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The company Ransom Eli Olds started in 1897 was a groundbreaker, launching one of the first successful gasoline-powered cars. With an eariler assembly line than Henry Ford's, Olds in 1901 launched the Curved Dash, a dainty-yet-durable roadster which got 40 miles to the gallon and became the US Post Office's first standard mail delivery vehicle. Though Olds sold his interest in the company in 1904, it continued to hold the lead in auto sales in the early 1900s. Daredevils Dwight Huss and Milford Wigle took one of the cars across the country's primitive early roads in 1905 to win the first transcontinental auto race. By 1908, Oldsmobile had been incorporated with Buick into the fledgling General Motors. (Cadillac and Oakland [later Pontiac] were acquired in 1909, with Chevrolet coming later.) Over the next several decades, the conglomerate's divisions would benefit from common engineering, design, and sales teams. The growth of Oldsmobile after the merger largely followed the fortunes of GM. However, some notable firsts were introduced in the Oldsmobile line, including the first Hydra-Matic (automatic) transmission in 1940, the first airbag in 1974, and the first use of acrylic body panels in 1981. Oldsmobile's
niche in the GM panoply was that of the nice car the middle class could
afford, more luxurious than a Pontiac, more affordable than a Buick.
But by the 1990s, GM aimed to refocus the brand. "This is not your
father's Oldsmobile," boasted commercials trying to liven up the
middle-of-the-road image. Efforts at targetting import buyers failed,
however, and in 2000 a struggling GM announced that the oldest US
automobile brand would cease operations in 2004. Update (4/29/04):
Oldsmobile is no more. General
Motors announced today that the last Oldsmobile, an Alero, rolled off
the assembly line this morning in Lansing, Michigan, ending 107
years of the brand's production.
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Oldsmobile