The Oldsmobile Cutlass, manufactured by General Motors Oldsmobile division was introduced in the year 1961 in order to compete in the unibody compact car market. Its primary competition was the Mercury Comet and Dodge lancer.

Oldsmobile used the Cutlass brand name with a lot of models and although this ploy was hugely successful initially and it had become a very successful name in the car market, it also created a lot of confusion during the 1980s. During this period there were three models running in the market simultaneously and it created a lot of confusion amongst the car lovers. These cars were the Cutlass Supreme, Cutlass Ciera and the Cutlass Calais.

In 1973 General Motors modified the F-85/Cutlass by using GM’s latest “Colonnade” A platform. This line consisted of the following Cutlass models- Cutlass Salon, Cutlass Supreme, Cutlass “S”, Vista Cruiser and Cutlass “S”-colonnade coupe. 1973 saw the addition of another Cutlass model, the Cutlass Salon, which was introduced as an upscale model. Initially it was a four door vehicle and later in 1974 the two doors Cutlass Salon was introduced. 

In 1975, the Oldsmobile 260 V8 was launched. It featured a five speed manual transmission and also had the option of automatic transmission. There were optional engines as well, but they were available only with automatic transmission. The year 1977 witnessed the classic Buick 231 and it is still one of the best cars of all times. However, the best selling model from the Cutlass line was the Oldsmobile Cutlass of 1976.