As we saw in our first installment, the first Oldsmobile Toronado bowed in 1966, the first front-wheel-drive American production car in nearly 30 years. It won great critical acclaim for both its clever Unitized Power Package (UPP) drivetrain and its striking exterior styling, but public reaction was guarded. The Toronado soon developed a loyal following, but sales were consistently disappointing. If the success of the Ford Thunderbird was any indication, contemporary luxury car shoppers were more interested in a fashionable image than serious performance, and their idea of high technology was powered vent windows and banks of aircraft-style toggle switches, not front-wheel drive or cold air induction.


The original Toronado, based on a 1962 design by stylist Dave North, featured what GM designers called the monocoque look: the sail panels of its semi-fastback roof blended seamlessly into the rear fenders and flared wheel wells. This is actually a 1967 model, distinguished by the eggcrate taillight trim and new wheelcovers, but its lines are little changed. The grille beneath the rear window is the exhaust vent for the flow-through ventilation system -- the Toronado and its Buick Riviera cousin had no vent windows, a real novelty at the time.

By the time the Toronado received its first full redesign for 1971, Oldsmobile had seen the writing on the wall. If the first Toronado had been a high-tech answer to the dashing Buick Riviera, the second generation would be Lansing's Eldorado: a posh personal luxury cruiser of which front-wheel drive was only an incidental feature.

Former GM designer Dick Ruzzin told us that the search for a new styling theme was a protracted one, involving several different styling studios. However, one thing was clear: the division wanted the second-generation Toronado to look more like its popular Cadillac cousin, which had been considerably more profitable than the Toronado. (It probably helped Oldsmobile's chief stylist was now Stan Parker, who had overseen the development of the first FWD Eldorado during his previous tenure at Cadillac.) Ruzzin recalled that design that became the 1971 Toronado began as a sketch by stylist Don Schumer, then in one of the Advanced groups. Schumer's rendering caught the fancy of styling VP Bill Mitchell, and it quickly evolved into the production design. Designer George Camp, who joined the Olds studios after the new Toronado was already finished, believes Bill Mitchell probably had a strong hand in shaping the final product, just as he did the 1971 "boattail" Riviera. Camp indicated that Mitchell tended to take a keen interest in the personal luxury models, which, along with the Corvette, were probably closest to his own tastes.


The 1971 Toronado was 219.9 inches (5,586 mm) long on a 122.3-inch (3,106-mm) wheelbase, making it 5.6 inches (142 mm) longer overall than the 1970 model. Curb weight was up about 80 lb (36 kg), totaling about 4,800 lb (2,177 kg) with a full load of options. A modest 1972 touch-up trimmed 0.3 inches (8 mm) from the wheelbase, but overall length grew to 220.3 inches (5,596 mm). Note the concealed windshield wipers, tucked behind the trailing edge of the long hood, a common GM styling feature during this period.

The new Toronado dispensed entirely with the first generation's fastback shape, which had been progressively toned down since 1969; the roof and rear fenders were now clearly separate. The result was a boxier shape that bore a more than passing resemblance to the contemporary Eldorado, particularly in profile. If the Toronado looked more like a 1970 Eldorado than the bulkier, all-new '71, that was not necessarily a bad thing; Cadillac resale values were at their peak in the early seventies, and in some markets, a late-model Eldorado commanded higher prices than a brand-new Toronado. The Toronado's greatest stylistic departure was the front end, which was distinctly Oldsmobile.

The Toronado once again shared its E-body shell with the Eldorado and Riviera. Previously, the Toronado and Eldorado had been semi-unitized, while the Riviera had a self-supporting cruciform chassis, but for 1971, all three cars rode a full-length perimeter frame, intended to provide greater isolation from noise, vibration, and harshness. Both the Toronado and Eldorado traded their previous rear suspensions, which had used single leaf springs and quad shocks, for trailing arms and coil springs, further reducing ride harshness. The Toronado's damping and spring rates were now luxury-car soft, although the F41 heavy-duty suspension was still on the option list.


The 1971 Toronado's twin grille theme gave the front end kinship with the contemporary Olds Eighty-Eight and Ninety-Eight (although there was no danger of mistaking it for either), but the power bulge and fender-mounted turn signals are pure Eldorado. The 1971 model had 350 gross horsepower (261 kW), 275 hp (205 kW) in the new SAE net scale; the '72, now carrying only net ratings, fell to 250 hp (186 kW).

The Toronado's clever Unitized Power Package was little changed, but buyers who didn't read the fine print might think the big 455 cu. in. (7.5 L) V8 had been completely defanged. It was now rated at 275 horsepower (205 kW) and 375 lb-ft (506 N-m) of torque, a nominal drop of 100 hp (75 kW) from 1970. Although the compression ratio had fallen from 10.25 to 8.5:1, part of GM president Ed Cole's mandate to prepare for unleaded fuels, most of the drop was attributable to new, more realistic SAE net rating system; in the old SAE gross system, the Toronado's engine was rated at 350 horsepower (261 kW). The powerful W34 GT engine, which had gone into around 20% of 1970 Toronados, was quietly dropped. The Toronado's sporting days were over.

The new Toronado didn't make a great impression on the automotive press. While front-wheel drive was still rare in the U.S. market, it was no longer groundbreaking, and the new Toro's performance and handling were unexceptional. Motor Trend's December 1970 test car needed nearly 11 seconds to reach 60 mph (97 kph), and required more than 175 feet (53 meters) to stop from that speed, with premature rear lockup making it a handful to control. (Their car apparently lacked the optional True-Track rear ABS, added late in the 1970 model year.) The Ford Thunderbird, long the waftiest car in its class, now had a firmer ride than the Toronado, and it was notably quicker, to boot. From an enthusiast standpoint, the Toronado had become decidedly dull.


The second-generation Toronado completely abandoned the original's flowing sail panels, although it aped neither the 1970 Eldorado's V-shaped backlight nor the '71 Eldo's opera windows; the latter would find their way onto the Toronado in 1975. For $205 extra, Toronado buyers could supplement the standard disc/drum brakes with the "True-Track" anti-lock braking system introduced the previous year. Like the basically identical "Trackmaster" system offered on the contemporary Eldorado, True-Track worked only on the rear wheels; four-wheel ABS would not become available on the Toronado until the late eighties.

Nonetheless, the Toro's newfound conservatism seemed to go over well with buyers. Despite a lengthy United Auto Workers strike that began just as the 1971 models arrived, Toronado sales showed encouraging signs of life, rising 14% from 1970. The Toronado was no longer winning any engineering awards, but if you wanted a reasonable imitation of a year-old Eldorado for about $1,000 less -- and the waiting lists at Cadillac dealerships suggested that many did -- it was a pretty good deal.

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