It has been a longstanding tradition for a domestic production car to be selected for the honor of pacing the Indianapolis 500.  Not only does the selection expose millions of race fans to a new automobile, but several special pace car editions have been sold at dealerships to capitalize on the publicity.  In 1988, the honor went to Oldsmobile, but the whole affair ended up being a bit confusing.  If you want a chance to purchase a relatively rare Pace Car, then look at this 1988 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme for sale on Craigslist in Atlanta, Georgia.  One of just 200 hard top Indy Festival cars released to the public, this high mileage but well-kept Olds is being offered at a paltry $3,900.  Is it worth the asking price?   Thanks to Dr. John for this eighties find.

A lot was going on for Oldsmobile in 1987 and 1988.  The brand was trying to reposition itself as a sporty car with racing on its mind.  They were also in the process of phasing out the popular rear-wheel drive Cutlass Supreme coupes and replacing them with a much sleeker fifth-generation front-wheel drive version.  During all of this, the new Cutlass Supreme was selected as the pace car for the 1988 running of the Indianapolis 500.  Or Oldsmobile wrote a very big check for the “honor” of being selected.

The problem was that these new coupes weren’t in production by the time the company needed to provide the two specially built pace cars that would be needed for the race.  Modified vehicles were required for safety, speed, and reliability-related reasons.  In short, the cars have to carry a bank of caution lights, must be safe to drive at high speeds, have enough horsepower to get to those speeds quickly, and it wouldn’t look very good to have the pace car gets towed off during the race on live TV.

So Oldsmobile sent a couple of well-used but rebuilt prototypes to serve as the actual pace cars.  Cars and Concepts was tapped to produce the fifty convertibles and 200 coupes used in conjunction with the race.  Unlike previous pace cars, no optional pace car package option was offered to the general public.  The 200 coupes were sold through select dealers.  Fifty convertibles, all custom-built, were offered to Oldsmobile dealers as sort of a special perk.  They cost roughly twice as much as the coupes.  Legal problems forced GM to re-purchase these cars.  All but a handful returned to GM, with a few managing to escape.

The car you see here is one of the 200 coupes produced for use during the Indy Festival.  It still wears its door graphics and is in overall good condition.  When you consider that the car has 147,400 miles on it the condition is even more remarkable.  The seller tells us that it is in running and driving condition and is all original.  We are also told that it would be easy to restore or that the new owner could enjoy it as-is.

For the $3,900 asking price, this could be quite the deal.  It is a rare car that still sports distinctive good looks even today.  The lack of fading in the paint or the cloth interior is evidence that the car was properly stored over the past few decades.  While it is hard to believe that we are having a serious discussion concerning 1988 cars as collectibles, you would be hard-pressed to find a better car to enjoy and show for the money.

One buyer-beware item to note here.  While researching the car, I came across this ad for the same car for sale in Ellicott City, Maryland.  The Craigslist ad has the car listed in the Atlanta area.  Please be careful with any internet purchases.

Would this make a good, usable collectible for you?  Please let us know what you would do with it in the comments.