Though never considered a performance car and diluted by the many spectacular cars coming out of Detroit in the mid-1960s, the 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado took the biggest leap from both an engineering and styling standpoint of any car GM ever conceived. Sure, the Chevy Volt is an engineering marvel, but styling-wise it looks like a VW Passat. What makes the Toronado such a significant symbol of GM greatness was its combination of revolutionary styling and front-wheel-drive (FWD) engineering combined into a single car.
Its styling was momentous by the elimination of any beltline, resulting in a C-pillar seamlessly tying into the rear quarter-panels. Every car built up to 1966 had some break that defined the beltline, visually separating the upper body from the lower flanks. The 1966 Toronado broke that precedent. Oldsmobile called this the “monocoque look.” Another styling break was its virtually flush side windows—or DLO, for “daylight opening.” Now without a beltline shelf for the DLO to rest upon, they were pulled out close to the body surface, something we wouldn’t see again until the Audi 100 in 1982. And finally it featured a fastback design, shared only by the Stingray in all of GM-dom.
Of course, engineering-wise the revolutionary FWD was a tour de force. It was unique among other FWD systems for its axle rubber sleeves that absorbed torque steer, sealed axle lubrication, and pre-stretched “Hi-Vo” chains, so no tensioners or any adjustment was necessary—and it was quiet, too. And no driveshaft meant no floor hump, so the Toronado featured flat floors.
Sure, it’s a 5,000-pound barge in the eyes of hot rodders. Though its 425ci engine was rated at 385 hp, its combined weight and FWD layout make it an outlier in our world. Still, as a statement of Detroit superiority and pure Americana, you should marvel at the 1966 Toronado the next time one presents itself.
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