Last Oldsmobile to Roll Off Assembly Line

[coolcaddy]

Last Oldsmobile to Roll Off Assembly Line
Tue Apr 27,11:04 AM ET

LANSING, Mich. - The Oldsmobile, the line of cars that started out in 1897 and featured models such as the Rocket 88 and the muscular 442, is coming to an end this week.

The last Olds, an Alero, is due to roll off an assembly line Thursday in Lansing, the same city where the brand was born.

General Motors Corp. had announced in December 2000 that it would discontinue the Oldsmobile, the oldest automotive brand name in U.S. history.

"Generations of people in Lansing have been touched by Oldsmobile, either by making them in the plant or driving them down the road," GM spokeswoman Kim Carpenter said.

"I can understand GM's business decision, but seeing Oldsmobile go is almost like a death of someone in the family," said Ken Nicholas, a longtime Olds enthusiast from Eaton Rapids.

On Wednesday, GM will unveil a series of 500 Special Edition Aleros, which will bear special logos and certificates of authenticity.

However, no one will have a chance to buy the absolute last Olds off the assembly line — it is destined for Lansing's R.E. Olds Transportation Museum.

The Oldsmobile was named for its founder, Ransom E. Olds, who started the Olds Motor Vehicle Co.

Worldwide, only the Daimler name — of Daimler, Mercedes-Benz and now DaimlerChrysler — is older.

GM later absorbed the company and the Olds became the middle-class, middle-age car in GM's lineup — more expensive than Chevrolet and Pontiac but below Buick and Cadillac.

Oldsmobile was among the pioneers in using chrome-plated trim and the mass production of automatic transmissions. It gave drivers the V-8 Eighty Eight series, the front-wheel-drive Toronado and the Cutlass, which included the 442 muscle car.

source

[dindak]

Very sad indeed.

GM should have killed Buick and kept Olds IMO. Olds had a better more modern lineup and more potential. Ah well, it's all been said before I guess.

RIP.

[leadfoot85]

Sadly true. It is in GM's best interest to end Olds.

With so much foriegn competition, GM needs to reduce non-performers and dated makes. Rather concentrate on the models with promise - Pontiac, Chevy, Caddy, Saturn.

Each brand should meet specific and exclusive market needs.

[paul8488]

olds is the reason i'm a GM fan today. my first car was an '88 olds cutlass calais (aka grand am). maroon 2-door, 2.5L 4-cyl, 3 speed auto. fantastic little weapon. a little underpowered (probably had all of 98 hp), but the transmission was perfectly suited to the powerband. hummed along at 120 km/h all day long. with 200,000 kms i prefered it to my '92 tempo with 85,000 kms... same general specs, but the olds felt much tighter and powerful; it shifted and handled like a much more significant car than the tempo. had it been a dud i might be an import fan today, but your first time is the most important!

[New_Mexico_Sunset_on_Rt66]

Hmm, the first car I got after college was a '98 Intrigue. I was impressed with it. To bad the rest of the world didn't feel the same way I did about it. It was a dealer demo and was one of the first ones out. The only way you could tell who made it, was via the radio trim piece, and the new swirl logo on the hood. It also had 'Oldsmobile' etched into the back up light which you could barely see.

Really cool car. Yes it was "one great car".

But now we have Buick, Cadillac, Pontiac, and Chevy ALL with real cool products coming out.

"The futures so bright I gotta wear shades"

B)

[usa1]

Originally posted by New_Mexico_Sunset_on_Rt66@Apr 27 2004, 02:31 PM
Hmm, the first car I got after college was a '98 Intrigue. I was impressed with it. To bad the rest of the world didn't feel the same way I did about it.

The Intrique got good initial press. It did very poorly on some long term test drives, notably Edmunds, and never really overcame the poor quality image in my mind. I almost bought one in 1998, but decided to skip it since it was the new brand model that year.

Mark

[oldsmaniac]

As my name suggests, I am a diehard Oldsmobile fan. My immediate family has owned a total of eight different Oldsmobiles throughout the years. My father instilled the idea of great Oldsmobiles in my mind from an early age. His first car was a ’68 Cutlass. And from the age of 10 to as far back as I can remember, my mother drove a ’77 Cutlass. I have countless memories of these superb vehicles. Currently, we collectively have a ’68 442, a ’71 Cutlass, a ’95 Achieva, and a ’99 Alero. I am truly saddened by the loss of Oldsmobile, and I even hopelessly dream in vain that someday, GM will restore the Olds brand once again with the triumphant return of the almighty 442. But, knowing the ways of the world, and the ever-changing market, I can understand the conflict that GM was facing with Olds. None the less, Olds has single handedly established my faith in the General and I will faithfully buy their vehicles as long and the Lord is willing.

[Carguy]

Sad day indeed.

[Butta]

RIP Olds. My dad owned a 85 Cutlass and 89 Cutlass Calais, both very good cars. The 85 was awesome. Maybe GM will bring back Olds in the future. Thank you Olds for the great memories.

[apro4x4]

:angry: Come on guys........it's all about the money !! It was never about the customers opinion or what we want. It's the corporate a**holes that make these decisions to make money for themselves.

[vanquish25]

If anything get rid of Saturn, it's right in line with crap *** Kia and Hyundai to a lesser extent!

[PontiacDriver123]

On thursday i'm gonna were all black and mourn over the lost of olds. its like losing a a pet or something like that. It will be a very depressing day on thurday for thousands or millions of souls all over the planet or who know oldsmobile.
Olds- We'll miss you

[New_Mexico_Sunset_on_Rt66]

Mark - You mention poor quality "image". Again as many on this site have mentioned, it's about "perception over reality". The "reality" IS the Intrigue was a solid car. I think many consumers didn't know what to make of a high-qulaity GM product. Interior trim was nice, etc.

Too bad. But as I stated, Buick, Caddy, Pontiac and Chevy are all kicking a$$.

<_< <_< <_<

[ibechip]

I see both Buick and Olds being in basically the same boat. It had to be one or the other. I honestly wouldn't have taken Olds away but rather Buick because both the Alero and Aurora were very good cars in my oppinion. Now GM can concentrate on one brand and making it great (aka Velite) rather than trying to save two brands.

[gopedxr7]

the oldsmobile line up of cars was so ignored it was sad. they had some really nice cars. the auroa was really nice. the alero i prefer over the grand am. they were really good looking cars. but GM just has too many names under it. I can understand why it was discontinued. If it were up to me i would have GM drop all of their ties with SAAB, suzuki, and izzuzzu. And maybe even GMC since all they are are rebadged chevy trucks. Then they can focus better on building a better product. I never knew where oldsmobile was in the picture, above or below buick.

Alan