Oldsmobile Cutlas Supreme - cars & trucks - by owner - vehicle... (craigslist.org) These were everywhere in the 1980s.
Didn't realize some of these former A-bodies / now G-bodies were STILL being produced along side their front-drive replacements, SIX years after the replacements were introduced. And the rear door glass STILL doesn't roll down. This car's in my old neighborhood area - Venice, CA. note the decal in the rear window That trunk lid damage is bad.......
I must admit I can't believe they still made them either at that late of a date, you never really saw them much after the 1982-1983 model years because everyone who wanted a 4 door wanted one where the damn back windows rolled down and the B-bodies were NOT that much bigger than these cars nor were they that much more expensive when you factored in the cost of ownership.
1987 was the last year for the RWD Cutlass 4-door. The 2-door went one more year into 1988 (as did the Monte Carlo).
The "no roll down rear windows" goes onto the list of automotive Ideas that had merit, but turned out to be pretty dumb when applied in the real world.
I remember seeing one of these turned in for C4C and it was pretty nice. It was also an '87 and I remember my friend saying the exact same thing - that he didn't know they made the sedans that late in the 80s. Me too I guess.
That’s when GM was going through its Roger Smith cheap phase. No money for rear windows, but let’s send the company plane to Maine and back for fresh Lobster for lunch.
As it was explained to me on the A/G Body wagons & 4-doors from 78-87 it was also a gas mileage and rear seat elbow room thing. I was told that during the downsizing discussions they decided that as most mid size cars were by then ordered with A/C, the roll down back windows were not needed, this not only saved money, but also saved weight by eliminating both the window regulators, and either the hand crank or power window motor, also they only had to make 1 style door panel (in many colors & trim levels for each division.) and improved mpg by both reducing weight & improved aerodynamics. The 3rd thing was just for advertising, there was a real concern with the downsized cars about interior room, by eliminating the window regulators the arm rests could now go into the door panel, not stick out from them, that way they could advertise they actually increased rear seat elbow room when compared to the 73-77 midsize offerings. Do I agree with the choice, NO! I thought it was a dumb idea then, and still do. I have only owned 1 of those models, a 1983 Cutlass Cruiser, but by the time I bought it the A/C was inop, and it made a terrible dog hauler for both the non opening rear door windows, but also for the tailgate glass that was a hatch that opened up, not retract into the tailgate, so again it made for unhappy dog's, and the head room for the Greyhounds was lower than on the same era full size wagons. That Cutlass Cruiser went away as soon as I found the 78 Impala wagon to replace it. Never seriously looked at another 78-87
I may have told this story before. My only encounter with the "non-rolldown-rear windows" was when I was a kid. The Fury was having an overheating issue. It was summer time and things had gotten to the point where it needed to be addressed ASAP. While it was out of service some family friends lent us their car. I don't remember if it was an Olds/Chevy/Buick etc. But it was an A body like this one. It was almost brand new at the time and I remember being excited to be riding in a new car. That excitement was quickly snuffed out though when I realized that the rear windows didn't roll down. It was hot. And this particular car did not have A/C. I quickly grew to detest that car! I remember at the time being told it was a safety measure to keep kids from falling out of the windows. But that may have just been an adults guess in an attempt to answer my questions.
My parents used to tell me that all the time. Yeah they didn't understand. Cars have had windows in the back that didn't roll fully down for a long while and sure, there was a bonus of "kids can't easily crawl out" but ultimately it's "car door is not long enough to fully accommodate a rolled down window." And more modern SUVs and similar that have huge back doors do go down further than they used to, so it may be a thing to design them that way now with a limit, but back in the day on really old cars (1950s and older) they had windows that went down fully in the back with bigger back doors.
Quite a few wagons have rear door glass that only goes down halfway, due to the doors' design with a wheel well cutout or whatever, and I can deal with that - at least you get some ventilation.
