The Oldsmobile 88 Hardtop Coupe Saga: 1950-1974

The American "hardtop convertible" originally was a body based on true convertible coupes (that lacked B-pillars) but had racy, metal tops.  That type was in production in the USA from 1949 into the mid-1970s, with a few four-door versions lasting until the end of that decade.

What killed hardtop convertibles was government car safety regulations relating to body structures in rollover accidents.   The lack of a B-pillar meant a greater chance of a roof collapsing on rollover. 

Today's post presents Oldsmobile 88 versions of hardtop coupes, the idea being to feature a single make/model as basis for comparison of passenger greenhouse designs over the period they were offered.

Cars pictured below are from the first model year of each design, aside from the 1974 facelift.  Unless noted, images are of cars listed for sale.

Gallery

1950 Oldsmobile 88
Although Olds 88s appeared using General Motors' new A-bodies for the 1949 model year, A-body hardtop convertibles on Chevrolets, Pontiacs and Olds 88s didn't arrive until 1950.  I consider this passenger compartment greenhouse design the "classic" for hardtop convertibles.  Probably because they were new when I was a schoolboy, and my mind was imprinted by them.

1951 Oldsmobile Super 88 - Mecum Auctions photo
Partway into the '51 model year, GMs' new B-body Oldsmobiles appeared as Super 88s, while A-body Oldses continued as 88s.  All 88-type Oldsmobiles used B-bodies for 1952.  The wide C-pillar is shrunken and the backlight window narrowed, all in the interest of nearly-unobstructed exterior vision.  That desideratum continued until the mid-1960s.

1954 Oldsmobile 88
Model year 1954 saw the advent of panoramic (wraparound) windshields on Oldsmobiles, Buicks and Cadillacs.  Backlight window profiles are similar to the previous design's.

1957 Oldsmobile 88
Here the backlight profile (including three-segment glass) returns to the 1950 type, but with a narrower C-pillar.  This was replaced in the massive 1958 facelift by a design similar to that of 1954.

1959 Oldsmobile 88 - Mecum
Model year 1959 saw GM's most extreme quest for panoramic exterior visibility.  Side-window profile is extremely long, the windshield and backlight window wrap towards the roof, and the C-pillar is long and narrow.

1961 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 - BaT Auctions photo
Panoramic windshields are now history, but panoramic fenestration continues.

1965 Oldsmobile Delta 88
Perhaps due to Ford Thunderbird influence, wide C-pillars became the vogue in the 1960s.  Here the backlight is comparatively narrow and the rear quarter windows also are comparatively narrow.

1971 Oldsmobile Delta 88
That theme continued in the '71 redesign, though the backlight has been widened again.

1974 Oldsmobile Delta 88
A major facelift.  Google AI says the quarter windows could be rolled down, though most photos such as this one show them rolled up.  Note the heavy side pillar -- a concession to the regulations noted above.  Oldsmobile 88's 1977 redesign featured a wide B-pillar: hardtop coupes were dead.