The Oldsmobile 442 was a muscle car that was produced from 1964 to 1971. It was first produced as an option for the F-85 and the Cutlass models of the Oldsmobile line of General Motors, or GM. In 1968, the 442 became a model of its own. From 1968 to 1971, this was one of the top muscle cars of its time.
In 1964 Oldsmobile produced the Cutlass 442 to compete with Pontiac's GTO. To do this, Oldsmobile used their top motor, the 330 V-8. It was able to go from 0 to 60 mile per hour in just 7.4 seconds. In the first year, 2,999 models where sold.
In 1965, the marketing of the 442 was much better than the year before. It targeted a younger group, selling over 25,000 cars. In 1965, Oldsmobile came out in with the 345hp 400 V-8 motor that could go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 5.5 seconds. Many car experts considered this model one of the best handling muscle cars in its class.
In 1968, Oldsmobile made the 442 a model of its own and even came out with a limited edition of the Hurst/Olds 442 which featured a 455 V-8 with Hurst Dual Gate shifters. It only came in one color which was Peruvian Silver with black accent stripes. Only 515 of this option were produced in 1968, and they are a collector's dream today.
In 1970, the trend for the muscle car started to drop which greatly affected the 442. In 1970, under 20,000 cars in this model were sold, and the numbers where even worse in 1971. With GM pushing for all motors to run on unleaded gas, the power of the 455 V-8 dropped from 370hp to 300hp, and sales dropped to below 10,000 cars in 1971.
In 1972, Oldsmobile dropped the 442 as a model and reintroduced the Cutlass 442 which was only produced until 1973. In 1973, Oldsmobile got out of the high performance market.
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