27 Facts About Oldsmobile

Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors.

When GM assumed operations, platform sharing began with Buick products and Oldsmobile shared platforms were identified with the prefix "Series" followed by a number, while models developed by pre-GM engineers were identified with the prefix "Model" followed by a letter.

Early on, Oldsmobile was a competitor to Hudson as some former engineers of Oldsmobile took positions with Hudson.

In 1926, the Oldsmobile Six came in five body styles, and ushered in a new GM bodystyle platform called the "GM B platform", shared with Buick products.

In 1929, as part of General Motors' companion make program, Oldsmobile introduced the higher standard Viking brand, marketed through the Oldsmobile dealer network.

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In 1933 The Oldsmobile Program appeared on CBS radio for two years which was a new advertising approach to sell products and services.

In 1937, Oldsmobile was a pioneer in introducing a four-speed semi-automatic transmission called the "Automatic Safety Transmission", although this accessory was actually built by Buick, which would offer it in its own cars in 1938.

Oldsmobile was a pioneer when, for the 1949 model, the Rocket engine was introduced, which used an overhead valve V8 design rather than the flathead "straight-eight" design which prevailed at the time.

Oldsmobile entered the 1950s following a divisional image campaign centered on its 'Rocket' engines and the Space Race, and its cars' appearance followed suit.

Oldsmobile was among the first of General Motors' divisions to receive a true hardtop in 1950 called the "Holiday coupe", and it was among the first divisions to receive a wraparound windshield, a trend that eventually all American makes would share at sometime between 1953 and 1964.

When compared side to side, Oldsmobile looked dated next to its price-point competitors DeSoto and Mercury.

Compounding the problem for Oldsmobile and Buick was a styling mistake which GM called the "StratoRoof", which was reminiscent of the "greenhouse" canopy used on the Convair B-36 Peacemaker high altitude bomber.

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" which many felt had overly ostentatious styling.

Up front, all 1958 Oldsmobile's received one of General Motors' heavily styled front facias and quad-headlights.

Ford styling consultant Alex Tremulis mocked the 1958 Oldsmobile by drawing cartoons of the car, and placing musical notes in the rear trim assembly.

In 1959, Oldsmobile models were completely redesigned with a rocket motif from front to rear, as the top of the front fenders had a chrome rocket, while the body-length fins were shaped as rocket exhausts which culminated in a fin-top taillight .

For 1995, Oldsmobile introduced the Aurora, which would be the inspiration for the design of its cars from the mid-1990s onward.

Accordingly, Oldsmobile received a new logo based on the familiar "rocket" theme.

Also in 1995 Oldsmobile introduced the first satellite navigation system available in the United States, the Guidestar on the 1995 Oldsmobile 88.

That announcement was officially revealed two days after Oldsmobile distributed the Bravada SUV – which became another critical hit for the division but turned out to be the final new model for the Oldsmobile brand.

The Oldsmobile division's last completed production car was an Alero GLS 4-door sedan, which was signed by all of the Olds assembly line workers.

European market, the Oldsmobile Silhouette was sold between 1994 and 1997 as the Pontiac Trans Sport by replacing the Oldsmobile badging with Pontiac badging, along with Pontiac wheels.

Oldsmobile Alero was sold in select countries in Europe between 1999 and 2001 as the Chevrolet Alero, and was only available as a 4-door sedan.

Dr Oldsmobile theme was one of Oldsmobile's most successful marketing campaigns in the early '70s, it involved fictional characters created to promote the wildly popular 442 muscle car.

Oldsmobile's assistants included 'Elephant Engine Ernie' who represented the big block 455 Rocket engine.

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Oldsmobile represented Oldsmobile's wind tunnel testing, that produced some of the sleekest designs of the day.

Oldsmobile was an engine supplier in the IndyCar Series along with Infiniti starting in 1997.