History of Oldsmobile

Oldsmobile is the oldest manufacturers of passenger cars in the United States and one
of the oldest in the world.  We are justly proud of our 85-year history of automotive
“firsts” and innovations which have helped make Oldsmobile one of the largest
manufacturers of passenger cars in the world.

Two young men from Lansing, Michigan- Ransom Eli Olds and Frank Clark-
combined their efforts in 1895 to build a “horseless carriage.”  Olds (whose father
manufactured stationary gasoline engines) supplied the engine and mechanical
components, while Clark (whose father operated a small carriage works) provided the
carriage.  After this vehicle ran successfully, Olds joined with a group of Lansing
businessmen to found the Olds Motor Vehicle Company in 1897.  At the first Board of
Directors meeting, General Manager Olds was instructed “to build one carriage in as
nearly perfect a manner as possible.” 

Production was small the first year- 4 vehicles one of which now resides in the
Smithsonian Institute.  (This car is on loan to the R.E. Olds Museum in Lansing for
two years.)
 
In 1899, Olds moved to Detroit and the Olds Motor Vehicle Company became the Olds
Motor Works.  Olds built a new plant on the banks of the Detroit River, the first
designed specifically to produce automobiles, and retained the Lansing facility as an
engine plant.

After the move to Detroit, the company developed the Oldsmobile curved dash
runabout.  It had a 66-inch wheelbase, weighed 700 pounds and was powered by a
single-cylinder gasoline engine which developed seven horsepower and “one chug per
telegraph pole,” as the wags put it.   The curved dash, the first car to carry the
nameplate “Oldsmobile,” spurred the small company into the forefront of the
American automotive scene.  Olds sold 425 cars in 1901, 2,500 in 1902, 4,000 in 1903
and a staggering 5,508 in 1904; the Olds Motor Works (which by this time was back in
Lansing) was selling more cars than anyone in America had ever sold before.  A large
number were being exported as well, some finding their way to the royal houses of
England and Italy, even to the Middle East and Russia.  Olds advertised in a deft bit of
plagiarism, “The sun never sets on this world standard Runabout.”

In 1905, the curved dash runabout was immortalized in the song.”  In My Merry
Oldsmobile.” One of the cars was presented as a gift to the men who had written the
song, Gus Edwards and Vincent Bryan; they could not decide who should use it first so
they sold it.  Also in 1905, two curved dash Oldsmobiles competed in the first
transcontinental race. “Old Scout” beat “Old Steady” in a 4,000 mile race from New
York to Portland, Oregon, that took 44 days.

The Olds Motor Works in 1908 became part of a fledging corporation called General
Motors, whose chief asset at the time was Buick Motor Company.  Olds under General
Motors continued to flourish, with production rising to nearly 8,000 cars in 1915. 
During World War I, Oldsmobile built mobile kitchen vans for the army and had just
completed a plant for manufacturing Liberty aircraft engines when the war ended.

The post-war economic boom of the Roaring Twenties pushed Olds to nearly 45,000
cars in 1925-the same year that Oldsmobile pioneered the use of chromium-plated trim
on automobiles.  Though the lean years of the Depression affected Oldsmobile along
with all other manufacturers, sales of new Oldsmobiles reached a record 183,000 units
in 1935.  (Also the year that the 1-millionth Oldsmobile was built.)  The first fully
automatic transmission offered for volume production, the Hydra-Matic, was
pioneered by Oldsmobile for the 1939 model year.  This important advance contributed
to strong sales which saw the 2-millionth Oldsmobile built in 1941.

On January 1, 1942, the Olds Motor Works officially became Oldsmobile Division of
General Motors Corporation; within two months, the last Oldsmobile passenger car
had been built and Oldsmobile was converting to the production of artillery
ammuntion, machine guns and tank cannon, high-precision aircraft engine parts and
forgings for military guns and vehicles.

Several important milestones occurred after World War II, chief among them the
introduction of the first high-compression, overhead valve V-8 engine- the Oldsmobile
Rocket engine.  “Make a date with the Rocket Eight” urged the ads, and many people
did just that.  Originally intended for the larger Ninety-Eight models, the Rocket Eight
was also placed into the smaller lighter 88 series- and a stock car racing legend was
born.

Other milestones through the 1950’s were the introduction of air conditioning and
power brakes on 1953 Oldsmobiles; the building of the 5 millionth Olds in 1955; the
“Trans-Portable” radio in 1958 (when you left the car, you could take the radio with
you); the “Econo-o-Way” carburetor in 1958 and a split choke system in 1959, both for
improved fuel economy.

In 1960, Oldsmobile introduced its first import fighter- the compact F-85.  Rated by
Motor Trend magazine at 18 miles to the gallon on the highway, the F-85s were aimed
at people who were put off by the austerity of most imports then available but who like
the idea of a small car with good economy.  In 1962, Oldsmobile introduced the sport
F-85 cutlass series (the first use of the popular Cutlass nameplate) and the
turbo-supercharged F-85 Jetfire.

One of the biggest innovations of the decade was the introduction of front-wheel-drive
on the 1966 Toronado.  Though it struck many observers as strange that a volume
manufacturer like Oldsmobile would bother with something as chancy and unusual as
front wheel drive  on a large American car, it allowed Oldsmobile to accomplish some
long-sought objectives0a flat floor for more room and comfort, and a
chassis/drivetrain arrangement which would provide standards of handling and
traction unknown in cars of this size.

The ‘60s were also the decade of the “muscle car” and Oldsmobile responded with the
4-4-2(400 cubic inch engine, 4-barrel carburetor, and 2 exhaust pipes), the Hurst Olds,
and “Dr. Oldsmobile’s W-Machines”- the W-30, W-31, and W-32, some very
respectable performance cars.

Oldsmobile built its successes to carry it forward into the 1970s achieving 3rd place in
industry sales during 1972, Oldsmobile’s Golden Anniversary.  (Since that time,
Oldsmobile has been number 3 in industry sales all but two model years.)

Some important advances in the last five years are:

1977- Oldsmobile built and sold over 1 million cars during the model year(among
them the 18-millionth Olds).  A large part of this was due to the new
re-dimensioned Delta 88, Ninety-Eight and Custom Cruiser models.

1978-Oldsmobile introduced the first V-8 diesel engine in an American-built
passenger car, as well as introducing the new Cutlass Models.

1979- A re-dimensioned Toronado was introduced.

1980- Oldsmobile introduced the re-designed Omega, a compact front-wheel-drive
car with a transverse engine and good fuel economy.

1982- Oldsmobile introduces the front-wheel-drive Cutlass Ciera, and a new V-6 diesel
engine.