1977 Oldsmobile Omega SX, Coupe,
1977 Oldsmobile Omega SX

Would you buy discount tickets to see the Rolling Stone perform live, if the price reduction meant the band would play very quietly? Would it be enough to just see Mick and Keith, or would you want to hear them as well?

While this question may seem absurd, Oldsmobile decided to ask customers roughly the same question back in 1977. The Seventies were a dark time for auto fans, what with low-lead gas cramping performance, high fuel prices, and inflation-inflated sticker prices, car ownership was never less fun.

1977 Oldsmobile Omega

Diminished Expectations

Worse, carmakers were under pressure from the federal  government to improve fuel economy, this at a time when Americans had not yet fully embraced downsized, or small-displacement engines.

So, in a gentle—and perhaps misguided—attempt to lure sporty-car intenders away from fuel-thirsty engines, Oldsmobile offered shoppers free sporty stuff—but only if they went with the base V6 engine. Let’s call the whole fiasco an experiment.

One Year Only

We’re talking about the compact Olds Omega, a likable clone of the Chevrolet Nova, and potentially sporty when properly equipped. And the “free” stuff was actually pretty compelling.

For 1977—and only 1977—Oldsmobile offered at no cost the SX Features Group when shoppers purchased four other fun items. That’s “nine items for the price of four” as noted in the ad seen here.

1977 Oldsmobile Omega SX Ad
1977 Oldsmobile Omega SX Ad

Here’s what you had to purchase:

V6-Sports Pack

Sport Gauge Group

Super Stock Wheels

Raised white-letter tires

Bucket seats

 

Here’s what you got for free:

SX Features Group

SX Décor

Custom Sport Steering Wheel

Dual Outside Sport Mirrors

“Open Road” FE2 Suspension

Rocker-panel/wheel-opening molding trim

Nice, but Slow

What this got you, as an Omega owner, was a really nice, good-looking car with a capable sport suspension that couldn’t get out of its own way. The car looked great, and the sport suspension really did improve handling. But under the hood…nothing but regret and sadness.

Engines

As noted above, to get the free SX Features Group, customers had to stick with the base engine. And that engine was the 105-horsepower Buick-sourced 3.8-liter V6. And while most were hooked to a 3-speed automatic transmission, a 3-speed manual could also be had.

Now, a 145-horsepower Chevy-built 5.0-liter V8 was also available, but ordering it forfeited the SX Group discount. Note that California residents could also order a 170-horsepower 5.7-liter V8, which came only with an automatic. Either V8 would have been a dramatic step up from the V6, and would have made this sporty-looking Oldsmobile fun to drive, as well. One review had the Omega with V6 and automatic transmission reaching 60 mph from a stop in 14.5 seconds, while a similar Omega fitted with the available 5.0-liter made the run in about 10.0 seconds.

Price

And what was that the free package worth? For 1977, the SX Features Group retailed for $187, that’s about $1000, inflation adjusted.

No word on how many shoppers availed themselves of the promotion, but it’s worth noting the free-package deal disappeared for 1978. We suspect most SX-group-equipped Omegas were ordered with one of the V8 options, making for a great-looking, reasonably sporty—by 1977 standards—compact coupe.

“Rugged” V6

We hope the copywriter responsible for this sentence never found ad work again:

“To make it go, there’s a rugged 231 V-6 that’s got plenty of muscle…”

Not sure what’s meant here by rugged, but we’re sure no one familiar with the car ever described the V6’s output using the word “plenty.” The guy who wrote that line would probably buy discount Rolling Stones tickets.

1977 Oldsmobile Omega SX Hatchback
The 1977 SX package was available on both coupe and hatchback variants of the Omega. As Omega sedan was also available, but could not be had with the SX group.

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