1999 Oldsmobile Bravada suspension parts

Oldsmobile defines its Bravada as an upscale on-road sport-utility vehicle with refined styling and car-like ride and handling. For people who have been bombarded with advertising showing shiny SUVs tackling inhospitable terrain, this is acknowledgement from one manufacturer of how most sport-utilities are really used. In truth, the Oldsmobile Bravada air suspension and coil springs handle the road very well. It rides and drives like an Oldsmobile luxury sedan. A relatively tight turning circle and power-assisted steering make it easier to maneuver in crowded parking lots than some of the other sport-utilities on the market.

Oldsmobile has taken a sensible approach to the Bravada from the start. The Oldsmobile Bravada is based it on the proven, high-volume Chevy Blazer/GMC Jimmy platform. Taking this simple, direct route reduced development time and kept costs down. Oldsmobile’s vehicles are positioned as high-value luxury cars within their market segments, so setting the Bravada in a similar group among SUVs is sensible. For this reason, the Bravada comes with a higher level of standard equipment than the other GM products.

In the three years since the Bravada’s last major makeover, several newcomers have arrived. The Mercury Mountaineer, Jeep Grand Cherokee and Infiniti QX4 compete in this luxury SUV segment. Other, mass market, sport-utilities vie for these same buyers when optioned out to their leather-lined limits. It’s obvious that the Bravada is an Oldsmobile. It says so in any number of places around the exterior. Division stylists have done a fine job of distancing the handsome Bravada from the Blazer and Jimmy without resorting to expensive sheet-metal surgery. Trim details reinforce the Oldsmobile brand identity. Up front, the Bravada receives the modern Oldsmobile family identification in the form of larger headlight assemblies and dual grilles separated by a body-color panel carrying the Oldsmobile division logo.

The basic design of all three General Motors compact sport-utilities is clean and attractive; all feature an aerodynamic front end, semi-formal roofline and muscular stance with minimal overhang. The major difference between Bravada and its GM siblings is in packaging. Blazers and Jimmys are available with two- or four-door bodies, two- or four-wheel-drive systems, suspensions designed for off-road driving or highway cruising, manual or automatic transmissions and a choice of interiors from plush to Spartan. The Bravada comes one way — with everything. That includes four doors, an automatic transmission, a V6 engine, and every luxury feature imaginable. The driveline consists of electronically controlled all-wheel-drive system with a locking center differential.

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