Oldsmobile

Oldsmobile (or Olds) was a brand of automobile produced in the United States from 1897 to 2004. In its 107 years, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing factory. When it was phased out Oldsmobile was the second oldest surviving auto marque in the world, after only Daimler.

History

Oldsmobiles were first manufactured by the Olds Motor Vehicle Company in Lansing, Michigan, a company founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In 1901, Olds introduced the Curved Dash Olds which sold 425 cars, becoming the first high-volume car of the day. Olds became, for a few years, the top selling car company in the United States. Ransom Olds left the company in financial difficulties and formed REO Motor Car Company. The last Curved Dash Olds was made in 1907, and in 1908, General Motors purchased the company.

After acquisition by General Motors, Oldsmobiles were marketed for their technical sophistication. It was the first American car with an automatic transmission (1940) and the first to use chrome (1920), and frequently was early with other features, such as automatic headlight dimmers.

Oldsmobile promoted its "Rocket" engines heavily. This came to be a problem when some customers sued after they discovered that their Oldsmobiles had been equipped with Chevrolet engines beginning in the late 1970s.

In the 1970s, the mid-sized Oldsmobile Cutlass was the division's best selling model, and for several years in the late 1970s and early 1980s, it was the best-selling car in America. But the sales of the Cutlass and other Olds models fell beginning in the 1990s. The brand was hurt by its image as old and stuffy and this public perception continued despite a public relations campaign in the late 1990s that this was "not your father's Oldsmobile."

Oldsmobile in popular culture

The Oldsmobile is notable for having inspired several popular songs:

• "In My Merry Oldsmobile", a 1905 song with music by Gus Edwards and lyrics by Vincent P. Bryan; the song enjoyed a second round of popularity in the 1920s.
• "Rocket 88", a 1951 song by Ike Turner said by many to be the first rock and roll record.
• "You're gonna get yours" from Public Enemy's 1987 debut album Yo! Bum Rush The Show, an ode to the Model 98.
• "455 Rocket", a song cowritten by Gillian Welch, on Kathy Mattea's 1997 album Love Travels.

Models

Oldsmobile models included:

• Oldsmobile 442 - began as 1964 muscle car option package (4-barrel carburetor, 4-speed manual transmission, 2 exhausts) on the Cutlass, but later became its own model with a monstrous 455 in³ (7.4 L) V-8 engine
• Oldsmobile 88 (1949-1999) - Oldsmobile's standard car line. Introduced with Oldsmobile's new overhead-valve, high-compression V8, giving the 88 a reputation for performance.
• Oldsmobile 98 (1946-199?) - Oldsmobile's premium standard car line.
• Oldsmobile Intrigue (1998-2002) - mid-size sedan.
• Oldsmobile Achieva (199?-1998) - compact sedan & coupe
• Oldsmobile Alero (1999-2004) - compact sedan & coupe
• Oldsmobile Aurora (1995-2003) - luxury sedan.
• Oldsmobile Cutlass (196?-199?) - mid-size car. Oldsmobile's best seller in the 1970s and 1980s, and in some of those years America's best selling car.
• Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme (1970-1997) - more performance and luxury than the Cutlass, fitting in at the bottom of the personal luxury car market.
• Oldsmobile F-85 - compact sedan & coupe
• Oldsmobile Hurst-Olds
• Oldsmobile Jetstar I
• Oldsmobile Silhouette (1990-2004) - minivan.
• Oldsmobile Starfire
• Oldsmobile Toronado (1966-1992) - front wheel drive coupe in the personal luxury car category, introduced in 1966; at the time, the largest and most powerful front wheel drive car ever produced.

The end

In December 2000, General Motors announced they would be phasing out the Oldsmobile brand, which had become the oldest surviving automobile brand in the United States. The 2004 model year was to be Oldsmobile's last, with the last new Oldsmobile model being the GMT360-derived Bravada introduced in 2002.

The actual phaseout of Olds models was conducted on the following schedule:

• June 2002: production ends for Intrigue and the Aurora V-6 sedans
• May 2003: Aurora V-8 sedan
• January 2004: Bravada sports utility vehicle
• March 2004: Silhouette minivan
• April 2004: Alero compact car

The final production day was April 29, 2004, when the last Alero was built in Lansing, where Ransom E. Olds first began his company. The last 500 Aleros manufactured were painted a metallic cherry red and carried special "Final 500" markings. The last of these cars went to the R.E. Olds Transportation Museum.

See also

• List of automobile manufacturers