“It goes beyond the Ninety-Eight of your mind to the Ninety-Eight of your dreams.”
The 1985 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Regency sedan was substantially downsized from the previous year and switched to front wheel drive. Overall length dropped over two feet from 221.1 inches to 196.1 inches.
Standard power (if you could call it that) came from the LK9 110 bhp 3.0 liter/181 ci V6 with a two-barrel carburetor. Optional engines were the 125 bhp LG3 3.8 liter/231 ci multi-port fuel-injected V6 and the LS2 4.3 liter/261 ci V6 diesel (don’t do it!) putting out all of 85 bhp (at least it had 165 lb-ft of torque). All engines were teamed with a four-speed automatic transmission. Both the 3.0 liter V6 and the diesel V6 would be gone by the time the 1986 model year rolled around.
Mileage for the standard engine was 18 city/25 highway by the 1985 measures (16/23 by today’s standards). Hilariously, the upmarket 3.8 liter engine was rated at 19 city/26 highway, the multi-port fuel injection more than making up for the increased displacement. Buyers of the diesel could expect 22 city/32 highway. With an 18-gallon gas tank, a Ninety-Eight Regency owner could expect a range of about 315 to 350 miles with a 10% fuel reserve. The target market probably didn’t care about 0-60 times, which was a good thing; the best case was likely about 12 seconds.
Standard mechanical equipment on the $14,665 (approximately $44,800 in 2025 dollars) Ninety-Eight Regency included an automatic leveling system, power rack-and-pinion steering, power front disc brakes, and P205/75R14 steel-belted radial-ply white-stripe all season tires (a size still available thanks to Hankook and Kumho) on 14-inch wheels with bright deluxe wheel discs. Inside, four-season air conditioning, an AM/FM stereo radio, a six-way power driver’s seat, power door locks, power mirrors, and power windows were all standard.
Stepping up to the $15,864 (approximately $48,400 in today’s dollars) Ninety-Eight Regency Brougham made the 3.8 liter engine standard and added simulated wire wheels with locks, fancier seats, a deluxe steering wheel with tilt-away feature, and intermittent windshield wipers—along with over 300 pounds of weight.
Options & Production Numbers
Individual options included an Astroroof ($1,230), cornering lamps ($60), an electronic air conditioner ($125), and Twilight Sentinel headlamp control ($60).
These C-bodies (there were also Buick and Cadillac versions) had a stately appearance. Big and (I think) handsome, they had a lot of interior room despite the downsizing—at 110 cubic feet, they had only two cubic feet less than the 1984.
Sales of the 1985 Ninety-Eight Regency sedan were good—at almost 155,000, more than double the approximately 69,000 that had been sold in 1984. A little over 70% of Regency buyers opted to move up to the Brougham.
The View From 2025
C-body Ninety-Eight Regency sedans sometimes come up for sale in the Hemming’s Motor News classifieds and on eBay Motors. Bring a Trailer has sold one of this era, and it was a diesel.
Make mine Platinum Metallic, please.
Other 1985 Oldsmobiles I have written about include the Cutlass Ciera sedan, the Cutlass Supreme coupe, and the Firenza ES sedan.
Last updated June 2025.
Eighties Cars 
Thaank you for sharing this