A total of 6,659 98s were made before production was shut down due to the war. An exclusive 127.0 in (3,226 mm) inch wheelbase was used in the series. Also gone in this shortened model year was the ultra rare 4-door convertible.
All cars in this series were powered by the straight eight engine. Gone was the single year offering of the 96. In 1942 the Custom Cruiser 98 was once again the Oldsmobile entrant into the luxury market. ġ942 Oldsmobile 98 Custom Cruiser Club Coupe Hydramatic automatic transmission, first introduced in October 1939, was a popular option. This was also the only year in Oldsmobile history that a 96, a 90 series car with a six-cylinder engine, was available. The other three body styles were a convertible coupe, a club coupe fastback and a 4-door sedan. Only 119 were sold in 1941 and this would be the only time this body style was ever offered on the 98. Rarest of these was the 4-door convertible which was exclusive to the 98. The top-of-the line Oldsmobile was available in three body styles on the 96 and in four body styles on the 98. A deluxe equipment package was now offered. The rarest was the 4-door convertible with only 50 being sold. A total of 43,658 90s were sold in four body styles. When combined with a column mounted shift lever the cars offered true six passenger comfort. Shoulder and hip room was over 5 in (127 mm) wider, running boards were eliminated, and the exterior was streamlined and 2–3 in (51–76 mm) lower.
The new C-body that the 1940 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser Series 90 shared with Cadillac Series 62, Buick Roadmaster and Super, and the Pontiac Torpedo featured cutting-edge " torpedo" styling. In 1942 Oldsmobile dropped the six cylinder Series 90 model leaving only the Custom Cruiser 98. In 1941 both engines were offered on each series so to differentiate between the two the second digit was used to denote the number of cylinders, so the Custom Cruiser 90 was replaced with the Custom Cruiser 96 and 98. The series were also given names for the first time that year with the Series 60, 70, and 90 being called the Special, Dynamic, and Custom Cruiser respectively. In 1940 the even larger C-body was introduced to Oldsmobile and it alone was powered by the straight-8. The Series 60 used the GM A-body and the Series 70 used the B-body. The F-Series was replaced by the Series 60 in 1939 and L-Series was replaced with the Series 70. F-Series came with a straight 6 engine and L-Series came with a larger body and a straight 8 engine. From 1932 through 1938 Oldsmobile had two series: "F" and "L". Naming standards were in flux at Oldsmobile during the late 1930s and 1940s.
Since it was the top-line Oldsmobile, the series had the most technologically advanced items available, such as the Hydramatic automatic transmission, the Autronic Eye, an automatic headlight dimmer, and Twilight Sentinel (a feature that automatically turned the headlights on and off via a light sensor and a delay timer, as controlled by the driver), and the highest-grade interior and exterior trim.Ģ15 cu in (3.5 L) Oldsmobile Straight-six engine The 98 shared its General Motors C-body platform with Buick and Cadillac. Occasionally additional nomenclature was used with the name, such as L/S and Holiday, and the 98 Regency badge would become increasingly common in the later years of the model. This left the two remaining number-names to carry on into the 1990s as the bread and butter of the full-size Oldsmobile lineup until the Eighty Eight-based Regency replaced the 98 in 1997. The Oldsmobile 76 was retired after 1950. The Series 60 was retired in 1949, the same year the Oldsmobile 78 was replaced by the 88. It was, as it would remain, the division's top-of-the-line model, with lesser Oldsmobiles having lower numbers such as the A-body 66 and 68, and the B-body 76 and 78. The name – reflecting a "Series 90" fitted with an 8-cylinder engine – first appeared in 1941 and was used again after American consumer automobile production resumed post- World War II. The Oldsmobile 98 (spelled Ninety-Eight from 1952 to 1991, and Ninety Eight from 1992 to 1996) is the full-size flagship model of Oldsmobile that was produced from 1940 until 1942, and then from 1946 to 1996. Transverse front-engine, front-wheel drive (1985–1996)