the past that is the 1985 Oldsmobile sales brochure.