AutoHunter Spotlight: 1974 Oldsmobile Cutlass 442 Coupe
By the mid-1970s, when the Oldsmobile 442 was a decade old, there was a shift happening in the muscle car realm. The Olds leaned a little more into the comfortable/luxurious side of its formula instead of all-out performance. Featured on AutoHunter is a car we’ll use to showcase that evolution: a 1974 Oldsmobile Cutlass 442 Coupe listed by a dealer in Gladstone, Oregon. The auction will end on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, at 12:15 p.m. (MST).
Finished in Cranberry Poly with a white accent stripe, the car is said to be highly original. Upgraded features include power front disc brakes, power steering, tilt steering wheel, and dual exhaust system.
As for the shift in positioning, it wasn’t completely at the expense of performance; the mid-1970s 442s still had plenty of power—especially when equipped with the 455ci V8 like this car—just with more convenience options than in prior iterations. The cabin was refined for comfort, sometimes with wood-grain trim. One new feature was a “Strato” swivel bucket that made entry and exit a breeze. (I wrote a story about the same feature in a Monte Carlo several years ago.) All of this is to say that the 442 was more of a grand-tourer than before, especially in certain model years when the only available transmission was an automatic.
The 1974 Cutlass rode on the third-generation General Motors A-body platform, which had debuted just a year earlier. In enthusiast circles, the body style was sometimes referred to as the “Colonnade” design and featured a more squared-off look up front when compared to prior versions. The available “442” option was a handling and appearance package, option code W-29, that brought (among other things) a louvered hood, specific grille, special striping, and upgraded “FE2” suspension.
That brings us to this 442, which is nicely presented in its original color combination, according to the trim tag. The car’s U-code “Rocket” 455ci V8 with four-barrel is said to be numbers-matching—when new, the 455 was rated at 230 horsepower and 370 lb-ft of torque. One interesting note about powertrains: for 1974, the 442 lost the available three- and four-speed manuals; the only available transmission was a Turbo-Hydramatic.
The 442 made an indelible mark on muscle car history, and the 1970s versions were a perfect case-study of how a product can shift due to market influences, external factors, and consumer tastes and preferences.
The auction for this 1974 Oldsmobile Cutlass 442 Coupe ends Tuesday, January 20, 2026, at 12:15 p.m. (MST).
Visit the AutoHunter listing for more information and a photo gallery
