Good morning, and welcome back to Shitbox Showdown! It’s the tail-end of November, with winter coming soon for most of the USA. What better time to check out convertibles? Today we’ve got two early-90s droptops tuned for comfort rather than speed, and both are in remarkably good shape.
Before I show you those, we should check the results from yesterday. Everyone’s favorite erstwhile Swedish automaker pulls out another win, with that red 900 Turbo absolutely crushing the Discovery. A lot of commenters seemed to think the Saab would be “less work,” but I’ve owned a Saab, and I’m not sure that’s true. I think I’ll take the Discovery, myself.
Besides, every summer at the Portland All-British Field Meet, the Land Rover contingent looks like they’re having the most fun. Land Rover club members give rides around the motocross track in the PIR infield in old crusty Land Rovers, and it’s a blast. This year, we took a ride in a beat-up Range Rover driven by a woman whose name I think was Sarah, and we loved it. I “get” Land Rovers now, and an old stickshift Disco would be a great way to join the fun. Yeah, it might turn out to be a Disco Apocalypse, but that’s the risk you take.
Anyway, let’s check out some convertibles. After Lee Iacocca’s revival in the early ’80s, convertibles enjoyed quite a renaissance in America. Almost every carmaker offered one for a while, and usually more than one. They’re relegated to sporty coupes like the Mustang now, but comfy near-luxury convertibles were A Thing for a decade or more. Let’s take a look at two of them from the early 1990s.
1990 Chrysler LeBaron Convertible – $3,750
Engine/drivetrain: 3.0 liter overhead cam V6, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Odometer reading: 81,000 miles
Runs/drives? Yep!
I’m not sure what corner got turned in the Chrysler design department in the mid-1980s, but thank goodness for it. The K-cars, for all their virtues (and they had many, don’t roll your eyes like that), were not what you’d call stylish cars. Fortunately, the stodgy upright look was gone from nearly all of them except the traditional full-size sedans by 1990, and a sleeker, more modern look had taken over. And the Chrysler LeBaron, of all things, was one of the best examples.
Under the sleek hood was a welcome horsepower and torque infusion from Chrysler’s Japanese partner Mitsubishi, in the form of a three-liter V6, shared with many other Chrysler and Mitsubishi vehicles. There’s nothing remarkable about it, good or bad; it has a tendency to burn oil at higher mileages, but otherwise keeps pumping out middling amounts of power to the front wheels through, in this case, Chrysler’s then-new and unproven Ultradrive four-speed automatic. A lot of these early Ultradrives had problems, mainly due to improper maintenance, but if this one has been kept up as well as the rest of the car appears to have been, I’m sure it’s in fine shape.
This LeBaron has a scant 81,500 miles on its futuristic digital odometer, and it looks like it. Normally seat covers are a bit of a red flag, but in this case, I have a feeling they’ve been on there since 1993 and the seats are immaculate underneath. I could be wrong, but this doesn’t look like a car that has led a hard life.
I expect to hear the usual barrage of LeBaron references in the comments: Jon Voight, Kitty/Karen, etc. But make sure you don’t miss the obvious one. Otherwise, I’ll have to tell you that we used to be friends.
1994 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Convertible – $4,000
Engine/drivetrain: 3.1 liter overhead valve V6, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Reno, NV
Odometer reading: 167,000 miles
Runs/drives? Sure does!
K-car just isn’t your style, and nothing I say can convince you? Fair enough. How about General Motors’s slightly larger chassis-that-went-under-everything, the W-body? Here we have a model unique to the Oldsmobile brand, a drop-top Cutlass Supreme. It’s not quite the full open-air experience that the LeBaron is, due to that basket-handle roll bar, but I can’t fault it too much, because it retains the W-body coupe’s coolest feature: those door handles in the B-pillars. I don’t know why, but I always thought those were neat.
Powering this Cutlass is GM’s ubiquitous 60-degree pushrod V6, the engine nobody loved, but everybody bought. Like the Chrysler/Mitsubishi V6 in the LeBaron, it’s just sorta there, occasionally developing piston slap, or springing a coolant leak, but otherwise chugging along. GM’s 4T60E Turbo-Hydramatic handles the gear-changing duties.
THis car has more than twice the miles on it that the Chrysler does, but you wouldn’t know it to look at it. The paint is shiny, the interior is rip- and stain-free, and apart from a missing Oldsmobile emblem on the nose, I can’t really see anything wrong with it. It runs and drives great, according to the seller, and has a stack of service records and receipts from recent repairs.
I always liked the W-body Cutlass, and I think it makes a handsome convertible. Or is it technically a cabriolet, because of the basket-handle? I can never keep that all straight. Whatever. It’s a good-looking car with a top that goes down.
I know there are those of you that hate convertibles, and having owned one myself for several years, I understand why. It’s a pain in the ass at times. You can basically never lock it, for fear of someone just slicing open the top to break in. It’s always too hot or too cold to drive around with the top down, except for those few perfect days of the year. And when you drive with the top up, you’ve got blind spots the size of the Queen Mary. But the romance of them is undeniable, and when you do get those perfect top-down days (or nights; driving a convertible at night is an absolute treat), you tend to forget all that other stuff. And these two happen to be pretty good cars, independent of their convertible-ness. So which one will it be?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
Olds. The W-body underpinnings mean parts are available at any parts store in the US or Canada. Those cars were everywhere in my childhood while the K-cars were all rotting away. The 3.1 is a very known quantity. Going with what I know, which is GM.
Easy decision. I imagine “welcome to hell, here’s your K-car” is possible, so I always pick what isn’t a K-car. Also the Olds probably has better seats.
They’re both good dogs, Brent, but despite my fondness for hidden headlights and digital dashes, we’ll take the Olds. That Cutlass is in surprisingly good shape, and it’d be a fun Cars and Coffee ride.
Usually for this feature I want to select the missing “neither” option, but today I like them both.
I don’t need my convertible to be a racecar. In fact, I enjoy more leisurely cruising. Watch the famous “Pink Moon” VW commercial for my ideal convertible experience. Both of these would be pretty ideal for those purposes. Comfortable. Big enough to bring a few friends along but not so big that it feels like a battleship to drive. Cheap enough that you can toss a surfboard in the backseat and not feel bad about getting sand in the upholstery.
There are some cars out there that I will always associate with someone I knew who owned one. Anybody else do that? I had a friend when I was in high school [redacted] years ago who drove that generation LeBaron convertible, so whenever I see one, my mind always thinks: “Erin’s car.”
Similarly with the Olds, there was one kept in a self-storage facility near my hometown where someone was keeping a nice green example. I don’t know who the owner was, but his storage locker was just a little too narrow for him to open the car’s doors inside, so I’d occasionally see him getting in and out by climbing over the hood and through the open roof.
Anyway, both cars are neat, and I’m sure whoever buys each one will be very happy with it.
I’m an Olds man, and I’m not afraid of admitting that in front of anybody. The last gen Cutlass Supreme gets a bad rap around here for being “meh”, but I always thought these cars were pretty striking. I don’t know what that says about me personally, but I’d point you toward the first sentence of this post for further explaination.
I’m with you. I always thought this body style looked great.
The best option would be C, a Miata. While I resent the fact that affordable convertibles are essentially dead outside of pony cars and the ND Miata and think all convertibles have inherit value, I really can’t get behind front wheel drive, automatic ones. At the absolute minimum I’d insist on RWD if I was to buy a drop top, and despite not being a member of the ANYTHING WITHOUT A MANUAL CAN DIE IN HELLFIRE brigade I do think a stick really ties the whole experience together…especially for something that’s going to be a toy.
That said out of both of these snoozefests I’d go LeBaron because I love the 80s futuristic interior and the pop culture tie ins.
Really, I’d take either. The “beater convertible” category is a strange one, where the condition means a lot more than the make & model. Both of these look like they spent a lot of time chilling in a boomer’s garage.
I’d have to drive them both to choose between them. Whichever one “feels” better is the winner.
Yeah, buying a cheap convertible and immediately having to shell out for a new roof so you can drive it the other 116 days a year kind of defeats some of the purpose of buying a cheap convertible. Condition is pretty key
I’ll take the Olds; LeBaron is 100% the wrong color:
She wants a car with a cup holder armrest
She wants a car that will get her there
She’s changing her name
From Kitty to Karen
She’s trading her MG for a white Chrysler LeBaron
I want a girl with a short skirt and a long jacket
Aside from the horrible cheesy wheel covers which can be easily fixed by some nice alloys from any junk yard, this LeBaron is pretty much an ideal specimen. Right headlights (flippy), right dashboard (1990+), easiest engine to live with and keep running. If only it was a manual transmission.
Are you sure about that? Like, 100% positive? Because in my 20+ years being in and around the auto industry, I have never heard anything but praise for the 3.1. Powerful, no, but they were damn near unkillable. The Twin Dual Cam 3.4 on the other hand, well…
It’s a great engine. I just meant that it’s not anything anybody aspires to or sings the praises of. It just does its job.
See also: 4A-FE, EJ22, FE/F2, among a few other contemporaries…
I picked the Olds, I am trying to like the better condition LeBaron. But it is still a Chrysler from the 80s. I guess either vehicle beats walking.
As someone who does not like convertibles (or even sunroofs), hard pass on both. However, since I have to pick one, I’m going with the Olds.
My first car was a ‘92 LeBaron, bought with more miles for less money than this one. Drive it until almost 200,000 miles. We had to replace the top, fix the quarter window regulator, re wire the turn signal stalk circuit board, new radiator, rear wheel bearings and hubs, and hardwire a switch for the electric fans.
I learned the important lesson that sometimes the oil filter gasket does not come off with the filter, and two gaskets are not better than one. I also learned the importance of proper torque on the distributor rotor set screw when it slipped while accelerating into the highway.
My friend’s older sister had the Oldsmobile. The basket handle isn’t to my taste.
The LeBaron wasn’t fast, but more than fast enough for a high school kid. The quarter windows even go down in this one. It has my vote.
The LeBaron is a better value, but if I’m buying a floppy convertible with a boat anchor of an engine I at least want it to have a fun color. I’ll take the Cutlass, ye scurvy land lubbers.
I knew I was voting Cutlass as soon as I saw the pics. I have always loved the look of that ‘vert, and especially in red!
BTW, if you want a 4 season convertible that is pretty break-in proof with good visibility, find yourself a Pontiac G6 GT hardtop convertible. It’s not a sporty car, but mine is a pretty good cruiser. The heated leather seats extend top down days to pretty much any day there’s sun! And they’re not too expensive, either!
Mid-Aughts every manufacturer had to have a hard top convertible option, which for consumers overall seemed great. What I don’t recall is which company and car started the trend.
When it comes to LeBarons, no authentic teeth marks, no sale.
Though in reality I find that I really like the styling of the W-bodies, in particular the Cutlass Supreme.
C’Mon now Sugar, but I’m Taking the Olds.
The LeBaron is nice, but it has the wrong engine – the turbo mill that was available would be the right answer here. Because of that, I vote Olds.
We could say the Olds also has the wrong engine. If it had the 3800, it would win hands-down.
I don’t think those ever went in the Cutlass Supreme line, did they? It was 3.1,
3.4, the dual cam 3.4 that shreds itself, and some early ones had Quad4’s. (edited, I was wrong about the regular 3.4)I don’t think they ever came out of the factory with the 3800, but a supercharged 3800 swap would be epic!
It didn’t, but the platform-mate Regal had it.
The slightly earlier Olds came with the 3.1 MPFI and 440T4, while having slightly lower HP numbers, was super torquey and super reliable. The 3100 and 4T60E in this one, not so much.
For me the Olds has two big advantages:
B. It is not a MOPAR ( I have had two Chrysler Corporation cars and they were bad enough to put me off of them for life).
I’ve had two GM products pretty recently both give me serious problems well before 60k miles. Never going to buy another (new) one. I’d still take the Olds because I’m not relying on it to get me around to anything important.
For whatever reason I’ve always like the look of the cutlass convertible so it was an easy vote for it.
LeBaron. Half the miles, less money.
Door mounted seatbelts are not fond memories.
The new Cutlass Supreme is not your father’s Oldsmobile.
I’m choosing the LeBaron. I bet it was garaged most of it’s life in Sun City.
A twisto bikey, scoot jockey.
A few hours ago, down in Sun City,
he goes berserk.
Breaks custody, wastes a young premmie
and takes off in a Pursuit Special.
We’ve been on him ever since.
Given I’m short about a million dollars, I must pass on the K-Car, though it is a nice reliant automobile, and choose the Cutlass.