I don't usually post second-generation Toros unless they're a '77 or a '78, but this one caught my eye because of the astonishingly high asking price of $37,000. It's a nice car, to be sure, but $37k nice? I don't see it. The seller is a dealer, and that's a dealer for you. Unless he finds someone who owned something exactly like this and purchased new back in 1971, I think he'll be sitting on this for quite a while at this asking price. https://oklahomacity.craigslist.org/ctd/d/henderson-1971-oldsmobile-toronado/7623151729.html Here's what bothers me. Both issues are visible in this photo, and they're related. The steering wheel is wrapped in an auto-parts-store-bought cover, and the dashboard top has a cover on it. Why? The answer for both is usually not good. Steering wheels of this vintage are often cracked and peeling by now. I can relatively live with that. But a cover on the dash that they don't remove when taking photos suggests sun-caused cracks, and that's ugly and difficult to fix. If this car has that problem, the seller should own up to it and show the damage. Otherwise, take the cover off the dash when taking photos so we can see the entire car.
The dash cover isn't even fitted, and I bet it isn't for this car. Yeah, sadly, Big 3 dash tops always dried and split wildly when constantly in the heat of the day.
I know it’s kinda of an apples and oranges comparison, but when I think of that ‘76 Delta and what it sold for and this guy wants the asking price of 7 of those ‘76’s it’s hard to wrap my head around that. The front grill also looks somewhat askew. That ‘76 was still the steal of the century. This car…… not so much.
The grille alignment is probably ok, but I know what you mean. The first three years of the second-generation Toros ('71 through '73) were unusual in that there was no conventional grille between the headlights. Rather, the grill was put down in the bumper below the headlights. That gave a cleaner look at to least the upper part of the front end. I don't know that the trade-off was worth it because the lower front end looks kind of ugly.
