Oldsmobile Models,Cutlass Calais (1985–1991).

Oldsmobile Models,Cutlass Calais (1985–1991).

The Oldsmobile Calais, renamed the Cutlass Calais for 1988, and briefly available in 1987 as the limited edition GMO Quad 4, is a compact car that was produced by Oldsmobile from 1985 through 1991. In part, it was intended to replace the Omega in Oldsmobile's lineup. It shared the GM N platform with the Pontiac Grand Am and the Buick Skylark/Buick Somerset and was replaced by the Oldsmobile Achieva in 1992. During this time, Oldsmobile also produced two other Oldsmobile Cutlass models, the Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera and Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, each on its own platform. The 1985 Calais, named for Calais, France, was chosen to be the Indianapolis 500 Pace car that year; it was driven by actor James Garner.

The first production model (VIN 1G3NT27UXFM200001), was a white Calais Supreme two-door with a gray velour interior. Equipped with an automatic transmission and the 92 horsepower, 151 CID pushrod four-cylinder engine (also known as GM's "Iron Duke" Tech-IV), this particular model was outfitted with nearly every available option, including wire wheel covers. While this front-wheel drive car is maintained by the R.E. Olds Transportation Museum in Lansing, Michigan, it is just one of the more than 700 vehicles that make up the GM Heritage Collection of historically significant vehicles that date back to the early 1900s. The Calais Supreme was auctioned in April, 2009, and sold for $6,820.

In 1987, the Quad 4 engine was developed and became available in a special limited edition of the Calais called the "GMO Quad 4". Early television ads touting the new engine's abilities showed video of the Calais GMO Quad 4 racing around city streets (the submodel was dropped, however the Quad 4 engine continued to be available for several years afterward). Another, later special Cutlass Calais model was the 1990 to 1991 Quad-442. It used a high-output version of the four-cylinder coupled to a 5-speed manual transmission. This same High Output version was also available in the top-of-the-line Cutlass Calais International Series.