Oldsmobile (formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors) was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produced over 35 million vehicles, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan, factory alone.
During its time as a division of General Motors, Oldsmobile slotted into the middle of GM's five passenger car divisions (above Chevrolet and Pontiac, but below Buick and Cadillac). It was also noted for several groundbreaking technologies and designs.
Oldsmobile's sales peaked at over one million annually from 1983 to 1986, but by the 1990s the division faced growing competition from premium import brands, and sales steadily declined. When it shut down in 2004, Oldsmobile was the oldest surviving American automobile brand, and one of the oldest in the world. Buick, founded in 1899, was a long-standing counterpart to Oldsmobile (both sold entry/mid-level luxury cars) and succeeded Olds as the oldest American carmaker still operating.
Oldsmobiles were first manufactured by the Olds Motor Vehicle Company in Lansing, Michigan, a company founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In 1901 (the same year that Horace and John Dodge won a contract to produce transmissions for the Olds company), the company produced 635 cars, making it the first high-volume gasoline-powered automobile manufacturer (electric car manufacturers such as Columbia Electric and steam-powered car manufacturers such as Locomobile had higher volumes a few years earlier).
Oldsmobile became the top-selling car company in the United States from 1903 to 1904. Ransom Olds left the company in 1904 because of a dispute with sales manager Frederic L. Smith, who was questioning production techniques and wanted Mr. Olds to certify that each car that left the plant was free from defects. Mr. Smith then set up an experimental engineering shop without Mr. Olds' knowledge or consent, causing Mr. Olds to leave in 1904 and form the REO Motor Car Company. This was similar to the situation Henry Ford experienced when he was forced out of the company he founded (the Henry Ford Company) before starting the Ford Motor Company in 1903.
The 1902 to 1907 Oldsmobile Model R "Curved Dash" was the first mass-produced car, made on a progressive moving automotive assembly line, an invention which is often incorrectly credited to Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company. Ford was the first to manufacture cars on a continuously moving and synchronized assembly line starting in 1913, five years into Model T production. Olds' moving assembly line was manually progressed, meaning that the vehicle being assembled was manually pushed to the next workstation after the assigned assembly was performed at the previous station. This differed from hand-making vehicles in the past where various workers would work on one car until it was completed, which was labor- and time-intensive.
After Ransom Olds merged Olds Motor Vehicle Co. with the Olds Gas Engine Works in 1899, the newly formed entity was known as Olds Motor Works. The company moved to a new plant in Detroit, located at the corner of East Jefferson Avenue and MacArthur Bridge.
By March 1901, Olds Motor Works had a whole line of models ready for mass production. However, that month the factory caught fire and burned to the ground, destroying nearly all of the prototypes that were inside. The only car that survived the fire was a Curved Dash prototype, which was wheeled out of the factory by two workers as they escaped the burning building.
While the factory was being rebuilt using insurance funds, many subcontractors were used to keep production going, including Henry M. Leland for engine production and the Dodge Brothers. Olds was a strong competitor to other independent companies Buick and Cadillac before they became divisions of General Motors between 1908 and 1909. Later after Mr. Olds left the company, Oldsmobile production was moved back to Lansing.
Officially, the cars were called "Olds automobiles", but were colloquially referred to as "Oldsmobiles". It was this moniker, as applied especially to the Curved Dash Olds, that was popularized in the lyrics and title of the 1905 hit song "In My Merry Oldsmobile". The last Oldsmobile Curved Dash was made in 1907. General Motors purchased the company on November 12, 1908. When GM assumed operations, platform sharing began with Buick products and Oldsmobile shared platforms were identified with the prefix "Series" followed by a number, while models developed by pre-GM engineers were identified with the prefix "Model" followed by a letter. Early on, Oldsmobile was a competitor of Hudson, as some former engineers of Oldsmobile took positions with Hudson.
The 1910 Limited Touring Series 23 was an early, ambitious high point for the company. Riding atop 42-inch (1067 mm) wheels, and equipped with factory "white" tires, the Limited was the prestige model in Oldsmobile's two model lineup, with the smaller Oldsmobile Autocrat Series 32 having 36-inch wheels.
The Limited retailed for US$4,600, ($158,946 in 2025 dollars ) an amount greater than the price of a new basic three-bedroom house. Buyers received goatskin upholstery, a 60 hp (45 kW) 707 CID (11.6 L) T-head straight-six engine, Bosch Magneto starter, running boards and room for five. Options included a speedometer, clock, and full glass windshield. A limousine version was priced at $5,800 ($200,411 in 2025 dollars ). While Oldsmobile only sold 725 Limiteds in its three years of production, the car is best remembered for winning a race against the famed 20th Century Limited train, an event immortalized in the painting Setting the Pace by William Hardner Foster.
The Limited was at the time considered technologically advanced and cutting edge, if on the expensive side, but it established the division's reputation for innovation. The Oldsmobile Series 40 was offered in 1912 and was considerably more affordable and smaller, and later the company released the Oldsmobile Light Eight. In 1916, Oldsmobile offered a Northway-designed flathead V8 engine until 1923, while Buick remained with their division's exclusive overhead valve straight-six engine until 1930.
Beginning in 1910, bodywork was supplied by Fisher Body, a longstanding tradition that led to the company being eventually merged into GM in later years.
In 1926, the Oldsmobile Six came in five body styles, and ushered in a new GM bodystyle platform called the "GM B platform", shared with Buick products.
In 1929, as part of General Motors' companion make program, Oldsmobile introduced the higher standard Viking brand, marketed through the Oldsmobile dealer network. Viking was already discontinued at the end of the 1930 model year although an additional 353 cars were marketed as 1931 models.
In the 1930s, Oldsmobile produced two body styles of automobile, the Series F (straight-6 cylinder) and the longer Series L (straight-8 cylinder). In 1933 The Oldsmobile Program appeared on CBS radio for two years which was a new advertising approach to sell products and services.
In 1937, Oldsmobile was a pioneer in introducing a four-speed semi-automatic transmission called the "Automatic Safety Transmission", although this accessory was actually built by Buick, which would offer it in its own cars in 1938. This transmission features a conventional clutch pedal, which the driver presses before selecting either "low" or "high" range. In "low", the car shifts between first and second gears. In "high", the car shifts among first, third and fourth gears.