See the Sights: 1971 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser
The station wagon was killed by the minivan – true or false? Like so many things in life, it’s a gray area. The advent of the minivan most certainly defeated many a wagon sale. But the real answer derives from the gas crisis, which spurred the US to develop corporate average fuel economy standards. CAFE was passed in 1975, dictating the average fuel economy for each carmaker’s fleet. The key is “fleet”: cars – including station wagons – were regulated heavily. Light trucks, less so. And large trucks even less so. The minivan qualified as a “light truck”, so the tide of carmakers’ offerings shifted to vans and trucks. Station wagons have become nostalgia fare, albeit still very useful. Here on eBay is a perfect opportunity to add a hauler to your fleet, by bidding on this 1971 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser. The price currently sits at $3500, and the reserve is met. The car will run but needs attention before road-tripping it home from Kent, Washington.
The Vista Cruiser was manufactured from 1964 through 1977. The wagon’s distinguishing feature was its skylight and curved panel windows above the second- and third-row seats. The first-gens had a split skylight; by 1968 the skylight had become a single pane. Second-row passengers had their own set of sun visors. The “light, bright” approach was possibly inspired by Raymond Loewy’s Greyhound SceniCruiser but thanks to cost considerations, by the time the third-gen arrived in 1973, the nifty windows were a thing of the past. The seller points out surface rust as well as more serious floor pan rust.
About five years ago, the seller’s family renovated the entire interior; shortly thereafter, the car’s primary driver had eye surgery that eliminated driving. The car has sat ever since. It’s well-optioned with power windows all around including the rear, power steering and brakes, air conditioning, a tilt wheel, and cruise control. The second-row seats fold forward to allow access to the third row, and the whole she-bang can fold flat if you need to … I dunno, haul hay? Woodgrain accents in and out differentiated the Vista Cruiser from the rest of Oldsmobile’s wagon offerings.
The engine is the good old Rocket 350 cu. in. V8, paired with a three-speed automatic. The odometer reads 97,000 miles. The fuel pump, plugs, filter, cap, and rotor are new, but after a five-year rest, the gas tank and radiator should be flushed, the oil should be changed, and brake work is probably in the offing. The tires are likely on their last legs (!) too. What’s a project second-gen Vista Cruiser worth? Well, the big money buys the first-gen wagons, where prices can touch $50k, but even this ’71 sold mighty close to that price. The current bid seems a bit cheap to me; what do you think?
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Comments
Rizz is what I gots.
Oldsmobile rules
Hanging out down street …
the same old thing, we did last week,,Erics was a ’69, but close enough.
The same old thing…we did last week!
Nothing to do, but talk to you…
We’re ALL ALL RIGHT! ALL ALL RIGHT!
So long Wisconsin!
This is exactly the car that I took driver’s ed in the summer of 1971. All the other classroom cars were 4 door Chevelles with dual control steering and brakes. The vista was actually a special needs school bus complete with flashing lights and school bus billboard on the roof. The summer driver’s ed program was oversubscribed hence the need to roll out an overflow car that wasn’t dual control equipped. I guess they weren’t concerned because the 4 students (myself included) already had our licenses and were only taking the class for the insurance discount. The instructor was our auto shop teacher and he didn’t care where we drove or where we went. I think that we were the only session that included burnouts and donuts in the curriculum. If we broke anything, we just fixed it in shop class the next day. Loved the vista cruiser.
Nicely optioned Vista Cruiser. As long as the rust isn’t too bad, I’d fix what was needed, and enjoy it for what it is. Hopefully it finds a good home.
The sellers description is wrong, it has manual windows and power door locks, no sign of cruise control on the drivers side inner fender. The options are about what you’d expect for a Vista Cruiser from the early-70’s.
Sold with a high bid of $4,276. Looks to be a good car for the money.
Steve R
The small crank you see is for the vent window. If you look closely it does have a power window switch for the main side windows as well as a power lock switch up higher on the door panel. It’s a little deceiving but the vent windows were never power.
Randy, expand the picture of the passenger door panel in the write up (it shows 2 manual window cranks) as well as the rear passenger door panel in picture 30 and 31 from the eBay ad, which show manual window cranks, but no power switch. Power windows would have a switch on all 4 doors and no manual window crank on the rear, that means the power switch on the front door is for locks. It’s easy to miss. Still a great car for the money.
Steve R
Love the moon roof of these Vista Cruisers. First, and only time I ever looked through one of those from the inside of one of these wagons was when my Cub Scout leader drove my little Cub Scout pack in it when I was a kid. Was the coolest thing I ever saw back then!
I love the utility of a wagon. It’s kind of fun to see one of these wagons converted to a 442 wagon tribute, or like an old Chevelle wagon turned into a Chevelle SS wagon.
Lovely looking car. I’ve always loved the 1970-72 Olds Vista Cruiser. Assuming everything is working like they should, I’d keep as much of the car as stock original as possible. Assuming the body and chassis are solid with no holes where there shouldn’t be, I’d leave it original, and then paint the body a different colour. I’d also replace the original warning lights with what I call “proper gauges”.
Every time I see a wagon like this or similar to this, it reminds me of my first and only demolition car.
The rear window went up into the roof and the tailgate went down into the floor. This feature made the rear extremely strong for hitting and disabling other cars.
I’ve never been able to remember the exact model it was.
One other thing, it was one of the rare times that I made money in motorsports when I drove. The car was free to me…prize money and sold it for scrap.
If it was an Olds with the clamshell gate it was a Custom Cruiser.
Chevy had them also! I think they were produced between 1971-76, and went away when the Chevy full-size cars were downsized in 1977. BOP got versions also.
It was an Olds or maybe a Buick? That was in the 80s that we took it to the county fair. I can’t remember much about it.
It depends how bad the rust is, but this one deserves to be saved! A friend’s Mother had a ’72 that she traded for a ’76 edition, when the Vista Cruiser roof disappeared.
“That’s a Vista Cruiser! You could literally CRUISE THE VISTAS!” – Red Foreman.