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The last Oldsmobile to be built is scheduled to be on Thursday April 29,2004 at the Lansing,MI assembly plant. It will be a Final Edition Alero, to be donated and driven to the REO Museum as it comes off the assembly line with a sendoff parade.
I personally feel a loss because I grew up with two of my favorite cars, Camaro Z28 and the Olds 442. I've had one or the other or both ever since I got my driver's license 28 years ago. Not counting the trucks, nearly all the cars I've ever had were a Cutlass or Camaro. There's been a few others, but very few.
Regardless what you think of Olds, the bottom line is that the oldest auto nameplate on the block, and one of GM's original brand members, the only auto manufactuer to build cars in 3 different centuries, is forever closing its doors.
Olds gave us a lot of innovation for the car industry, much of which ended up on other GM makes, such as the first to export vehicles, the first to use chrome trim, the first to be assembly-line built (Ford was NOT first), the first to use an airbag in the 74 Toronado, and the first musclecar to use a rear sway bar with the 64 442. And more recently the successful Aurora Indy car engine which GM conveniently swapped the Olds emblem over to a Chevy emblem to "take its place".
It's kinda hard to deal with losing nameplates, as we all agree. In the past 2 years we've all dealt with losing the Camaro, but it may be back, and now I'm going to have to endure an entire brand's death.
Thanks for 107 years, my friend. You may be gone from the dealerships, but not from our hearts.
[ 26. April 2004, 12:01 PM: Message edited by: el ess1 ]
Posts: 577 | From: Aiken, SC | Registered: May 2002
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I know most people here don't give a d@mn about Plymouths, but after growing up with Valiant, Barracuda, Sport Fury, Belvedere, Road Runner and GTX muscle cars I felt a similar loss when they quit building them. Over a period of about 25 years my family must have owed 2 dozen of them. The only saving grace is they are still as popular as ever with the cruisers down here...and it's really nice to see them still tearin' up the ole tarmac...
...deja vu...
-------------------- 'b0
1991 Formula SLP350 A4 2001 Mitsu Eclipse GT A4 2001 Chevy Blazer ZR2 4x4 2002 SOM Trans Am Firehawk M6 #360
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My first car was a 1965 Olds Dynamic 88 that my dad bought brand new. It was the hand me down car I got when my dad and 2 sisters were done with it. It had the big block 425ci with Ultra High Compression (360hp. It had a bad #5 cylinder exhaust valve and still han at the High School Drag Nationals 15.0 @93 mph with a Turbo 400 and a 2.73 12 bolt rear end. Not bad for a 4,500 lb sled on 7 cylinders and 175,000 miles! He has had a few Oldsmobiles thru the years and still has a 1991 Olds 98 Regency with only 40,000 miles on it. I also worked in a Olds dealer for over 12 years, so I seen some pretty cool cars around including the 1974 Olds 88 with the optional airbags. I seen and drove many 442's and Hurst Olds editions.
Posts: 5682 | From: Dearborn,Mi. | Registered: Feb 2002
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An interesting point was the first GM-sanctioned "conversion car" program (openly done, not the skunkwerks kind) came about when GM was handing out F-bodys to the brands. Chevrolet got theirs, of course, and Oldsmobile lobbied hard to get their version, but in the end, obviously Pontiac got it.
Because of snubbing Olds for the F-body and the tiny guilt-trip GM brass had over it, they gave to go-ahead for the limited-edition '68 Hurst/Olds project, where "unfinished" cars were taken from the plant, to a Hurst conversion facility for performance-orientated enhancements, and then shipped to the dealerships. All warranted by GM. Sound familiar? Olds and Hurst did use some trickery to get the approval, and bypassed GM's standing order for 400 cubic inch limitations in A-bodies by telling GM brass that Hurst was going to be putting in the 455 engines, but in reality the engines were put in at the factory before leaving the plant. This was straight from the horse's mouth, the man in charge of overseeing the conversions for Hurst, Jack "The Shifty Doctor" Watson.
In a related turn of events, it was SLP who came back around and made this their niche for the SS and Firehawk specialty cars until the end of the F-body.
Posts: 577 | From: Aiken, SC | Registered: May 2002
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quote:Originally posted by cytruffle: The 442 was a contender when I was looking for my first car.....I thought those taillights were just beautiful!!
Unfortunately, because Olds engines were designed primarily to be torque-monsters, they ran out of steam on the top end and not a whole lot of cars got to see those taillights all the time. Not that low 13 second times weren't possible, but other cars were breaking into the 12s so.... I have a 71 442 but its taillights go the other way from a 1970. Virtually the same car, though....
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Olds was one of the oldest auto manufacturers too!
-------------------- SLP OEM air-lid (painted) with Donaldson filter and CAI, GMMG Chambered exhaust,GMS 200 MPH white gauges,3.73 Rear Axle, SS grille with silver logo, 5-Spoke ZR-1 Chrome Plated Wheels, SS Front Floor Mats, Commemorative Portfolio, Custom FRC's, D Goetz signature series SFC's and STB, Gentex Mirror, Power antenna,T/A shifter handle,clear corners, 160 Therm., HPP3 and Silver SS emblems with 345 hp decals painted calipers with Camaro decal car # 10252 41U Onyx Black -1 of 174 A4 verts
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It will be a sad day. My first car was a '77 Regency 98 that belonged to my parents. It was a tank. The car would not die. Even when the vacuum hoses had rotted off of it, it ran just fine. Tires were bald, head liner drooped down, the vinyl roof flaked off, the drivers door was held together with a couple of washers and some wood screws, and at 16 years old I loved every minute I spent in it. The roomy back seat was nice too! I thought about getting a final edition Bravada, but it wasn't to be. Olds now joins the ranks of the Orphans...
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Grew up with Olds. A '77 Ninety-Eight and an '83 Eighty-Eight DIESEL conversion. Both ran very well. Great cars. Sad to see the Olds line go.
Posts: 231 | From: Valencia, Ca | Registered: Feb 2003
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My dad used to buy only Olds until the late 70's. He had, I think it was called, an F85 and a few Delta 88's and a cutlas, all with V-8's. He switched to Ford in the late 70's because of poor build quality. In the late 70's, for towing, I bought a 1968 Olds 98 with power everything for $200 and it had a 455HO V8. Ran and looked good.
-------------------- Member # M02-0968 M6, 35th Anniversary LE #102, Posts: 232 | From: Springfield, PA | Registered: Dec 2002
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I'd of rather seen buick bite the dust over oldsmobile.
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I thought about getting a final edition Bravada, but it wasn't to be. Olds now joins the ranks of the Orphans...
