Well, this car fits the bill as “Your Fathers Oldsmobile” as the jingle used to say. I grew up driving my parents Cutlass Sierras and Centurys, so I’m a little familiar with this car’s lineage.
I hoped that some fifteen years of development would have resulted in some significant changes in this cars styling and handling. I was disappointed. While some more modern materials and techniques were used in the cars interior and some sleeker lines were used in the familiar body shape, the car is almost the same as the ones my parents drove. The bucket-looking seat felt like a split bench, I slid on the leather surfaces at every turn. The dash certainly looks better than the mid 80’s vintage GMs I was used to, but it still seemed lacking. Certainly compared to what the GM and Pontiac lines have introduced.
Power was sluggish for this size car and engine. Certainly it felt like a mass issue, but I have not checked the GVWR. Steering was equally poor. After turning a corner, one practically has to steer the car back to a straight line. Fortunately/unfortunately the power steering makes turning the wheel effortless to the point of no feedback.
Fuel economy is “American” bad at about 23 MPG, mostly highway.
Overall I give this car a D. Lousy seats, lousy handling, old fashioned styling, and as I’ve commented with the other American cars, poor fuel economy.