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MacNut

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Last Oldsmobile to Roll Off Assembly Line
GM Scraps the Oldest U.S. Automotive Brand


LANSING, Mich. (April 27) - 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.

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.
 

bousozoku

Moderator emeritus
Jun 25, 2002
15,603
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I'm surprised to hear that Oldsmobile was targeted below Buick. Most everyone I knew, thought of the cars as 2nd rate Cadillacs. My adoptive grandfather had a few Oldsmobiles and attributed the Rocket V-8 to his success in delivering moonshine and beating the revenuers. :D

A car division without an identity, much like Buick, should not have lasted so long. They had a few moments though: the 1969 Toronado, the 4-4-2, the Aurora. That's not much for the oldest U.S. automotive brand in history, is it?
 

Awimoway

macrumors 68000
Sep 13, 2002
1,510
25
California
It's all about marketing. The "old" in Oldsmobile has been grating on the ears of GM marketing execs for years. No more "it's not your father's Oldsmobile" silliness in an attempt to assure us that the name should not be taken literally.

Not being a traditionalist where cars are concerned, I say good riddance to an unfortunate name.
 

iGav

macrumors G3
Mar 9, 2002
9,025
1
I drove an Oldsmobile Intrigue V6 from San-Francisco to Seattle, great sounding engine, but wasn't exactly as fast as a 200BHP+ car should be... nice Stereo though. :D

So... Buicks are bad then.... :p :p :p
 

Mr. Anderson

Moderator emeritus
Nov 1, 2001
22,568
6
VA
iGAV said:
So... Buicks are bad then.... :p :p :p

My parents have had many buicks - we had a Buick Century Station Wagon growing up (not quite the Queen Family Truckster - but it shared a lot with it :D)

I don't like Buicks myself - don't think I'll ever buy one. And if I somehow managed to win one or end up with one, I'd sell it and buy something else :D

D
 

Chip NoVaMac

macrumors G3
Dec 25, 2003
8,888
31
Northern Virginia
bousozoku said:
I'm surprised to hear that Oldsmobile was targeted below Buick. Most everyone I knew, thought of the cars as 2nd rate Cadillacs. My adoptive grandfather had a few Oldsmobiles and attributed the Rocket V-8 to his success in delivering moonshine and beating the revenuers. :D

A car division without an identity, much like Buick, should not have lasted so long. They had a few moments though: the 1969 Toronado, the 4-4-2, the Aurora. That's not much for the oldest U.S. automotive brand in history, is it?

And lets not forget the popular Cutlass series of the 70's and 80's with its waterfall grill.
 

iGav

macrumors G3
Mar 9, 2002
9,025
1
Mr. Anderson said:
I don't like Buicks myself - don't think I'll ever buy one. And if I somehow managed to win one or end up with one, I'd sell it and buy something else :D

hahaha that's what I was thinking when I entered a competition to win a Volvo of my choice upto the value of £30k ($54k)... "I wonder if the local Audi Dealer would except it in part-ex for a new Audi" heheheh :D
 

srobert

macrumors 68020
Jan 7, 2002
2,062
0
It's a marketing stunt. They'll take it off the market for a few years then they'll re-brand it as the newsmobile. It won't be as good as the "classic" oldsmobile so people will ask for the old-old's back. They will answer to that with the release of the new-oldsmobile, or Classicsmobile.

If anyone here sees a parallel reference in my blurb... well... you ain't got no proof. :D
 

cubist

macrumors 68020
Jul 4, 2002
2,075
0
Muncie, Indiana
Buicks seem to be the car for old people. As I get older I find them appealing to me more and more... the Park Avenue Ultra for example :)

GM ended up with all of these brands because they acquired them during the Great Depression. I've often wondered why they didn't cut them down to 3 brands or so. Ford has only 3 (in the US). Even that seems a lot.

Apple seems to be developing into two brands, the consumer "i/e" machines, and the professional machines. This is symptomatic of a maturing market, I guess.
 

RBMaraman

macrumors 65816
Jul 25, 2002
1,228
39
New Albany, IN
Counterfit said:
This has been big news in the automotive press ever since it was announced. And everyone wonders the same thing: WHY THE **** DIDN'T THEY KILL BUICK INSTEAD?!?! :mad: :mad:

Why would they kill the Buick? Do you know how many of those they sell?!?

If your over 60 years old, you only have 3 choices for a car:
1. Ford Crown Victoria
2. Cadillac
3. Buick

How many 70 year olds do you see driving Corvette's or Vipers? 0.
How many do you see driving Buicks, Caddy's, and Crown Vic's? Nearly all of them.
 

yamabushi

macrumors 65816
Oct 6, 2003
1,009
1
cubist said:
Buicks seem to be the car for old people. As I get older I find them appealing to me more and more... the Park Avenue Ultra for example :)

GM ended up with all of these brands because they acquired them during the Great Depression. I've often wondered why they didn't cut them down to 3 brands or so. Ford has only 3 (in the US). Even that seems a lot.

Apple seems to be developing into two brands, the consumer "i/e" machines, and the professional machines. This is symptomatic of a maturing market, I guess.

I think a large number of makes and models is good for consumers. It can also be used as a marketing tool by tailoring to the wants and needs of a wider variety of consumers. Apple might want to do the same by having a few other product lines tailored to the needs of particular target markets. The simple consumer/professional split is a very poor division in my opinion.
 

SumDumGuy

macrumors regular
Jun 17, 2002
122
0
Loserville
I hate to see any American branded car (especially an icon like Oldsmobile) disappear. But if one had to go, I would choose to lose Olds over Buick. I love Buicks personally. My father in law has an '87 Grand National (cold air car) and the thing just SCREAMS! And as a bonus, when just cruising around town, you're surrounded my Buick comfort.
 

Roger1

macrumors 65816
Jun 3, 2002
1,152
0
Michigan
I owned a Buick turbo a quite a few years ago. I think it was a '78, before they came out with the GN line. It only lasted me a few months, because the previous owner really beat it up. But it was fun while it lasted. :)
 

wdlove

macrumors P6
Oct 20, 2002
16,568
0
I'm surprised that GM has continued so many product divisions. The bottom line is that the decision was made because of sales. Maybe Pontiac will be next. All they need is to cover the high, middle, and low end market.
 

Crikey

macrumors 6502
Jan 14, 2004
356
0
Spencer's Butte, Oregon
I was sorry to see Oldsmobile go. They made some of the prettiest cars in the GM empire (the Aurora, and the Alero, which is bland but still pretty). There was talk that the Aurora would become a low-end Cadillac model; did anything come of that? Buicks are also bland but not ugly. I can't see a Pontiac without thinking "white trash car", and I feel almost that averse to Chevrolets, which somehow look like they were molded of plastic and then allowed to get a little too hot.

But then I guess you'd guess uncomfortably close to my age, based on these preferences. Ten years ago, I couldn't have imagined having any appreciation for a Buick or Oldsmobile.

Now, where did I leave that hearing aid?


Crikey
 

powerbook4me

macrumors member
Apr 20, 2004
81
0
Crikey said:
I can't see a Pontiac without thinking "white trash car", and I feel almost that averse to Chevrolets, which somehow look like they were molded of plastic and then allowed to get a little too hot.

Why the hell would you think this? :confused:

Chevy and pontiac make some decent cars and trucks.
 

MacNut

macrumors Core
Original poster
Jan 4, 2002
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powerbook4me said:
Why the hell would you think this? :confused:

Chevy and pontiac make some decent cars and trucks.

Ya you can hear a Pontiac muffler on a grand pre from 5 blocks away :rolleyes: I heard at the dealership that GM was gonna merge the Olds line into other cars such as Pontiac Buick and Caddy. Speaking of bad cars why did GM buy Saturn.
 

MacNut

macrumors Core
Original poster
Jan 4, 2002
22,995
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CT
RBMaraman said:
Why would they kill the Buick? Do you know how many of those they sell?!?

If your over 60 years old, you only have 3 choices for a car:
1. Ford Crown Victoria
2. Cadillac
3. Buick

How many 70 year olds do you see driving Corvette's or Vipers? 0.
How many do you see driving Buicks, Caddy's, and Crown Vic's? Nearly all of them.

Hey, Tiger Woods drives a Buick ;) If theres nothing I hate more, its some old blue haired woman driving a Crown Vic on the highway going about 45 in the travel lane. You want to pass but your not sure if its a trooper or not. :D
 

bousozoku

Moderator emeritus
Jun 25, 2002
15,603
1,761
Lard
Roger1 said:
If Buick is to survive, they might want to consider bringing back the Grand National, specifically the 1987 GNX model. But I'm probably dreaming :rolleyes:

http://www.musclecarclub.com/musclecars/buick-grandnational/buick-grandnational.shtml

Or they can make the Rondevous into a GNX model. Yeah, that will do it!! :eek:

It's not going to happen.

Lloyd Reuss is gone and Buick is once again a cookie-cutter car company. If it weren't for the golf tournaments, they'd be dead too. Other than buying that V6 back from AMC/Jeep and turbocharging it, Buick have never had a niche outside of the Riviera (or its back seat), possibly.

What's funny to me is that, back in the 1980s, it was revealed that Chevrolet engines were going into Buicks and Oldsmobiles and those owners erupted as if they didn't know that they were all part of the same company. There was another instance where it was revealed that the Cadillac Seville was based on the Chevrolet Nova and Seville owners were devastated. :D
 

Counterfit

macrumors G3
Aug 20, 2003
8,195
0
sitting on your shoulder
RBMaraman said:
Why would they kill the Buick? Do you know how many of those they sell?!?
Do you know how many Oldsmobiles they sold in 1988? Over one million.

If your over 60 years old, you only have 3 choices for a car:
1. Ford Crown Victoria
2. Cadillac
3. Buick

How many 70 year olds do you see driving Corvette's or Vipers? 0.
How many do you see driving Buicks, Caddy's, and Crown Vic's? Nearly all of them.
Heh, you might not want to tell Peter Egan or Thos Bryant from Road & Track ;)
 

MrMacMan

macrumors 604
Jul 4, 2001
7,002
11
1 Block away from NYC.
Ah the place wasn't making money anyway.

It wasn't my fathers car, it was my grandfathers car. :eek:


They make all of these special features for olld people who don't really need to buy a car that often... haha.


R.I.P old Oldsmobile.
 
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