When the Oldsmobile 442 was introduced in 1964, the numbers 4, 4, and 2 in the designation had a specific meaning, but that would soon change.
Introduced by Oldsmobile in mid-1964 in response to the red-hot GTO from corporate rival Pontiac, the new 442 package for the mid-sized F-85 and Cutlass featured a specially tuned 330 cubic-inch V8 with 310 horsepower, a four-speed transmission, and dual exhausts, along with some other racy features including heavy-duty springs, shocks, and anti-roll bars. According to Oldsmobile, the numbers 4, 4, and 2 specifically referred to the four-barrel carburetor, four-on-the-floor gearbox, and dual exhaust system.
However, the dealer order forms in ’64 used rather different terminology. There, the $285 option was known as the B09 Police Apprehender Pursuit package, and it was available on all Olds A-body body styles except station wagons. As the factory print materials above show, it seems the 442 package was sent down dual marketing paths that first year, to law enforcement agencies and to performance enthusiasts—to both sides of the law, if you will.
As the 442 package was expanded and upgraded for 1965, the meaning of the numbers 442 began to be stretched this way and that. Since the 442 was now available with a Jetaway automatic transmission as well as the Muncie M20 four-speed, the marketing crew decided that now the numbers indicated a four-barrel carb, 400 cubic-inch engine, and dual exhaust.
But that rationalization didn’t hold up very long either, as a three-two-barrel carb option came along in 1966 and a single two-barrel in 1968. It was at around this point that the copy writers gave up, threw up their hands, and declared that the numbers 442 simply meant Oldsmobile performance. (Sidebar: Olds used a number of copy styles in its print materials and badging over the years, including 4-4-2 with en dashes or middle dots. For consistency, here we’ve stuck to 442.)
Through six generations of the model designation, there would be single-exhaust 442s, inline six and V6 442s, and in many years the 442 was really nothing more than a trim package. The last Oldsmobile to wear the name was the 1990-91 Quad 442, which was based on the front-drive compact Cutlass Calais (below). Sporting a hopped-up version of Oldsmobile’s DOHC Quad 4 with 180 hp, the final 442 was available only with a five-speed manual transmission.
