Many determined and vocal people at Oldsmobile saw front-wheel drive as the wave of the future.

Jack Ridenour, Oldsmobile's divisional safety engineer in '66, anticipated challenges to the Toronado, a sporty yet personal full-sized front-wheel drive. He said, "We did everything…we could think of to document that the Toronado was as good or better than a rear-wheel drive car...We found no place where it had lesser capability or was less safe..."

In fact, those who bought a Toronado were amazed at how well it handled under all types of conditions. The 1966 Toronado ended up winning Motor Trend's "Car of the Year" award. source: 1