In 1970, several changes were occurring throughout the car industry. The oil embargo and new regulations being implemented created a need to downgrade the big block muscle cars. The reason for this was simple; the government made restrictions that decreased the available torque and power of the engines already being used. Secondly, the public's demand began to lean more toward cars with good fuel economy, but they were not quite ready to give up the eye appeal that muscle cars offered. Oldsmobile looked ahead into the future trends and saw this before it happened, which is where the 1970 Oldsmobile Rallye 350 came into the picture. Let's all take a deeper look at this amazing car to give it some much-deserved credit.
10 Olds Rallye 350 Was The Premium Junior Muscle Car
Today nearly all businesses, including the car industry, use data they collect to see trends within their prospective industries. In 1970, there was no such collected data, and no computer systems to help analyze the information that they did have collected. Oldsmobile still knew it was imperative to look ahead into the future, which is why it created the premium junior muscle car of the decade. It was all muscle in look and even had a little muscle under the hood with the 350 "Rocket" V-8.
9 Rallye 350 Was Only Available In Sebring Yellow
Something that a muscle car needs to do to gain a following is to stand out above the crowd. Nothing shouted out more than the 1970 Olds Rallye because it was painted bright Sebring Yellow, the only color offered for the car. To top it off, the bumpers were just as yellow as the rest of the vehicle, as were the rims. The designers at Oldsmobile wanted it to stand out and be noticed, but ignoring the growing demand for chrome was probably something the automaker missed cashing out on.
8 Olds Shows That No Big Block Is Needed
The main statement that Oldsmobile was trying to make with the Rallye 350 was that a muscle car did not need a big block and that the old saying "there is no replacement for displacement" was not valid. The truth is that the car definitely proved that idea wrong because the 350 under the hood could push out 310 horsepower and 390 pound-feet of torque, which was as much as the more common big block engines could muster up once they were tuned down to meet the new regulations. Olds proved to the world that no big block was needed for a car to be a muscle car.
7 Rallye Had A Unique Engine
Most muscle car enthusiasts have heard of the 350 "Rocket" V-8 which was unique to Oldsmobile and its cars. Unlike most of the other GM engines, the "Rocket" was not distributed around to the other carmakers under the GM umbrella, except for the Cadillac Seville, so it was a unique engine that found its way under the hood of the 1970 Oldsmobile Rallye. No other GM vehicle had the privilege of receiving the dependable and powerful 350 "Rocket."
6 Rallye 350 Had Choices For Improvements
Most all muscle cars have options when ordering so the buyers can customize the vehicle to their liking. The Rallye 350 may not have offered a choice in an engine, but it did come with many other options that could turn it into a meaner Sebring Yellow machine. The rear gears could be swapped out for better racing, and Anti-Spin could be added (which was the Olds' name for positraction). The transmission could be left with the basic three-speed manual shifter or upgraded to the four-speed Muncie manual or the Turbo Hydra-Matic 350 Automatic.
5 Olds Rallye 350 Had Upgraded Standard Parts
It may not be thought that having anything that was a standard part on a muscle car is a good thing, and most of the time, that would be the correct way of thinking. However, with the Oldsmobile Rallye 350, the standard equipment was not the basic, run-of-the-mill part. Everything on the car was an upgraded version of the basic, such as the 350 "Rocket," suspension upgrades, a three-speed manual, the hood and striping, and the spoiler. All of them were standard equipment on the Rallye 350, which was better than the basic, but could still be upgraded even more.
4 Olds Rallye Was Not Built For Road Courses
In today's market, a muscle car can be called a sports car, and a sports car can be called a muscle car because it can run exceptionally well on a straight track or a curved road course. In the '60s and '70s, that was not the case because a car had to be a muscle car or a sports car, but not both. Even though the 1970 Oldsmobile Rallye 350 could corner decently because it had "Rallye Sport Edition" suspension, it was still designed for straight track domination, so if put to the test on a road course, it would not fair so well.
3 One Year Of Production For The Rallye 350
Even though the Oldsmobile Rallye 350 was a good-looking car with power and torque right out of the assembly lines, it was only produced for one year, which was the 1970 model year. During that one year of production, there were only 3,547 cars built, making this a car sought after by many collectors today. It is still not one of the most sought-after muscle cars because many others have a much higher value, but when it comes to those that want one of the best junior muscle cars from the past, the Rallye 350 is the one to have.
2 Rallye Colored Bumpers May Have Been Trouble
Making the entire Oldsmobile Rallye 350 the same color may not have been one of the best ideas, even though it did make the car stand out. The whole vehicle is the same Sebring Yellow which made it unique, but the problem was that people were looking for bright and flashy. This means that the trending consumer demands leaned more towards chrome wheels and trim, which the Rallye 350 did not offer. It has been claimed that some dealers even swapped out the yellow bumpers and installed chrome on them to give buyers more eye appeal.
1 Failed In Sales Due To Being Before Its Time
Even changing out some of the yellow bumpers for chrome did not seem to improve the sales of the Oldsmobile Rallye 350. By the time the new cars rolled in and the 1971 model cars hit the showroom floor, there were still Rallye waiting to be sold. For a carmaker, this is a situation that they do not want to be in because lost sales mean lost revenue for them and the dealers. This makes the dealer a little gun-shy about ordering more from them, reducing the sales for the new year's lineup. This shows that even if a carmaker is ahead of its time, what the consumer wants is what they will get, or sales will not be so great.
FAQ
Q: How many Oldsmobile Rallye 350s were made?
Even though the Olds Rallye 350 came out at the perfect time to catch the eyes of the consumers wanting better economy with muscle eye appeal, the car was not a top seller. The company only produced 3,547 cars, and not all of them were sold by the end of the year.
Q: How much horsepower and torque did the Olds Rallye 350 have?
The engine that was placed under the hood of the 1970 Oldsmobile Rallye 350 was the "Rocket" 350, which was unique primarily to Oldsmobile vehicles. It could push out around 310 horsepower and produce up to 390 foot-pounds of torque.
Q: Why did the 1970 Oldsmobile Rallye not sell very well?
There are several reasons that the Rallye 350 did not sell as well as it was predicted to. The first, and probably the most relevant, was that the 350 had power and torque, but not like what muscle car lovers were used to. Plus, painting every part of the car Sebring Yellow made the car ugly to many potential consumers when the trend was more toward chrome.
Q: How much is a 1970 Oldsmobile 350 worth today?
There are many variables involved in deciding the car's value, such as the location and the condition, but let's look at a recent auction to see the average value of the car. Bring A Trailer recently sold one in great condition for $25,500, so it is safe to say that the average value would be around that amount, if not more.