The Oldsmobile Bravada Was America’s Luxury SUV Failure

CHECK OUT THIS 2000 Oldsmobile Bravada ON CARS & BIDS!

This is a 2000 Oldsmobile Bravadaa. You don’t see many second-generation Oldsmobile Bravada models on the road anymore – and this one is a true rarity, as it's a one-owner example with reasonable mileage, too! . We are thrilled to be offering this Bravada for sale on CARS & BIDS!! Today I'm reviewing this Bravada and I'll show you the many quirks and features. I'll also get behind the wheel and review the driving experience.

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DOUGSCORE CHART:

Chapters

00:00 THIS...
00:33 It Can Be Yours On CARS & BIDS!!!
01:05 The Basics
02:03 Ahead of it's Time
03:13 Truck-Based Powertrain
04:33 The Original Sin
06:31 Oldsmobile Brand Name
07:47 Bad GM Interior
09:51 Some Luxuries
13:22 Rear Seating
14:45 Cargo Area
17:07 What Happened to the Bravada?
18:04 Driving Experience
22:21 Final Thoughts
22:49 Doug Score

[hunterbrown]

Doug has now reviewed 2 of the 3 generations of Oldsmobile Bravada. He needs to complete the set

[speed_racer]

"Only GM can turn wood into something that looks cheaper than wood" 😂

[hitman]

The owner did a great job taking care of it. Thats pretty impressive

[Mr_Chris]

And that 4.3 six will outlive all of us watching this video.

[SpoggiYT]

All these pedestrian US cars from the 90s and 2000s have a special place in my heart.

[rayskillings]

I owned a 2003 Bravada that had the 275 hp 4.2L. The motor was voted one of the ten best engines of the year. It had an air ride suspension, leather seats and rear seat dvd player . All wheel drive and oversized sway bars. It could tow and self level. It also came with a built in air compressor and a hose that could reach all four tires. This SUV drove like a cloud with plenty of power. I could get 25mg on the highway during long trips with the family. Kids could watch movies and had a rear seat audio controls. I drove it for 15 years with zero mechanical issues. Then I gave it to a large church that taught people how to be mechanics. Definitely one of my all time best vehicles. You could even plug in a video game console and it had wireless headphones.
I made many great memories going on family vacations with this SUV. It was a great experience!

[shado]

GM is king of handing their exam in early only to get a C-

[itsnotme]

A co-worker bought one of these back in 1998 for his wife. She LOVED it! All the little luxury things she didn't have before and now she could carry 4 to 5 people without issues.
Their marriage didn't survive, but he still has the truck I think?

[davidtabey]

0:35 car is such a failure he couldn't even say "big news" 😂

[Milsparro]

The Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited must have murdered this in sales. All those same features with an AWD V8

[SaintCyrX]

Oldsmobile was always doomed, if not just for the name alone. You can't market a brand whose name is basically two old sounding words mashed together.

[johnnyrotit]

My dad gave me a 2002 Bravada that he had purchased from and old man at 40K miles. He then put mileage on it and let it sit outside for a few years cause he had purchased a new SUV. When I got it 2 years ago it had 110K miles which is still great for an 02. I changed everything in it and surprisingly found most original AC Delco parts for it. The air suspension had been replaced with coils and it's the only thing I did not put back original, I kept the coils but changed the shocks. Even did the oil change in transmission, front and rear differentials and transfer case. The car still looks fairly new, works great and blends with others on the road in 2025. People always stop to look or ask me what kind of car and when I say Oldsmobile they pause for a minute and say wait didn't they go out of business twenty years ago? And when I tell them the car is 23 years old they can't believe it. Especially the 02 is not boxy but more
like today's SUVs and it has every option imaginable and is a gold color. Love it!

[CodewortSchinken]

I think the problem of this Bravada wasn't that there was a "lesser" version. The problem was that the Bravada obvisiously was just a dressed up Blazer.
The Cimarron of SUVs.

[pmullen]

@16:02 you glossed over the best feature of this vehicle, which is still rare to this day -- the rear seats shifted down and folded completely flat, with those trays you did mention, creating a perfectly flat storage area. And the rear headrests automatically flopped backward so they didn't get in the way of the front seatbacks and didn't have to be pulled out manually.

This vehicle is *exactly* the same as my 2000 Chevy Blazer LT 4-door, including the leather seats (mine were heated). Even better, the driver's seat and the driver's side mirror were memory and automatically adjusted according to whichever keyfob unlocked the door so it would be perfectly adjusted to myself or my wife when we opened the driver door. I haven't seen this on anything else; usually even if they are memory, you need to hit a button inside the vehicle to trigger it. Unfortunately, it ultimately was afflicted with circa-2000 Chevy electrical gremlins but I still really miss some of the creature comforts.

But, "why did the Oldsmobile Bravada fail?" Because it didn't just look like it was based on a Blazer, it's because it was literally a rebadged Blazer LT but you had to find an Oldsmobile dealer and be "that guy in an Oldsmobile" instead of going to one of the Chevy dealerships on every corner.

[Karmy.]

The Oldsmobile Bravada is one of the cars of all time

[TimmyRealz]

I can't believe how excited I am to watch this. I had the previous generation and my Father the one you're reviewing.

[skenzyme]

*_Regular Car Reviews_* set the standard for Bravada reviews. Doug's spin is always welcome though. 😅

[thooke]

Seller: "All right! Doug agreed to review my Bravada"
Doug: this review
Seller: "dammit Doug! You were supposed to hype it up for the sale"
Doug: " but that was hyped up, generously!"

😅

[dhproductions]

"...I drive a Bravada! I have acquired all the talismans of a civilized life, so why is my son bringing ninja stars to school?!"

[tannerhamlett]

Love it Doug! This type of quirky review is EXACTLY why I started watching him way back in 2018. Awesome to see him doing it for cars he is selling on his own platform. Impressive!