August 29, 2014 marked 10 years that the world lost Oldsmobile. As America’s oldest surviving brand at the time, Oldsmobile had endured more than 100 years of ups until the 1980s, when the brand slowly began to falter.
Perhaps Oldsmobile’s biggest misgiving in its later years was being a part of General Motors, a corporation that at one point in time had no trouble sustaining five-plus automotive brands and tried its darndest to maintain its company structure into the Millennium. We can’t blame GM for producing bad Oldsmobiles because their portfolio was decent, if not great, at that moment. Historical vehicles like the first production car with automatic transmission, the first of the post-war brands (along with Cadillac) to offer a high-compression motor, the first “hardtop convertible” (along with Buick and Cadillac), the first car to answer Pontiac’s serve with the GTO (the 1964 4-4-2), the first full-size FWD car (Toronado), the country’s best-selling car (Cutlass Supreme) . . . all that good stuff happened within 25 years.
As a car-loving kid, the 1953 Fiesta possibly commanded the highest price out of all the collectible Oldsmobiles, but these days the 1970 Olds 4-4-2 W-30 convertible four-speed may be the Olds with the most stature—times change, just like the new-car market.
If you’re shedding a tear at the moment, visit the Lansing State Journal and view their retrospective on Oldsmobile’s heritage.
With four model years recommended for purchase.
This example is a former NCRS award winner.
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Breaking out the spec sheets for a comparison.
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Lovely timing, GM. Oldsmobile pays the price for your badge-engineering hubris. Just as Olds was getting cars that at least looked different from their other division siblings...well maybe except for the Bravada. It was looking like one of the divisions would start having an identity of its own again. Classic GM: finally get something right - and kill it.
Around here (NE Ohio) Olds must have has some popular offerings - I still see many Aleros on the road in conditions from very good down to rust bucket, mostly the former. Of course I still see many Aztecs on the road around here so maybe it says something about the car buying public in this part of Ohio.
Oh, Pontiac, I think we miss you more than Olds at this point. There still seems to be a pretty big hole in GM's offerings between Chevy and Buick. Car shopping with my mom a couple years back we went through everything Buick and Chevy had to offer. She was a long time Bonneville buyer - SSE and GXP models. Likely a G8 GXP would have done it for her, but none to be had. Cadillac was right out. Oh well, she sees to enjoy her Camaro Convertible - hope I can enjoy such cars when I'm 79 too.
My Dad had a 1967 Cutlass Supreme coupe with the 400 CI V8 engine. It was big, beautiful, comfortable, and powerful. I had a 1984 Cutlass Ciera LS coupe with the basic 3.0 L V6, and drove it for 26 years, then sold it to my neighbor in 2010. Olds last long and were very reliable.
The Final 500 versions had true design and detail everywhere you looked! Even the pins in the gauge cluster had Oldsmobile's famous rocket logo imprinted on them. I would kill for a new Final 500 Intrigue!