Vacation Cruiser

Spotted in the wild of a grocery store parking lot:

A 1985 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser complete with fake wood vinyl siding.

Ubiquitous in the 1980s, stumbling across a genuine land yacht in pristine condition is exceedingly rare.  They enjoy something of a cult status as not many of them are left 40 years later.  GM's Oldsmobile Division assembled fewer than 15,000 Custom Cruisers in 1985 and only a few are left on the road.  Driven into the ground hauling kids, dogs and groceries most rusted-away from Midwest winters long ago only to be replaced by more popular minivans and SUVs.

Without peaking under the hood this model is likely equipped with a 5.0L (307 CID) V8.  At 140 HP it wasn't a speed demon but a steady and quiet cruiser.  It sits on a GM B-body frame shared with the Buick Estate and Chevrolet Caprice.  This model has a three-way tailgate.  The body panels are straight, the chrome is perfect and the rear window isn't sagging from the massive tailgate speaks to terrific maintenance.  Even the 'Got Wood' window decal is a tongue-in-cheek nod to the vinyl woodgrain paneling.

A quick check on the interweb reveals this boat retails between $6,000 and $12,000 - compared to an MSRP of $14,500 - $15,000 as new.  Low-mileage exceptional specimens can fetch up to $20,000 at auction.

Sounds like a fair price to me for a genuine National Lampoon Family Vacation ride.

Happy motoring....