Automotive History Online

 

Oldsmobile was a brand of automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Founded by Ransom E. Olds (left) in 1897, the company produced automobiles in the United States until 2004. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan 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. Oldsmobiles were first manufactured by the Olds Motor Vehicle Company in Lansing, Michigan, a company founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In 1901, the company produced 425 cars, making it the first high-volume automobile manufacturer of the day. Olds became the top selling car company in the United States for a few years. 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, Oldsmobile became the entry level luxury division and was marketed for its technical sophistication. The list of "firsts" is quite extensive.  In 1893 Ransom Eli Olds' company (The predecessor of Oldsmobile) became the first American car company to export an automobile. It was a four wheeled steam powered vehicle sold to the Francis Times Company of India. In 1901 two Oldsmobile innovations occurred. The first speedometer to be offered on a car was on an Oldsmobile. The United States Post Office Department ordered its first motor vehicles from Oldsmobile. Oldsmobile became one of the first car companies to procure parts from third-party suppliers. It was forced to do this when a fire destroyed the main Oldsmobile plant in Lansing, MI, and crippled the company's ability to build cars using its own parts. In this era Dodge Brothers and Cadillac founder Henry M. Leland's engineering company (Leland & Faulconer) built engines to Olds's specifications

In 1926 Oldsmobile began 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.

In 1932 Oldsmobile became the first 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 was the forerunner of the modern automatic transmission.

The 1949 Rocket engine was the first mass produced, high-compression OHV V8.

1962-1963 Oldsmobile Jetfire: Oldsmobile marketed the first turbocharged passenger car engine in its 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 the Motor Trend Car of Year award in 1966 for 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, eventually 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's superior fuel economy, sales of GM cars with these diesel engines plummeted when diesel fuel became more expensive than gasoline and the engines proved to be extremely unreliable. Oldsmobile abandoned its diesel program in 1985 due to these factors. At the time GM exited 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. 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.

1989 also saw Oldsmobile introduce a heads up display option on the Cutlass Supreme International Series. It allowed drivers to view the speedometer reading on the inside of the windshield. This option later became available on the Corvette and Grand Prix.

The 1988 model year also saw the debut of Oldsmobile's "Quad 4," An Oldsmobile designed 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 turned 100 years old. It was the first American car company to reach this milestone on August 21,1997. A large 100th anniversary party was held in Lansing Michigan.

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 early with other features, such as automatic headlight dimmers and the 1950s 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. 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 division. The Oldsmobile 307 cubic inch V8 engine with the computer controlled Quadrajet carburetor remained in production until 1990, meeting emissions standards without the benefit of electronic fuel injection.

Model timeline

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 an 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 instead of brass trim.

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. 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 Hardner 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.

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 appearance followed suit. Oldsmobile's Rocket V8 engine was the leader in performance, generally considered the fastest cars on the market and 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 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 only off year in the 1950s was 1958. The nation was beginning to feel the results of its first significant post war recession, and US automobile sales were down for the model year. 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". 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 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. 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 detached and rearranged the OLDSMOBILE lettering above the grille to spell out SLOBMODEL as a reminder to himself and co-workers of what "bad" auto design meant to their business.

1960's

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.

 

 

1970s-1980s

Oldsmobile sales soared in the 1970s and 1980s based on popular designs, positive reviews from critics and the outstanding quality and reliability of the Rocket V8 engine, with the Cutlass series becoming the North America's top selling car by 1976. By this time, Olds had displaced Pontiac and Plymouth as the #3 best selling brand in the U.S. behind Chevrolet and Ford. In the early 1980s, model-year production topped one million units on several occasions, something only Chevrolet and Ford had achieved.

The soaring popularity of Oldsmobile vehicles resulted in a major issue in the late 1970s. At that time, each General Motors division produced its own V-8 engines, and in 1977, Oldsmobile, Chevrolet, Pontiac and Buick each produced a unique 350 cubic inch displacement V-8. The popularity of Oldsmobile models caused demand to exceed production capacity for the Oldsmobile V-8, and as a result Oldsmobile quietly began equipping some full size Delta 88 models with the Chevrolet 350 engine. Although it was widely debated whether or not there was a difference in quality or performance between the two engines, there was no question that the engines were different from one other. Many customers were loyal Oldsmobile buyers who specifically wanted the Rocket V-8, and did not discover that their vehicle had the Chevrolet engine until they performed maintenance and discovered that purchased parts did not fit. This became a public relations nightmare for GM. Disclaimers stating that "Oldsmobiles are equipped with engines produced by various GM divisions" were tacked on to advertisements and sales literature. GM quickly stopped associating engines with particular divisions, and to this day all GM engines are produced by "GM Powertrain" (GMPT). Although the popularity of the Oldsmobile division vehicles prompted this change, declining sales of V-8 engines would have made this change inevitable as all but the Chevrolet version were eventually dropped.

1990's

 

After the tremendous success of the early 1980s, things changed quickly for Oldsmobile, and by 1990 the brand had lost its place in the market, squeezed between the resurgent Pontiac and Buick divisions. Oldsmobile's signature cars gave way to rebadged models of other GM cars, and GM shifted the performance mantle to Chevrolet and Pontiac. GM continued to use Oldsmobile sporadically 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, Oldsmobile introduced the Aurora, which would be the inspiration for the design of its cars from the mid-1990s onward. By this time, GM had shifted Oldsmobile from their technology leader back to a brand that filled a traditional slot between Pontiac and Buick that in reality no longer existed. Oldsmobile also received a new logo based on the familiar "rocket" theme, but by 1997 all the familiar model names (Cutlass Supreme, 88, 98 and Toronado) were gone. New models were introduced with designs inspired by the Aurora.

The end

Due to falling sales, General Motors announced in December 2000 they would phase out the Oldsmobile brand. The 2004 model year was to be Oldsmobile's last, with the last new Oldsmobile model being the GMT360-derived Bravada SUV introduced in 2002. The phaseout was conducted on the following schedule.

• Late 2001: The 2002 Bravada becomes the company's last new model
• June 2002: production ends for Intrigue and the Aurora V6 sedans
• May 2003: Aurora V8 sedan
• January 2004: Bravada SUV production ends
• March 2004: Silhouette minivan production ends
• April 2004: Alero compact car production ends
• The final 500 Aleros, Auroras, Bravadas and Intrigues produced received special emblems and markings which signified 'Final 500'. All were painted dark cherry red and came with special literature.

The final production day for Oldsmobile was April 29, 2004. The last car built was an Alero GL 4-door sedan, which was signed by all of the Olds assembly line workers. It is on display at the R.E. Olds Transportation Museum located in Lansing.

Oldsmobile is well remembered today as one of America's oldest marques, for its technological innovatations and for its tremendous popularity and sales in the 1970s and 1980s.