Fresh Oldsmobile ‘Ninety Eight’ Brought to Show Land Yachts Are Still Fashionable

The extinct nameplate we want to talk about because it suits our visiting purposes across the imaginative realm of digital car content creators is Oldsmobile’s 98. Lovingly referred to as the Ninety Eight (with a hyphen from 1952 to 1991, and then without until 1996), this was the full-size flagship model in Oldsmobile’s lineup since its introduction in 1940. It went on a short hiatus between 1942 and 1946 to accommodate the WWII production efforts, and the name reflected its series status and 8-cylinder engine fitment.

A natural leader, the Oldsmobile 98 was fitted with the most advanced technology the company had at its disposal, and so, many people believe the muscle car originated from the 303-ci Rocket V8-equipped Oldsmobile 98 and 88 sometime during 1949. Even if it weren’t the initiator of the current that’s still alive and well today (albeit we’re expecting a significant paradigm switch to the EV lifestyle soon), the Olds 98 would still play a significant role across American automobile history thanks to its existence across twelve generations.

The final one bowed out in 1996 after celebrating more than 45 years on the market – but by that time, it had already dropped to V6 engines (including a supercharged 3.8-liter), and the sole body style was the traditional four-door sedan format. Interestingly, as it was related to the Buick Park Avenue, Cadillac DeVille, Fleetwood, and Sixty Special, it was a stately sedan – albeit one with a decidedly quirky styling, even for the early 1990s.

Naturally, that was part of its charm, many would argue. Including members of the CGI wolf pack from the parallel universes of digital automotive creators, such as Jim – the virtual artist known as jlord8 on social media. He recently dropped the 1980s and 1990s quirkiness for even older revivals – and after giving us a B-bodied Pontiac Bonneville, a Viper-powered Dodge Spirit R/T estate, a Fleetwood-style Cadillac El Dorado x El Camino Ute, or a Buick Reatta convertible with RWD, turbo V6, and like-rails handling, now he’s bringing back a couple of Oldsmobile models.

As far as sports car fans are concerned, maybe the ‘badge engineering’ of a sixth-gen Chevy Camaro ZL1 into an Oldsmobile Cutlass (Supreme) revival is of higher importance. But if you are an enthusiast of the four-door sedan endangered species, this Oldsmobile ‘Ninety Eight’ revival is right up your alley of expertise. However, beauty is always in the eye of the beholder, as this CGI reinvention is clearly not everyone’s cup of tea.

If you pay attention, most likely, you’ll recognize the Cadillac backbones. As such, it is no wonder that while some folks were ready to buy something like this over any CUV, SUV, or hybrid that GM is putting out now, and others thought it needed more tweaks, a few even came with complete use case scenarios. For example, someone imagined an alternate timeline where Olds survived instead of Buick, and this was an epitome of the luxury brand in places where sedans are still appreciated – like China. Alas, we still think this could also be an excellent fit for America to show that sedans still matter there, too.