Overview & Reviews

At the dawn of the automobile, Oldsmobile was there. Owned by General Motors, Oldsmobile was the most senior domestic marque and one of the oldest automobile brands in the world, with a run that spanned some 107 years.

Ransom E. Olds was born in Ohio, but moved to Lansing, Michigan, to work in his father's machine shop. His experiences there helped whet his appetite for all things automotive, and he soon garnered enough expertise to develop a gasoline-powered vehicle. Joining forces with other partners, Olds cofounded the Olds Motor Vehicle Company in 1897. By the early 1900s, the company had introduced the nation to upscale models like the Curved Dash and had risen to become the best-selling car company in the United States.

Ransom Olds eventually left the company and it was sold to General Motors in 1908, where it became known as the Oldsmobile Division. More than ever, Oldsmobile became the brand of choice for car buyers seeking vehicles steeped in luxury and sophistication. Early models like the 1915 Model 42 Touring Roadster offered sleek lines and style aplenty. The 1918 Model 37 was its first model to offer a closed top, ensuring that the brand's well-heeled buyers had protection from the elements.

Oldsmobile had another hit in the 1920s with the Model 46, a V8-powered touring car that seated seven. The manufacturer did its part to make sure that the decade's elegance wasn't lost on its automobiles. It introduced fancy chrome-plated trim that served to raise the glamour quotient of its already eye-catching vehicles.

The '30s was a decade of innovation for the brand. The company wooed customers with its "Knee-Action" independent front suspension, an affordably priced option that served to improve ride quality. The company also offered one of the earliest automatic transmissions, freeing drivers from the rigors of the clutch with its four-speed "Hydra-matic" system.

Postwar, Oldsmobile gave consumers the Rocket 88. The car offered new levels of performance, giving the North American market its first taste of the short-stroke, overhead-valve V8. The car was adored by enthusiasts, and was chosen to serve as the pace car for the 1949 Indy 500.

The 1950s saw Olds continuing to distinguish itself as a purveyor of fine performance machines. With a name inspired by the Lockheed Starfire fighter plane, its 1953 Starfire show car offered a fiberglass body, a stylishly low beltline and most importantly, a 200-horsepower engine. The car was one of the first to display a wraparound windshield, and in the years following, many other manufacturers adopted this styling cue.

Oldsmobile's innovations continued into the 1960s. The manufacturer was the first since the 1930s Cord to taste success with a front-wheel-drive vehicle, in the form of its sporty Toronado. The '70s saw Olds breaking new ground in the area of safety. In 1974, it introduced a Toronado equipped with a driver-side airbag; Olds was the first domestic automaker to offer this feature. Around this time, the company's Cutlass had also become one of America's favorite cars.

Less successful was the company's effort to get on board with diesel technology. In 1978, Oldsmobile introduced a 5.7-liter V8 diesel engine as a response to that decade's fuel crisis; the engine was meant to appeal to buyers desperate to save money at the pump. Rising diesel prices and the unreliability of the engines caused the program to suffer, and Oldsmobile was eventually forced to terminate its efforts on this front.

In the '80s, Oldsmobile left its competitors in the dust when its Aerotech — piloted by noted racecar driver A.J. Foyt — set a closed-course world speed record of 257 mph. The company continued to have a huge hit with its Cutlass; the model spent much of the decade atop the sales charts.

The '90s saw Oldsmobile's introduction of Guidestar, the first onboard navigation system combining mapping and satellite positioning. The company made history yet again when its race-modified Aurora V8 won the Indy 500, making Olds the first manufacturer to pace and win the race in the same year.

By the dawn of the new millennium, Oldsmobile's sales were in a rut. The brand's identity had suffered over the years due to parts-sharing and rebadging within the GM camp. GM ultimately decided to pull the plug, and the last Oldsmobile rolled off the assembly line in model-year 2004.

User Reviews:

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  N/A - 2002 Oldsmobile Bravada
  By Kevin Mandrell - June 11 - 10:00 am

  This was a BIG mistake!

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  Bucket of Bolts - 2001 Oldsmobile Alero
  By Dave - April 7 - 4:56 pm

  Whoever designed this car never drove it. It has poor quality, features that were poorly designed, and poor fuel economy for a 4-cylinder, manual transmission car. The engine has a fair amount of power, but the cockpit layout is not convenient. There is a sensor in the stereo that increases volume with speed, but there are no pockets in the doors for maps. It gets the exact same gas mileage that my 92 Grand Am with the 3.3L V6 and 3 speed auto transmission got. The interior feels cheap and pasticy (a hallmark of GM cars over the last 20 years). When the car was 40 months old (and the warranty expired) the emergency brake lever stopped working and the intermittent wipers went on the fritz.

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  Not Worth It - 2000 Oldsmobile Silhouette
  By greg - February 13 - 7:16 pm

  My Oldsmobile Silhouette had constant electrical problems. GM would not stand behind its defective intake manifold gasket problem despite a service memo noting the design issue. Is is any wonder Olds went down and GM sales are poor.

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  Do Not Buy This Car - 2000 Oldsmobile Alero
  By hatethiscar - February 8 - 2:03 pm

  I bought my Alero in 2002. The drivetrain has been fairly reliable except for some suspension problems. The real problem for me has been with the interior bits. Among other things, Ive run into: 1. Two speakers inexplicably stopped working. The worked just fined once I replaced them (with original wiring even). 2. The A/C controls are messed up. The fan will only work on the two highest settings. 3. It has a peeling dash. 4. I have four (count em!) non-working power windows. Ive had both front windows repaired multiple times, but they never seem to work longer than 6-8 months before failing again. This is, far and away, the most annoying problem Ive had with the car.

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  Why Oldsmobile died - 2000 Oldsmobile Intrigue
  By Oh boy - January 8 - 9:00 am

  At first with all GM sedans the car looked really nice. Then it starts moving and your feelings begin to change. This car rattles a lot, and seems like it was assembled like a plastic model kit. The door panels move a little when you touch them and the passenger widow control actually popped out one day when my wife closed the door. The fake wood paneling is cheap and is cracking on the dashboard. The rear power window stopped working and that was only after a handful of times using it. It burns way too much oil. I have the high end version of this model and would hate to imagine how bad the base model would be. I have a 1999 Honda Civic and have not had any of these problems.

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  Not the greatest - 2000 Oldsmobile Intrigue
  By BK - December 7 - 12:04 am

  This was my first car I had at 16 and owned it for 7 years. Bought it used with around 70,000 miles and worked good for the first year or 2. Performance was pretty good for a "grandma" car, putting the pedal down going about 30 would still break the tires loose. Understeer was as expected in a front wheel drive but it did well in the winter as long as there wasnt a huge snow storm. There were several things that went bad in the years I had it though. Wheel bearings were terrible. After about 2 years I had to replace the front bearings. Not long after that the rear ones went out. And about 3 years after replacing the rear bearings they went out again. 6 bearings for a car with 4 wheels over about a 5 or 6 year period is ridiculous, I initially blamed my driving thinking I took corners maybe faster than the car was meant for but I have since learned this was a common problem with the vehicle. About 3 years into owning it the electronic control module crapped out and wasnt worth the estimated $1000 for the dealership to fix it so I lived with it. This going out caused the dashboard to look like a christmas tree, no ABS, no traction control, the power steering just felt different but I cant describe the feeling even though it wasnt bad it was just different, the precision control didnt work even though I wasnt sure what that even did so that may be where the power steering felt different, electronics in the cab would do weird things like turn off the cruise control if you roll a window down and things of that nature. The cool thing about the ECM going out was the governor also went with it so one time while passing 4 cars I was able to take it to 126 before I decided it was smart to let off the gas. Passenger rear window went out and the replacement motor only worked for a few months so I believe the ECM going out had something to do with this. One spring the car was idling real low and would die at stop lights and that turned out to be a sensor in the engine. Another time the car idled way too high and I had to shift it into neutral at stop lights while onlookers probably thought I was showing off by revving the engine and then slamming it into gear, that was another sensor issue in the engine. And towards the end of my time with the vehicle it just shifted like crap, hard shifts and had problems finding the right gear to be in. This vehicle was probably my last experience I will ever have with a GM, there was always something wrong with it.

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  1999 Alero - lemons - 1999 Oldsmobile Alero
  By TDJ - September 27 - 10:00 am

  If you like to fix cars this is the car for you. I owned this car for 2.5 years and replaced the radiator, water pump, tie rod ends, battery, & rotors. On occasion the transmission didnt engage right away, this always made me nervous. The final straw was when the valves started to go. It made a loud tapping sound in the engine so I traded it in. Dont buy one of these lemons!

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  Do not buy this as a primary vehicle!! - 1999 Oldsmobile Alero
  By Alero buyer beware - September 15 - 2:00 am

  within 5k miles from 48k, the serpentine belt squeals, still does- new one-($40), water pump went out ($110), alternator out ($210), wheel bearing ($320), intake manifold- distributor shaft oring, front main seal, leak oil,($1100) oem goodyear tires noisy($600+), aux power outlet broken ($110), rear defrost doesnt work ($105), driver seat wont flip foward for rear seat access($200) and more minor. changed the trans fluid - no dipstick. how are you supposed to check fluid?? Resale is also horrible = still paying payments (3 1/2 years left) as well as having to pay for major repairs. thats $2700 in repairs for a 3 1/2 yr old car.

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  Needs some help - 2002 Oldsmobile Bravada
  By Douglas Jones - September 9 - 2:00 am

  We replaced our 93 Jeep Grand Cheeroke with this in late 2001. Its a nice looking car and rides nice, but we really an SUV that can handle offroad. The tilting rear view mirrors never return to the correct spot even after having the dealer fix them. Both seats have completely stopped working at least once. The front end is all weak plastic. I hit a deer at less then 5 MPH and did $2500 woth of damage. Off road/snow driving with the stock Michelins isnt better then may front wheel drive Taurus. Cant even go 300 miles on a tank of gas. It is very comfortable but its just not the SUV we hoped. Well probably take a bath and go back to a Jeep.

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  Why GM is failing - 2000 Oldsmobile Bravada
  By Chrs - July 27 - 10:36 pm

  This has been the absolute worst car I have ever purchased. A complete money pit and lemon since day one. A car that was bought with only 60,000 miles has had these problems all within a few months of purchase: A/C failure, alternator/belt tensioner failure, wiper motor failure, emergency belt failure, transfer case leak, excessive belt squeal, CV joint failure, and numerous other problems. Save your money and buy a reliable and dependable Japanese car. At least the Japanese take pride in there work. I am now only going to buy Nissan, Toyota, or Honda vehicles.