The first two generations of the Omega used rear-wheel-drive configuration, as a badge engineered variant of the Chevrolet Nova.

Body styles mirrored that of the Nova, including a 2-door coupe, 3-door hatchback, or a 4-door sedan.

The lone V8 was Oldsmobile's 5.7 L (350 cid) "Rocket" V8, which had a 4-speed manual as standard with the 3-speed automatic optional.

The parking lights were relocated inboard below the grille instead of the headlights and there was a new rear bumper design which met the federal government's new 5-mph impact standards.

This car was the top of the X-body line along with Buick's Apollo and Skylark, having more luxury trimming, more noise insulation, rear anti-roll bars, and other features not found on the Chevrolet Nova.

Unlike the Chevrolet Citation, which the car was based on, the Omega range consisted of a 2-door coupe and 4-door sedan, with upright styling and a split grille.

The SportOmega pioneered urethane plastic fenders in 1981 and featured red-and-orange striping, white-over-gray paint, and a sloping front grille shared with the SX and ES.

The X-body Omega, like its rebadged variants (the Chevrolet Citation, Pontiac Phoenix and Buick Skylark), proved fairly trouble-prone early on, necessitating a number of government-mandated recalls for braking problems, fluid leaks and suspension issues.

While Omega was the only one of the four X-cars to sell better in 1981 than in 1980 (147,918 versus 134,323), starting in 1982, production fell dramatically.