Into the 1980s continued
American manufacturers were resorting to badge engineering and smaller econo-box models, even among luxury car makers. This was about the time when fine German, and even Japanese models started to take over market share. Olympus countered with the European inspired Gemini, released originally in mid 1982, which proved immensely popular; not just for it’s style, but also for its entry level price tag. Now you could look like an upper-middle class suburbanite, while living in a working class neighborhood. By 1988, little had changed other than the shape of the headlights and front fascia.
Drawing on the European inspired design theme, Olympus released an update for the Libra, that featured a smaller, more fuel efficient engine.
By this time, Olympus’s market was more or less Wall Street Yuppies, Doctors, Lawyers and the like; not so much the car enthusiast anymore. Most did not know the meanings of the words Brougham, Landau, or Saloon, let alone pretentious terms such as Luxe and DuLuxe. As a result, the naming convention of trim levels were condensed into simplified letter combinations: For the entry-level, ELX replaced Executive, PRX replaced premium, LX replaced the Luxe trim, and DLX for DuLuxe. Elite trim was retained, but was limited to only certain models.
Insurance and CAFE regulations had put a damper on the performance car market in the 1970s and 1980s, leading to the cancellation of Olympus’s former performance models, lest they cannibalize Pantheon models’ sales. A surge in popularity due to increasing disposable income and yuppie culture, made Pantheon one of the more profitable product lines in the mid 1980s, which embolden Olympus’s decision to bring back their popular Sagittarius Roadster. Sagittarius, along with the brand’s flagship Virgo, would be the only cars in the 1980s to emblazon the company’s Elite trim decals.
SIDE NOTE
In 1985 Olympus Motor Group purchased a Japanese manufacturer, Nagoya - named after the hometown of its corporate headquarters - in an effort to expand its influence into Asia, Africa, and Australia and New Zealand. At the time, Nagoya had designs on expanding its sales to North America; such a move would have eroded at OMG’s Pegasus sales numbers. This hostile takeover bid made sure that never came to be. In Japan, South Korea, and Oceana, Olympus would be marketed alongside Nagoya, though most designs were by Nagoya’s engineers.