The end of an automotive era came in Detroit last Thursday as the final Oldsmobile came off the assembly line. The final Olds, an Alero, was the last of a commemorative series of the final 500 cars to be produced.
General Motors, the parent company of Oldsmobile, made the announcement in December 2000 that it would end the production of the automotive line, which had its beginnings in 1887. In light of GM’s other brands such as Chevrolet, Buick and Hummer, the aging Oldsmobile name began to fall by the wayside. According to a GM press statement, “While the decision regarding Oldsmobile is a difficult one, we believe that in the long run, it is the right thing to do to increase GM’s competitiveness and growth opportunities.”
Rebecca Harris, the Oldsmobile Communications Manager, said that GM ended the production of Oldsmobile vehicles for a multitude of reasons.
“GM made a business decsion to consolidate and focus on the other brands,” Harris said.
While Oldsmobiles were relatively obscure in their final years of life, the company was indeed a cornerstone of automotive innovation.
According to a GM press release, Oldsmobile was founded by Ransom E. Olds before the turn of the century, making the company the oldest car manufacturer in the United States. Throughout its 104 years of automobile production, Oldsmobile has certainly been no stranger to achievement and success.
“In its day, Oldsmobiles were known for performance,” Harris said. “They were also known for innovation and styling.”
According to a GM press release, in 1949, the Oldsmobile 88 featured the first high compression V-8 engine in the automobile industry. Also, in 1966 the Oldsmobile Toronado became the first automobile to have a front-wheel drive system.
In its final days, the Oldsmobile line featured the sporty Alero, the Silhouette minivan and sport-utility Bravada.
Floyd Christian, the Sales Manager of J.P. Thibodeaux Olds-Cadillac-GMC in New Iberia, said that his dealership has been selling Oldsmobiles for 35 years, and they were surprised by GM’s decision to end production.
“[Oldsmobiles] have had their ups and downs, but we thought that they were on the upswing,” he said
Four years after GM’s announcement, Harris said that the end of the Olds will not generate much of an affect on dealerships.
“There were 2,800 dealerships nationwide before the announcement,” Harris said. “And 95 percent of them were dualed with other GM franchises.”
Christian said that there will be some change, but not much.
“There will be an affect on the sales end and probably future service work as well,” Christian said. “Dealers will lose money, but it’s just something that we’ll have to deal with.”