Based on a research by the London-based automotive enterprise intelligence agency JATO Dynamics, as of April 2020, about half of recent autos bought in the US are all-wheel drive. This may occasionally not come as a shock given the American affinity for crossovers and SUVs lately.
However not far behind, front-drivers comprise about 40 % of recent autos bought. Rear-wheel-drive autos now make up fewer than 10 %. These numbers appeared vastly totally different 55 years in the past, when Oldsmobile pioneered the primary American front-wheel-drive automobile within the type of a two-door “private luxurious automobile” known as the Toronado.
The Choose of the Day is a third-generation 1983 Oldsmobile Toronado with solely 46,000 miles on it, listed on the market by a vendor in Jefferson, Wisconsin on ClassicCars.com.
This instance in Darkish Maple Metallic may very well be one of many best-kept left in existence, and the vendor describes intimately the deserves of its situation.
“The automobile begins, runs and drives splendidly,” the advert states. “The automobile has definitely been storage stored its total life. It is a automobile to be pleased with. It is going to be well-received at any automobile present.”
Except for an inoperative energy antenna, the whole lot is claimed to be in working order, and the vendor is together with a substitute antenna together with the sale of the automobile.
Mechanically, it appears like a turn-key collector automobile. The vendor states that the Michelin tires are new, the belts and battery have been modified not too long ago, and the air con works.
“It ought to be pushed and loved,” the vendor concludes.
The Toronado misplaced dimension – and weight, to the tune of about 1,000 kilos – because it went into its third technology for the 1979 mannequin 12 months, its platform shared with the Buick Riviera and Cadillac Eldorado. Most Toronados, together with this one, got here geared up with the 350cid V8.
However the improvements that went into the Toronado prolonged past its drivetrain configuration; an unbiased rear suspension was adopted on the similar time to enhance dealing with and enhance cabin and trunk house.
The Toronado identify has been gone since 1992, and the Oldsmobile model was worn out completely by Normal Motors in 2004. However the Toronado’s revolutionary drivetrain set the wheels in movement – actually – for a brand new mind-set about automotive engineering. The vendor is asking $8,995 for this instance.
To view this itemizing on ClassicCars.com, see Choose of the Day.
