posted April 27, 2004 10:48 PM            

Incredible, I used to race those 442's with my GTO Ram Air Pontiac. They were great muscle cars, not quite up to the task but hells bells, they are part of Americana.

I'm all for the bottom line but the consolidation of brands and options doesn't sit well with me.

I know you ladies will say "so what"? But this is the oldest brand name automobile in the US.

Imagine your outrage if Bali discontinued the "Living Bra."

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

-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.

posted April 27, 2004 11:14 PM            

Maybe I misunderstood the article, but exactly why did they decide to do this? What's the bottomline here?

posted April 28, 2004 12:09 AM            

I guess their attempt at disassociating the brand with the elderly didn't work?

There's always...Honda Get yourself a Civic, drop it to the ground, install black lights under the chassis, install a bazooka tube the size of Illinois, paint it a purple pink or aqua pearlescent type color, a lil nitrus, and maybe you can be in the Fast and the Furious III...

posted April 28, 2004 01:55 AM            

The article says they announced in 2000 they were ending the Olds marque but it's the first word I heard on the subject.

The bottom line is consolidation, consolidation of engines---for instance Pontiac uses both Buick and Chevy engines, and for years, the body types in most American auto lines were shared among the various brands. Camero/Firebird etc. It cut down on production costs.

I think GM thinks people who bought Oldsmobiles will now buy Buick or Pontiac's. I don't think so. Further, I hope not. Oldsmobiles were good solid cars.

Screw GM

Isis

Get myself a Honda indeed. Nitrous oxide---laughing gas
A few years ago, I sold my '65 GTO. That car came close to lifting the front wheels off the ground on hard acceleration. Hard to compare today's fast cars with the genuine articles of the 60's. In fact, they don't compare favorably.

Still, I like your color scheme, I can see the car in my mind and you made me laugh. That's a good thing. Fast and furious are relative terms. I would have loved to take you for a ride in my 409 Chevy. One full throttle romp would have dispelled any doubts about which is fast and which isn't.

I'm not happy about the ending of the first American car marque. I never owned an Oldsmobile but that's beside the point. Consolidation of options is the point. What's next?

Hope your brother still had that 442. The price is going to skyrocket.

jwhop

posted April 28, 2004 02:06 AM            

GGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.. the audacity!

posted April 28, 2004 07:04 PM            

Hmmm, a goat Why did you sell her?

As far as what's next, just so long as everything isn't consolodated into Kia, I think we'll be ok.

My brother hasn't sold the car, it's been rotting in a car yard in Santa Cruz for a decade, it's a long story, and my brother is an idiot (another long story). If that were my car, I'd have my license revoked for speeding right now

posted April 29, 2004 04:52 PM            

Seems a shame to let a real piece of history rust out in a car lot. It happens, sadly.

69 Firebird was a fine looking car. I bought one of my daughters, a 67 which she still has. Painted it Imron Red, which made all the guys drool Of course she made all the guys drool too Bad combination!

I had a lot of fun with the 65 GTO. Had the car since 1969, but it was time to turn it over to someone who really wanted it and would appreciate and take care of it. Not really anyplace to even climb on it around here anyway and of course the heat followed me around every time I drove it just daring me to get on it