A few models in Detroit have enjoyed unusual longevity. The Chevrolet Corvette and Ford Mustang, for example, celebrated their 71st and 60th birthdays, respectively, in 2024. Almost no other model name has had such an enduring run.
In the photo above is one of the closest: Oldsmobile introduced the 88 in 1949. Its predecessor, the 1948 Olds 78, was powered by a 257cid straight eight rated at 112 horsepower, but while it carried over the Futuramic postwar Olds styling of its predecessor, the 88 featured Oldsmobile's brand new Rocket V8. The 303 cubic inch Rocket had overhead valves, a 7.5:1 compression ratio, and put out 135 SAE gross horsepower.
The 88 nameplate remained in production through ten whole generations, and the Bright White 1994-'95 Oldsmobile Eighty Eight Royale is an example of that final generation. (Its grille was slightly different to the '92-'93 models, and the car received a mid-cycle refresh that gave it a more rakish snout for '96, which is how we can pin down the model year.)
The tenth generation of the 88 was the second one after the car had gone to a front wheel drive platform in 1986, and this '94 Royale would be powered by the GM corporate 3800 V6. This was a Buick-derived port fuel injected pushrod 3.8L motor rated at 170bhp SAE net. When Car and Driver tested a '92 Eighty Eight Royale LS, they recorded an 8.8 second zero-to-sixty and a 107mph top speed.
Oldsmobile axed the 88 name after the 1999 model, finishing a fifty year run, among Detroit's longest.
This one was photographed in November of 2023 using a Canon EOS 7D and the excellent EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS zoom lens.
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