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Oldsmobile

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The final Oldsmobile Logo, introduced in 1997 as an update of the "Rocket" theme used in various forms since 1948.
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The final Oldsmobile Logo, introduced in 1997 as an update of the "Rocket" theme used in various forms since 1948.

Ransom Eli Olds
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Ransom Eli Olds

Oldsmobile (or Olds + Mobile) was a brand of automobile owned by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds, and was 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 oldest surviving American automobile marque, and one of the oldest in the world, after Daimler and Peugeot. The spirit of Oldsmobile has lived on in GM's Buick brand as the Intrigue lives on as the Buick LaCrosse, the Aurora lives on as the Buick Lucerne, the Bravada lives on as the Buick Rainier, and the Silhouette lives on as the Buick Terraza.

Contents

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, 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 the REO Motor Car Company. The last Curved Dash Olds was made in 1907. General Motors purchased the company in 1908.

Oldsmobile advances

Both before and after acquisition by General Motors, Oldsmobiles were marketed for their technical sophistication. The list of "firsts" is quite extensive:

In 1893, Ransom Eli Olds' company (Olds Motor Works, the predecessor of Oldsmobile) becomes the first American car company to export an automobile. It is a four-wheeled steam-powered vehicle sold to a citizen of India.

In 1901, three Oldsmobile innovations occur. The first speedometer to be offered on a car is on an Oldsmobile. The United States Post Office Department orders its first motor vehicles from Oldsmobile. Oldsmobile becomes the first car company to outsource parts to third-party suppliers. It is forced to do this when a fire destroys the main Oldsmobile plant in Lansing, MI, and cripples the company's ability to build cars using its own parts.

In 1926, Oldsmobile begins chrome-plating the radiator surrounds and other parts on its cars. This was the first automotive use of chrome plating.

In 1929, Oldsmobile introduced the first monoblock V8 on its Viking model.

1932 sees Oldsmobile become the first manufacturer to offer an automatic choke on an automobile.

In 1940, Oldsmobile introduced "Hydra-matic Drive," the first fully automatic transmission to be offered on a widely-available automobile. This is the forefather of every automatic transmission offered today.

Their 1949 Rocket engine was made notable as the first mass-produced OHV V8.

1962-1963 Oldsmobile Jetfire: Oldsmobile brought the first turbocharged passenger car engine to market in its Cutlass F-85 coupes and convertibles. The aluminum-block 215 in³ V8 engine with turbocharger produced one horsepower per cubic inch.

While not the first American-built passenger car to use front-wheel drive, the 1966 Toronado was the first of its type to prove successful in the American marketplace. It won Motor Trends Car of Year in 1966 with its unique and innovative styling.

In 1974, Oldsmobile became the first American car company to offer a driver's side airbag. It was available in the Toronado.

The 1978 model year saw the debut of Oldsmobile's 5.7-liter diesel V8, available in all General Motors large and intermediate cars. (A 4.3-liter diesel V6 from Oldsmobile would follow.) Popular at first due to diesel fuel's economy (better mileage than and cheaper than gasoline), sales of GM cars with these diesel engines plummeted when diesel fuel became more expensive than gasoline and the engines themselves proved to be extremely unreliable. Oldsmobile was forced to abandon its diesel program in 1985 due to these factors. At the time GM decided to get out of the passenger diesel market, Oldsmobile had been working on an experimental diesel engine called "Tuned Induction Diesel" system. The system was innovative in its use of tuned-port air induction to increase performance capabilities. However, it was never produced.

In 1988, Oldsmobile broke a world closed-course speed record with the Oldsmobile Aerotech, driven by legendary race car driver A.J. Foyt.

1988 also saw Oldsmobile introduce a heads up display option on the Cutlass Supreme International Series. When turned on, it allowed drivers to view the speedometer reading on the inside of the windshield. This option later became available on the Corvette.

The 1988 model year also saw the debut of Oldsmobile's "Quad 4," GM's first American-built four-cylinder, four-valves-per-cylinder engine.

Oldsmobile was also the first carmaker in the world to offer a GPS-based navigation system on a production automobile. The system, called GuideStar, was a $1,995 option on the 1996 Eighty-Eight LSS. This in turn led to the introduction of GM's current 'OnStar' system.

In 1997, Oldsmobile turns 100 years old. It is the first American car company to reach this milestone.

In 2001, the fully redesigned 2002 Oldsmobile Bravada SUV became the first truck ever to pace the Indianapolis 500. It was the eleventh and final time an Oldsmobile would pace the open-wheel race.

Oldsmobile was also frequently early with other features, such as automatic headlight dimmers and the 1950's panoramic windshields. Their "Rocket 88" theme hood ornament treatment was also the reference name for their advanced over-head valve V-8 engines, from 1949 onward. Also, in the 1980 model year of California models, and in 1981 in the 49 other states, Oldsmobile introduced the first modern computer engine management system. While this was common across all GM divisions, this early system lasted almost unchanged the longest of any other division. The Oldsmobile 307 engine with the computer controlled Quadrajet carburetor remained in production until 1990, all the while meeting emmisions standards without the benefit of electronic fuel injection. This is a testament to the engineering standards in which Oldsmobiles were built.

Model timeline

Early models

The 1901 to 1904 Curved Dash was the first mass-produced car, and was also the first American car to be exported. Oldsmobile set a land speed record of 54.38 mph at Daytona Beach in the 1903 Pirate. The 1903 Model R curved dash was the number one selling car in the United States, selling for $650. Ransom Olds left Oldsmobile in 1904. Oldsmobile advertising pointed out that keeping a horse cost its owner and estimated $108 a year, whereas the owner of an Oldsmobile spent an average of $35 per year in fuel and maintenance.

In 1908, Oldsmobile became the first manufacturer to begin using nickel, rather than brass, trim.

Setting the Pace painted in 1909 by William Hardner Foster depicts the race between an Oldsmobile Limited and the 20th Century Limited
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Setting the Pace painted in 1909 by William Hardner Foster depicts the race between an Oldsmobile Limited and the 20th Century Limited

The 1910 Limited Touring was a high point for the company. Riding atop 42 in wheels, and equipped with factory "white" tires, the [Limited] was the prestige model in Oldsmobile's two-model lineup. The Limited retailed for US$4,600, an amount greater than the purchase of a new, no-frills three bedroom house. For their money, buyers received goatskin upholstery, a 60 hp (45 kW) 707 in³ (11.6 L) straight-6 engine, Bosch Magneto starter, running boards and room for five. Options included a speedometer, clock and a full glass windshield. A limousine version was priced at $5,800. While Oldsmobile only sold 725 Limiteds in its three years of production, the car is best remembered for winning a race against the famed 20th Century Limited locomotive, an event immortalized in the painting "Setting the Pace" by William Harnden Foster

1939-1959

In the 1930s through the 1990s, Oldsmobile used a two-digit model designation similar to that used by the European makes today. As originally implemented, the first digit signified the body size while the second represents the number of cylinders. Body sizes were 6, 7, 8, and 9, and 6 and 8-cylinder engines were offered. Thus, Oldsmobiles were named 66 through 98.

Olds dropped the 66 before the introduction of its "Rocket" engines, leaving only the 88 and the 98. In the 1950s the nomenclature changed again, and trim levels also received names that were then mated with the model numbers. This resulted in the Oldsmobile 88 emerging as base Dynamic 88 the better trimmed Delta 88, and the highline Super 88. Other full-size model names included the "Holiday" used on hardtops, and "Fiesta" used on its station wagons. When the 98 was retired in the 1990s, its length of service was the longest of any model name used on American cars.

1950s styling

Oldsmobile entered the 1950s following a divisional image campaign centered on its "Rocket" engines, and its cars appearances followed suit in their themes. By the mid 1950s, their styling was among the first to offer a wide, "open maw" grille, suggestive of jet propulsion. Oldsmobile adopted a ringed-globe emblem to stress what marketers felt was its universal appeal. Throughout the 1950s, the make used twin jet pod-styled taillights, again, as a nod to its "Rocket" theme. Oldsmobile was among the first of GM's divisions to receive a true hardtop in 1949, and it was also the among the first divisions (along with Buick and Cadillac) to receive a wraparound windshield - a trend that eventually all American makes would share at sometime between 1953 and 1964.

1957

GM styling as a whole lost its frontrunner status in 1957 when Chrysler introduced Virgil Exner's "Forward Look" designs. When compared side to side, Oldsmobile looked dated next to its price-point competitor DeSoto. Compounding the problem for Oldsmobile and Buick was a styling mistake which GM called the "Strato Roof". Both makes had models which contained the heavily framed rear window, but Detroit had been working with large curved backlights for almost a decade - consumers disliked the roof and its blind spots, forcing GM to rush a redesign into production on some of its models.

1958

Oldsmobile's 1958 styling, in the words of Tom McCahill, automotive writer for Popular Mechanics, looked as if the "car was designed by two separate styling studios" without any idea what the other was working on.
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Oldsmobile's 1958 styling, in the words of Tom McCahill, automotive writer for Popular Mechanics, looked as if the "car was designed by two separate styling studios" without any idea what the other was working on.

Oldsmobile's only off year in the 1950s was 1958. The nation was beginning to feel the results of its first significant post war recession, and all U.S automobile sales were off for the model year. However, Oldsmobile, Buick and Cadillac received a heavy-handed makeover of the 1957 GM designs. The Oldsmobile that emerged in 1958 bore little resemblance to the design of its forerunners; instead the car emerged as a large, over-decorated "chromemobile".

Mechanix Illustrated automobile writer Tom McCahill liked the cars performance, but felt that the outside appeared to be designed by two separate studios, working without knowing what the other was up to. Up front, all 1958 Oldsmobiles received one of GM's heavily styled front fascias and quad-headlights. Streaking back from the edge of the headlights, was a broad belt of consisting of two strips on regular 88s, three strips on Super 88s, and three strips (top and bottom thin, inside thick on 98s) of chrome that ended in a point at mid-body. But the bottom of the rear fender featured a thick stamping of a half tube that pointed forward, atop which was a chrome assembly of four horizontal chrome speed-lines that terminated into a vertical bar. The tail of the car featured massive vertical chrome taillight housings; two chrome stars were fitted to the trunklid.

Ford styling consultant Alex Tremulis (designer of the 1948 Tucker Sedan) mocked the 1958 Oldsmobile by drawing cartoons of the car, and placing musical notes in the rear trim assembly. Another Detroit stylist employed by Ford bought a used 1958 Oldsmobile in the early 1960s, driving it daily to work; he had detached and rearranged the OLDSMOBILE lettering above the grille of the car to spell out SLOBMODEL as a reminder to himself and his co-workers of what "bad" auto design meant to their business.

Notable models produced from 1939 to 1959:

1960s

1960 Oldsmobile 98 Vista brochure
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1960 Oldsmobile 98 Vista brochure

GM Tilt wheel promotional image using a 1963 Oldsmobile
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GM Tilt wheel promotional image using a 1963 Oldsmobile

In the 1960s, Oldsmobile's position between Pontiac and Buick in GM's hierarchy began to dissolve. Notable achievements included the introduction of the first turbocharged engine in 1962 (the Turbo Jetfire), the first modern front-wheel drive car (the 1966 Toronado), the Vista Cruiser station wagon (noted for its roof glass), and the upscale 442 muscle car. Olds briefly used the names Jetstar 88" (1963-1966) and Delmont 88" (1967-1968) on its least expensive full-size models in the 1960s.

Notable models for the 1960s:

1970s-1980s

1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme
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1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme

Oldsmobile sales soared in the 1970s and 1980s based on solid car reviews from critics and the reliability of its legendary Rocket V8 engines, with the Cutlass and Cutlass Supreme becoming the best-selling vehicles in the United States. In fact, from 1976 to 1987, the Oldsmobile Cutlass was the number 1 selling car in North America. In 1984, it was claimed that Oldsmobile was making more vehicles per year than the Ford Motor Company.

Notable models:

1990s

1995 Oldsmobile Aurora
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1995 Oldsmobile Aurora

By the 1990s, Oldsmobile had lost its place in the marketplace. The performance cars Oldsmobile had been known for gave way to rebadged models of other GM cars, as GM had shifted the performance mantle to Chevrolet and Pontiac. GM continued to use Oldsmobile to showcase futuristic designs and as a "guinea pig" for testing new technology, with Oldsmobile offering the Toronado Trofeo, which included a visual instrument system with a calendar, datebook, and climate controls. Later on, Oldsmobile introduced the Aurora, which would be the inspiration for the design of all Oldsmobiles from the mid-1990s onward. However, by this time, GM had shifted Oldsmobile from a technology leader to a manufacturer that filled the slot between Buick and Cadillac. Oldsmobile also received a new logo, but by 1997, all of the earlier best-selling models (Cutlass Supreme, 88, 98 and Toronado) were gone. New models were introduced with rounded designs, inspired by the Aurora.

Notable models, 1990–2004:

The end

2002 Oldsmobile Alero
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2002 Oldsmobile Alero

Due to falling sales, General Motors announced in December 2000 they would be phasing out the Oldsmobile brand, which had become the oldest surviving American automobile brand. 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 Oldsmobile models was conducted on the following schedule:

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.

Oldsmobile models

Oldsmobile in popular culture

In My Merry Oldsmobile songbook featuring an Oldsmobile Curved Dash automobile
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In My Merry Oldsmobile songbook featuring an Oldsmobile Curved Dash automobile

The Oldsmobile is notable for having inspired several popular songs:

Oldsmobile cars can also been seen in several popular movies:
Agent Johnson destroying an Aurora during the famous freeway chase scene in The Matrix Reloaded.
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Agent Johnson destroying an Aurora during the famous freeway chase scene in The Matrix Reloaded.


Marketing themes




The old Oldsmobile "rocket" logo, used from 1948 to 1997.

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The old Oldsmobile "rocket" logo, used from 1948 to 1997.






Early on in their history, Olds enjoyed a healthy public relations boost from the 1905 hit song " In My Merry Oldsmobile". The well known song was updated in the fifties to sing about "The Rocket 88".


The strong public relations efforts by GM in the 1950s was epitomized in the GM Motorama auto show. The impact of that traveling show, was literally a "one company", auto-show extravaganza. Millions of Americans attended, in a spirit not unlike a "mini-World's Fair". Every GM division had a "Dream Car". Oldsmobile's dream/concept car was called "The Starfire". 


While Oldsmobile had long promoted its "Rocket" engines heavily, GM's cost containment program of engine sharing emerged in 1977 on its "downsized" full-size vehicles. Consumers buying an Oldsmobile soon found out that their Oldsmobile was powered by a Chevrolet-built engine. Some discovered this when they attempted to change the engines air filter and discovered that the standard 1977 Oldsmobile filter replacement would not fit in the air cleaner. Others discovered this either from their mechanics or from GM which sent notices to owners explaining the situation and assuring them that a GM-built engine was a GM-built engine, regardless of what division built it. Ohio Attorney General Anthony Celebreeze was the first State Attorney General to reach a settlement with GM, which resulted in claimant owners each receiving a small portion of the multimillion dollar settlement.


In the 1970s, the mid-size 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 Oldsmobile 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 1980s that this was "not your father's Oldsmobile." Ironically, many fans of the brand say that the declining sales were in fact caused by the "not your father's Oldsmobile." campaign, as the largest market for Oldsmobiles was the older population whose parents had in fact owned Oldsmobiles. [link]



See also



External links








The Oldsmobile logo, used from 1997 until the company was discontinued in 2004.
Oldsmobile

([http://encycl.opentopia.com/ edit])


Historic: 


Cars:
 40 | 53 | 66 | 88 | 98 | 442 | Achieva | Alero | Aurora | Curved Dash | Custom Cruiser | Cutlass | Cutlass Calais | Cutlass Ciera | Cutlass Cruiser | Cutlass Supreme | F-85 | Firenza | Intrigue | Limited Touring | Omega | Series 60 | Series 70 | Oldsmobile Series 90 | Starfire | Toronado | Vista Cruiser


SUVs/Minivans:
 Bravada | Silhouette 






The Oldsmobile logo, used from 1997 until the company was discontinued in 2004.

Oldsmobile road car timeline, 1980-2004
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