Oldsmobile Parts – Keeping The Oldest Car Brand in America Alive

Oldsmobile, which debuted in the business in 1897, had clearly left an imprint in the automobile industry after its existence of more than a century. Once part of the General Motors (GM) marques, Oldsmobile, however, stopped production in 2004. Its last batch of vehicle models was marked with the ‘Final 500’ and donned a dark metallic cherry red body paint. A part of the last models is currently on display in the R.E. Olds Transportation Museum in Detroit. Since its last production, the GM-produced Oldsmobile has been considered as the oldest automobile brand in the United States and the third after Peugeot and Daimler across the globe.

The brand name Oldsmobile, which was initially called Olds automobiles, was actually derived from its founder Ransom E. Olds. For more than a decade, this 107-year-old marque was under the Michigan-based Oldsmobile Motor Vehicle Company. Oldsmobile was among the popular brands in the US especially for trademark model called the Curved Dash Olds, which were released in 1907. On its 12th year in the industry, however, Oldsmobile was sold to GM because of some financial difficulties experienced by its former parent company. The transition did not pose any threat on the Oldsmobile brand as it continuously prospered in terms of volume in both sales and production up until the early 1980s. The compact but powerful engine dubbed as the Rocket V8 was among the renowned Oldsmobile parts back in those years.

Since a huge chunk of Oldsmobile’s existence in this volatile industry was largely spent with GM, the brand acquired the technical innovations of its parent company. Back then, Oldsmobile cars were on top the other GM-produced marques. In the early ‘80s, an Olds automobile model was actually the first vehicle from the GM umbrella that was geared with an automatic transmission system. In addition to that, the electricity-powered headlight dimmer was also a first for the Oldsmobile marque.

Although Oldsmobile is no longer producing any of its signature vehicles, there are still some cars from the brand, like the Oldsmobile Bravada and Alero, among others, that proudly carry the Oldsmobile emblem on the streets today. To sustain the good condition of both the vintage and recent models, Oldsmobile parts are upgraded or customized by the owners. These new Oldsmobile parts keep the cars of this GM-produced marque up to date with its more contemporary counterparts from the other companies.

Anthony Fontanelle is a 35-year-old automotive buff who grew up in the Windy City. He does freelance work for an automotive magazine when he is not busy customizing cars in his shop.