1978 Oldsmobile 4-4-2: Downsized, on the New Salon

This record's own dek states that the 4-4-2 was an appearance and handling option in this period, that no Hurst/Olds was offered, and that no production figure was found. This record's own overview states that the Cutlass was downsized for 1978, and that a tertiary account, citing its own reference 7, describes the 4-4-2 as an option package on the new Cutlass Salon.¹

This record's own key facts state that no citable 4-4-2 production figure was found for this year, and that on the downsized, 108-inch-wheelbase Cutlass, the Oldsmobile catalogue shows the 4-4-2 package, FE2 rallye suspension, stripes, and a blacked-out grille, on a Cutlass Salon coupe, with the 260 or 305 V-8 and a four-speed manual, five-speed overdrive manual, or automatic available. This record's own production notes state that the Standard Catalog gives only host-body totals, 21,198 Cutlass Salon coupes and 10,741 Cutlass Salon Brougham coupes, both separately scoped and shown for scale only since the catalogue does not say how many carried the 4-4-2 package.²

This record's own prices section documents 4-4-2 package prices of $260 on the Cutlass Salon coupe and $111 on the Cutlass Salon Brougham coupe, priced by host body rather than as a single figure, alongside factory prices of $4,408 for the Salon coupe (G87) with the V-6 and $4,508 with a V-8, and $4,696 for the Salon Brougham coupe (J87) with the V-6 and $4,796 with a V-8.^2,2

This record's own engines section documents the LD5 231 V-6 at 105 hp at 3,400 rpm and 185 lb-ft at 2,000 rpm SAE net, standard at 8.0:1 compression, the LV8 260 V-8 at 110 hp and 205 lb-ft at 7.5:1, named on the 4-4-2 page, the LG3 305 two-barrel V-8 at 145 hp and 245 lb-ft at 8.4:1 (135 hp and 240 lb-ft for California and high-altitude cars), also named on the 4-4-2 page, and the LG4 305 four-barrel V-8 at 160 hp and 235 lb-ft at 8.4:1, unavailable in California.^3,3

This record's own transmissions section documents a three-speed all-synchro manual standard outside California, a four-speed all-synchro manual available with the 305 two-barrel V-8 and named on the 4-4-2 page, a five-speed overdrive manual available with the 260 V-8 on all models or the 231 V-6 on coupes with bucket seats, and a three-speed automatic as the only transmission offered in California. This record's own options section documents the FE2 Rallye suspension's contents as special spring rates, firm shock absorbers, and front and rear stabilizer bars, and lists cast-aluminum sport wheels, bucket seats with console, dual sport mirrors, and precision instruments with a sport wheel as available with the 4-4-2.

This record's own specifications section documents a 108.1-inch wheelbase for the 1978 Cutlass, noted as 108 inches on the 4-4-2 page itself, a 197.7-inch overall length for the Salon coupe, and an 18.1-gallon fuel tank corrected from the 17.5 gallons the catalogue originally printed. It also documents EPA highway-city-combined estimates by engine and transmission for the Cutlass line as a whole, from 28-16-19 mpg for the manual 231 V-6 to 26-18-21 mpg for the automatic 305 four-barrel, figures given for the Cutlass line generally rather than the 4-4-2 specifically.³