Faults:

Transmission went at about 240,000.

Timing chain went at about 360,000 and bent a valve.

Still had the original exhaust.

Worst problems later on; door handles failed and the doors were heavy.

Loved the digital speedometer.

Blew the radiator at about 300,000 miles.

Flashy red with silver ground effects, and the lumbar seats were excellent.

Tough engine for sure.

General Comments:

Took a photo at 300,000 miles on Thanksgiving day.

They had a rather poor dash that had a habit of coming loose.

Faults:

This car was badly neglected and abused before it was in my hands; owned by my mother and 16 year old sister. A short time after I had it, the head gasket blew. Understandable considering the conditions it had endured. Relatively easy fix, the engine is generally easy to work on.

Turn signal switch does not work correctly.

A/C compressor clutch burnt up, another easy fix.

Driver Information System crashed, displays garbled and random data now.

Radiator was badly damaged, I replaced it for more efficient cooling.

General Comments:

The car in general has been great to me. As mentioned before, the engine is easy to work on.

Aesthetically, this car is top notch. VERY sleek design outside. The gray interior looks very nice after being cleaned up.

The digital instrument cluster is great and easy to read, automatically dims when the headlights are turned on; brightness can be adjusted.

Power bucket seats are VERY comfortable, great for long distance driving. Shoulder belt is a little high.

The car's acceleration is pretty decent. The 2.8l V6 is powerful, but the car is heavy.

The sound of the exhaust is very aggressive, but not loud.

Engine is built very well. Chain timing, pushrod valves to stay true to its old school siblings. When I changed head gaskets, all areas of high friction were in very good shape, despite the high mileage.

Handling is wonderful, reminiscent of a high end sports car. It stays stuck to the ground in the tightest of turns and has no body roll.

Fuel efficiency is superb. I've squeezed 54mpg highway on this car, its average is 30. The Driver Information System did a great job tracking this information.

Overall the car is built well, performs well, rides great and looks NICE. It can take a lot of abuse and continue to live. They just don't make them like this any more.

Faults:

Transmission mount ($100).

Blower motor ($40).

Power steering belt ($10).

General Comments:

The Cutlass was the rare-ish 2 door, very stylish for its time. I purchased it from a good family friend when I was 16 for $300; the car was absolutely mint on the outside, it looked like a 2 year old car at the time AND only had 78,000kms!

The interior of the Olds (like many other GM cars of the 80's) had a very saggy headliner and overall 'Average' interior. The Olds was very reliable, only leaving me stuck at a McDonald's parking lot when the transmission mount broke (it wasn't letting the trans shift, I had to do it manually, so I just left it parked).

The blower motor was working on and off when I got the car, and I just replaced it with an aftermarket one.

The PS belt broke on the highway and didn't affect anything on the car, except the steering was now a manual. I stopped at a garage on the highway where a mechanic fixed my belt for just the price of the part.

The 2.3L Quad 4 was a very powerful engine, it pushed 150HP and could do a 0-100km/h in about 10 seconds. It also felt like the car could at least go 240km/h easy, I pegged the speedo and still had 1400 RPM till red line. It could take a pounding and still keep asking for more. It also got really good gas millage, about 25MPG on a $35 fill.

I took many road trips with the Olds, it also got me through high school. In 2 years I racked up over 100,000kms! Unfortunately I got rear ended one day and that was the end of the Olds (frame damage, got hit at 60km/h :'( ). I still miss that car, and haven't had anything as good since.