20 Years Ago One Of America’s Oldest Car Brands Went Belly Up

Oldsmobile was one of the longest-standing and trusted American car brands as the 2000s closed into view, though it would barely live long enough to see it through. Amid falling sales and struggles to establish a modern-day brand image, parent company General Motors made the tough decision to ax the brand in 2000.

Many gearheads were left dismayed at the fact one of the most historic car manufacturers in the nation’s history could be cast aside like that, though the signs of its impending doom became more and more evident during the 1990s. Here’s how it happened.

Oldsmobile Had Been In Business Before Any Of Its Rivals Turned Up

At the time the company was finally wound up in 2004, Oldsmobile was the oldest auto manufacturer in the business. The brand was founded by engineer Ransom E. Olds with the help of some business partners that originated from Lansing, where he had moved when he was just 16, in 1897 as the Olds Motor Vehicle Co. Olds had first developed an automobile a decade earlier in 1887, when he built a steam-powered vehicle.

Interestingly, the steam car became the first automobile built in America to be shipped abroad. Bound for India, the vehicle was sadly lost when the ship carrying it sank en route. Undeterred, he built his first gas-powered car in 1896 shortly before founding his new company. The name was changed to Oldsmobile in 1900, a year after Buick was formed. The two companies would soon become intertwined as they made up General Motors, which got underway in 1908.

Oldsmobile went on to enjoy several landmark achievements during the rise of the automobile in the early 20th century. It was the second manufacturer to ever utilize a V8 engine in one of its offerings, following a year after fellow GM brand Cadillac did so in 1915. The 1916 Oldsmobile Model 44 had a 246 ci powerplant, which produced just 40 hp. Available in hardtop Touring and convertible Roadster form, a total of 8,209 examples of the V8-powered Model 44 were sold as per Hemmings, before it was replaced by the Model 45 in 1917.

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Oldsmobile Built Some Incredible Muscle Cars

Having taken some time out during the 1940s as it helped out with the Allies efforts in World War II, Oldsmobile got back to focusing on passenger car production soon after the war ended in 1945. It rose to become the fourth-largest American automaker by 1958 according to James Flammang’s Fabulous Cars of the 1950s book, behind only Chevrolet, Ford, and Plymouth. Along with Cadillac, Olds helped develop the first automatic transmission. Named the hydramatic, the three-speed unit debuted in 1940.

Alongside providing affordable luxury cars, as well as the Tornado that became the first GM vehicle to offer front-wheel drive in 1966, Oldsmobile arguably churned out one of the first production muscle cars. The Rocket 88, which HotCars recently turned into a modern-day restomod, featured a V8 that made 135 hp and even took the 1949 NASCAR title off the back of six wins from nine races that season. It was also part of the muscle car boom of the 1960s with the iconic 442 in 1964. Featuring a commanding 455 ci V8, the brand’s performance offering produced 380 hp and 500 lb-ft of torque.

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Greatest Oldsmobile Muscle Cars

Some of its most iconic creations were its 442s, which were built in association with Hurst Performance, a partnership that began in 1968. Oldsmobile-Hurst 442s featured upgraded 455 ci V8s mated to a four-speed manual gearbox, which featured one of Hurst’s infamous shifters. The partnership developed as Oldsmobile wanted to obtain a fresh, cool image, something the Hurst 442 helped with, albeit briefly.

1969 Oldsmobile Hurst 442 Specs

(Source: Oldsmobile)

Oldsmobile generally held the reputation of being for older customers, while the likes of Pontiac and Chevrolet tended to appeal to younger demographics. Its identity crisis, twinned with a lack of original ideas compared to its rivals as the 1980s progressed, ultimately signified its eventual downfall.

Oldsmobile Fell Into A Tailspin During The 1980s and 1990s

How Oldsmobile’s Sales Declined 1985-2000

(Source: CNN)

Even the most versatile of brands can fall into hard times if they don’t keep up with growing trends and continue selling outdated products that the public is losing interest in. Oldsmobile fell into this exact trap and continued focusing predominantly on sedan-based vehicles throughout the 1980s as SUVs and minivans started to grow in popularity.

While the likes of Ford and Chevy introduced their own models of this type to much success in the 1980s, it took Olds until 1990 to finally offer a minivan with the Silhouette. It then followed this up with an SUV of its own, the Bravada, a year later in 1991. Another slice of the market it missed out on was the light trucks sector, which was growing at an ever greater rate than minivans and SUVs at the time.

Another goal was its marketing campaign in the late 1980s. it embarked on to try and rid itself of its image as a brand geared towards the older driver. It came up with the slogan “This is not your father’s Oldsmobile,” which only served to alienate its biggest customer base. This is likely another key reason Olds sales began to tumble at the time and into the 1990s.

Failing To Keep Up With Industry Trends Cost Olds Dearly

A graph made up of figures collected by ResearchGate illustrates the steep growth of the light truck market during the 1980s and 1990s. In 1980, they had an overall automobile market share of just over 20%, though by the end of the decade, this had grown to around 35%. This rocketed to around 55% by the time the new millennium came around, resulting in a market that manufacturers needed to take a slice of to keep their profits well into the green.

Oldsmobile never offered a light truck model in its lineup, also costing it valuable sales alongside its failed image shift. Its other vehicles weren’t exactly cutting the mustard either, as its sales figures during the 1990s show. As per CNN, Olds held a market share of 6.9% and were shifting over a million vehicles per year in 1985. These numbers tumbled across the subsequent 15 years and had halved to just 537,856 products sold by 1990.

This figure was halved once more by the time Olds’ disbandment was announced in 2000, the once-glowing brand left with a paltry market share of just 1.6%. This wasn’t only a sign that drivers wanted to stay clear of a dying brand either, as Olds’ yearly sales dropped by around 150,000 between 1990 and 1995, before continuing to sink.

The End Of The Road For Olds

The dwindling sales of Oldsmobile eventually forced new GM CEO Rick Wagoner to react, and he announced the decision to wind down the Oldsmobile brand in December 2000, after over 100 years in business. It continued to offer its Alero coupe and sedan, Silhouette minivan, and Bravada SUV models until the company officially shut down in 2004.

Speaking at the time, Wagoner explained that the struggle to find “profitable ways to strengthen Oldsmobiles product line” for the future ultimately forced its closure.

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“Our teams worked hard to find profitable ways to further strengthen the Oldsmobile product line, including consideration of products developed with our global alliance partners,” said Wagoner. “But in the current environment, we simply couldn’t find an approach that would ensure Oldsmobile’s future success.”

And that was that. Its outdated image of offering mid-range sedans was never ejected, and its new models simply failed to break through the crowd of its rivals that had brought their own models to the market much earlier.

The achievements it managed in its early days should never be underrated or forgotten though. Just remember that the next time you’re stuck in traffic with your auto gearbox, you have Oldsmobile partly to thank for saving your left leg.

Sources: Oldsmobile Club Of America, Oldsmobile, Hemmings, CNN, ResearchGate, Mecum Auctions, Bring A Trailer, Bonhams, Edmunds