The
Vista Cruiser is a
station wagonA station wagon is a passenger automobile with a body style similar to a sedan, or saloon, but with the roofline following the full, sometimes extended rear cargo area and sometimes an extra row of sometimes rear-facing seats, ending with a more vertical door than on a hatchback.Also sometimes...
built by the
OldsmobileOldsmobile was a brand of automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory...
Division of
General MotorsGeneral Motors Company, often known as simply GM, is a United States based automaker with headquarters in Detroit, Michigan. GM was the world's 18th largest corporate entity and third largest automaker as ranked by 2008 revenues on the Fortune Global 500. Ranked by global unit sales for 2008, it...
from 1964 to 1977, which was based on the
Oldsmobile CutlassThe Oldsmobile Cutlass was a line of automobiles made by the Oldsmobile division of General Motors. The Cutlass began as a unibody compact car, but saw its greatest success as a body-on-frame intermediate car....
/F-85 model, but from 1964-1972 had a longer full-sized car wheelbase (120-121 inches) than the intermediate sedan chassis (115-116 inches) it was based upon.
Noted for the glass found in the roof over the second-row seating (which also included sun visors for the second row of seats) and for the smaller glass panels over the rear cargo area windows, this car was introduced to the public on February 4, 1964 as a 1964 model.
This body style was not unique to Oldsmobile, being shared with the
Buick Sport WagonThe General Motors Buick Sport Wagon was a mid-size station wagon and a corporate sister of the Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser. Featuring a raised roof and skylights over the cargo and second seat area, this model was an extended wheelbase version of the Buick Skylark station wagon...
, and was not repeated in future Oldsmobile mid-size wagons; however, the skylight concept was repeated with the 1991-92 full-size
Oldsmobile Custom CruiserOldsmobile used the Custom Cruiser name on their large rear-wheel drive station wagons from 1971 to 1992. The Custom Cruiser wagon used the same B-body platform as the Chevrolet Caprice, and Buick Roadmaster wagons...
wagon and echoed by its corporate sibling, the 1991-96
Buick RoadmasterThe Roadmaster was an automobile built by the Buick division of General Motors. Buick first used the Roadmaster name between 1936 and 1958. In 1991, Buick again applied the Roadmaster name to its full-size rear-wheel drive sedan and station wagon models as a replacement for the Buick Estate.-...
wagon.
The
Vista Cruiser is a
station wagonA station wagon is a passenger automobile with a body style similar to a sedan, or saloon, but with the roofline following the full, sometimes extended rear cargo area and sometimes an extra row of sometimes rear-facing seats, ending with a more vertical door than on a hatchback.Also sometimes...
built by the
OldsmobileOldsmobile was a brand of automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory...
Division of
General MotorsGeneral Motors Company, often known as simply GM, is a United States based automaker with headquarters in Detroit, Michigan. GM was the world's 18th largest corporate entity and third largest automaker as ranked by 2008 revenues on the Fortune Global 500. Ranked by global unit sales for 2008, it...
from 1964 to 1977, which was based on the
Oldsmobile CutlassThe Oldsmobile Cutlass was a line of automobiles made by the Oldsmobile division of General Motors. The Cutlass began as a unibody compact car, but saw its greatest success as a body-on-frame intermediate car....
/F-85 model, but from 1964-1972 had a longer full-sized car wheelbase (120-121 inches) than the intermediate sedan chassis (115-116 inches) it was based upon.
Noted for the glass found in the roof over the second-row seating (which also included sun visors for the second row of seats) and for the smaller glass panels over the rear cargo area windows, this car was introduced to the public on February 4, 1964 as a 1964 model.
This body style was not unique to Oldsmobile, being shared with the
Buick Sport WagonThe General Motors Buick Sport Wagon was a mid-size station wagon and a corporate sister of the Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser. Featuring a raised roof and skylights over the cargo and second seat area, this model was an extended wheelbase version of the Buick Skylark station wagon...
, and was not repeated in future Oldsmobile mid-size wagons; however, the skylight concept was repeated with the 1991-92 full-size
Oldsmobile Custom CruiserOldsmobile used the Custom Cruiser name on their large rear-wheel drive station wagons from 1971 to 1992. The Custom Cruiser wagon used the same B-body platform as the Chevrolet Caprice, and Buick Roadmaster wagons...
wagon and echoed by its corporate sibling, the 1991-96
Buick RoadmasterThe Roadmaster was an automobile built by the Buick division of General Motors. Buick first used the Roadmaster name between 1936 and 1958. In 1991, Buick again applied the Roadmaster name to its full-size rear-wheel drive sedan and station wagon models as a replacement for the Buick Estate.-...
wagon. The forward facing third row seat is also unusual for car-based wagons, and is also seen on the Ford Freestyle/
Taurus XThe Ford Taurus X is a 6- or 7-passenger full-size crossover SUV that was produced by Ford Motor Company in the United States. It was originally introduced in 2005 as the Ford Freestyle, before being renamed Taurus X for the 2008 model year. In Ford's lineup, it replaced the Ford Taurus station wagon...
(which is a
crossover SUVCrossover describes a vehicle that derives from a car platform while borrowing features from a traditional Sport Utility Vehicle .While body on frame construction and light truck platforms are used to build traditional SUVs, crossovers use a car's monocoque/unibody platform construction...
) and
Eagle MedallionThe Eagle Medallion was a rebadged and re-engineered North American version of the French Renault 21. While the cars were built on the same platform, the French market 21 and the American market Medallion differed in features, powertrain availability, frontal styling, and trims...
.
1964-1967
The first-generation Vista Cruiser offered a split skylight over the second row of seats.
In 1964, the Vista Cruiser was one of three station wagons offered by Oldsmobile, the others being the F-85 built on the same wheelbase as other F-85/Cutlass intermediates and the full-sized
Dynamic 88The Oldsmobile 88 was a full-size car sold by the Oldsmobile division of General Motors and produced from 1949 until 1999. From 1950 to 1974 the 88 was the division's top-selling line, particularly the entry-level models such as the 88 and Dynamic 88...
Fiesta.
From 1965 to 1970, the Vista Cruiser became the division's largest wagon as Olds did not offer a station wagon in the full-sized
88The Oldsmobile 88 was a full-size car sold by the Oldsmobile division of General Motors and produced from 1949 until 1999. From 1950 to 1974 the 88 was the division's top-selling line, particularly the entry-level models such as the 88 and Dynamic 88...
series and the intermediate F-85/Cutlass were also offered during each of those years on the shorter wheelbase.
Engine offerings in the Vista Cruiser paralleled other Olds intermediates with a 330 cubic-inch V8 offered from 1964 to 1967 with horsepower ratings from 210 to 320 depending on year and carburetion.
Transmission offerings included the two-speed
JetawayThe Super Turbine 300 was a two-speed automatic transmission built by General Motors. It was used in various Buick, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac models from 1964 through 1969.-Design:...
automatic transmissionAn automatic transmission is an automobile gearbox that can change gear ratios automatically as the vehicle moves, freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually...
and two rarely-equipped manual transmissions including a three-speed column shift and a four-speed floor shift.
1968-1972
A major restyling of the GM A-body car line for 1968 replaced the split skylight with a one-piece skylight, and stretched the wheelbase from 120" to 121".
From 1968 to 1972, a 350 cubic-inch V8 became standard with a larger 400 cubic-inch V8 from the
442The Oldsmobile 442 was a muscle car produced by the Oldsmobile division of General Motors. It was introduced as an option package for F-85 and Cutlass models sold in the United States beginning with the 1964 model year. It became a model in its own right from 1968 to 1971, then reverted to an...
muscle car optional in 1968-69 and a 455 cubic-inch V8 from the 442 available from 1970 to 1972.
Transmission offerings through the years included one of two
automaticsAn automatic transmission is an automobile gearbox that can change gear ratios automatically as the vehicle moves, freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually...
- the two-speed
JetawayThe Super Turbine 300 was a two-speed automatic transmission built by General Motors. It was used in various Buick, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac models from 1964 through 1969.-Design:...
(1968) or three-speed Turbo Hydramatic (1968-72), or very rarely, a standard three-speed
manualA manual transmission, or manual gearbox is a type of transmission used in motor vehicle applications...
with column shift or optional four-speed manual with floor-mounted Hurst shifter.
In 1969, the "Dual-Action" tailgate was first offered, as standard equipment on the three-row models and as optional equipment on the two-row models.
In 1970, a redesign reshaped much of the exterior sheet metal, making the edges and curves sharper. Although it closely resembled the 1968-69 models, and is essentially considered to be a second-generation car, many of the body parts were no longer interchangeable with the earlier second-generation cars. The dashboard was also completely redesigned. (The GM Skywagon Club recognizes the 1970-72 models as "Generation 2a")
For 1971, Olds brought back the full-sized Custom Cruiser wagon on the
98The Oldsmobile 98 was a full-size automobile and the flagship of the Oldsmobile division of General Motors. The name first appeared in 1941 and was used again after American consumer automobile production resumed post-World War II...
chassis utilizing GM's disappearing clamshell tailgate, but the glass-roofed Vista Cruiser continued until 1972.
A small number of 1972 Vista Cruisers were modified by
Hurst PerformanceHurst Performance Inc. of Warminster, Pennsylvania, manufactured products for enhancing the performance of muscle cars. These included manual transmission shifters and other automobile components...
, then based in
Warminster Township, PennsylvaniaWarminster Township is a township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 31,383 at the 2000 census.The town was named for the town of Warminster in Wiltshire, England.-Geography:...
for support car duties at the 1972
Indianapolis 500The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, often shortened to Indianapolis 500 or Indy 500 or sometimes known simply as The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually over the Memorial Day weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...
and equipped with 455 cubic-inch Rocket V8s along with the official pace car, a 1972 Hurst/Olds, also powered by a 455 V8. Two are known to exist as of 2009, a press car and a medical director's car.
1973-77
Although the roof glass was substituted for an optional pop-up front-row sunroof and the wheelbase was shortened to the same -length as Cutlass sedans for the 1973 model year when the Cutlass and other GM intermediates were completely restyled, the Vista Cruiser name continued for five more model years as an elevated trim level of the
Cutlass SupremeThe Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme was a mid-size car produced by General Motors for the American market. It was always at the top of the Cutlass range. It began as a trim package, developed its own roofline, and eventually was mechanically divorced from the later, smaller Cutlasses.The Cutlass Supreme...
station wagon until the Cutlass Cruiser was introduced for the 1978 model year. Engine offerings during this period included a standard 350 cubic-inch
Rocket V8The Oldsmobile Rocket V8 was the first post-war OHV V8 at General Motors. Production started in 1949, with a new generation introduced in 1964. Like Pontiac, Olds continued building its own V8 engine family for decades, finally adopting the corporate Chevrolet 350 small-block and Cadillac Northstar...
or optional 455 cubic-inch Rocket V8 through 1976, which was replaced by a 403 cubic-inch Rocket V8 in 1977. The three-speed Turbo Hydra-matic transmission, power steering and power front disc brakes were standard equipment on Vista Cruisers during the 1973-77 period.
Pop culture
A second-generation 1969 Vista Cruiser was
Eric FormanEric Albert Forman is a fictional character and the male lead on Fox Network's That '70s Show, played by Topher Grace. The character is based on the adolescence of show creator Mark Brazill. Most of the show takes place at the Formans' home, particularly in the basement, where he and his five...
's car on
That '70s ShowThat '70s Show is an American television sitcom that centered on the lives of a group of teenagers living in the fictional suburban town of Point Place, Wisconsin, from May 1976 to 12:00 AM, January 1, 1980. It debuted on the FOX television network on August 23, 1998 and ran for eight consecutive...
. It was later sold to
Wilmer ValderramaWilmer Antonio Valderrama is an American actor and television personality, best known for the role of Fez in the sitcom That '70s Show, the host of the MTV series Yo Momma, and the voice of Manny in the children's show Handy Manny.-Early life:Valderrama was born in Miami, Florida, the son of...
, the actor who played
FezFez, portrayed by Wilmer Valderrama, is one of the seven main fictional characters from the television series That '70s Show. He was the foreign exchange student in the gang of seven local teenagers....
, for $500 USD when the show ended in 2006.
At the beginning of
National Lampoon's VacationNational Lampoon's Vacation is a 1983 comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid, Dana Barron and Anthony Michael Hall...
the car that gets crushed is a 1971 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser. Also in the movie
The Out-of-TownersThe Out-of-Towners is a 1970 comedy film written by Neil Simon, directed by Arthur Hiller, and starring Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis. It was released by Paramount Pictures on May 28, 1970....
the car appears in the beginning when the camera zooms into the suburban neighborhood in Ohio where George and Gwen live.
In the movie
DesperationDesperation is a horror novel by Stephen King. It was published in 1996 at the same time as its "mirror" novel, The Regulators. It was made into a TV movie starring Ron Perlman, Tom Skeritt, and Steven Weber in 2006....
, based on the
Stephen KingStephen Edwin King is an American writer of contemporary horror fiction, science fiction, fantasy literature, and screenplays. An estimated 300–350 million copies of King's novels and short story collections have been sold, and many of his stories have been adapted for film, television, and...
novel, a Vista Cruiser that looks like the one from
That '70s ShowThat '70s Show is an American television sitcom that centered on the lives of a group of teenagers living in the fictional suburban town of Point Place, Wisconsin, from May 1976 to 12:00 AM, January 1, 1980. It debuted on the FOX television network on August 23, 1998 and ran for eight consecutive...
is seen in the town of Desperation toward the beginning of the movie.
Another second-generation Vista Cruiser appears in the Fox TV show,
FringeFringe is an American science fiction television series co-created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The series follows an FBI Fringe Division team based in Boston, Massachusetts under the supervision of Homeland Security...
. In the show's plot, it was recovered from storage after 17 years when the show's lead character, Walter Bishop, is released from an insane asylum and remembered where he parked his car.
A first-generation Vista Cruiser with a 1965-base
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a state located in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States...
license plate appears in the movie
Radio FlyerRadio Flyer is a 1992 drama-fantasy film from Columbia Pictures.The film, directed by Richard Donner and, as uncredited, David M. Evans, stars Elijah Wood, Joseph Mazzello, Tom Hanks, Lorraine Bracco, Adam Baldwin, and Ben Johnson.-Plot:...
.
A second-generation Vista Cruiser appears in the 2002 English movie,
Once Upon a Time in the MidlandsOnce Upon a Time in the Midlands is a 2002 film directed and co-written by Shane Meadows and set in an anonymous town in the Midlands. It was filmed on location in Nottingham.-Plot:...
.
A
Mexico CityMexico City is the capital city of Mexico. It is the economic, industrial, and cultural center in the country, and the most populous city, with about 8,836,045 inhabitants in 2008...
-based music band, Los Twangers, made a
YouTubeYouTube is a video sharing website on which users can upload and share videos. Three former PayPal employees created YouTube in February 2005. In November 2006, YouTube, LLC was bought by Google Inc. for $1.65 billion, and is now operated as a subsidiary of Google...
video called "Vista Cruiser '69" in 2008.
A first generation Vista Cruiser is the estate that can be seen in the film "
A Lot Like LoveA Lot Like Love is a 2005 romantic comedy-drama film directed by Nigel Cole. The screenplay by Colin Patrick Lynch focuses on two individuals whose relationship slowly evolves from lust to friendship to romance over the course of seven years.-Plot:...
"
External links