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History of The Oldsmobile Motor Company
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The Olds Family Moves North
Ransom and his family moved to Lansing, MI in this year where his father, Pliny Oldsm established a machine shop named P. F. Olds & Son. Ransom worked with his father as they moved into the production of steam engines that used gasoline, not coal or wood, as the source of heat. The business prospered as they turned out large numbers of steam engines for a variety of purposes. -
Steam powered car is developed - TOP SPEED 25 MPH!!
In 1892, Olds built an auto powered by a pair of two horsepower steam engines, each connected to a driving wheel. This worked well on level ground, but not very well on hills. -
Olds Motor Company is established
Olds and Lansing business people start the Olds Motor Vehicle Co. and build four cars. The Lansing-based manufacturer is the first company organized specifically to produce cars in quantity. -
The Company is Moved to Detroit
Smith, a Detroiter, and other local stockholders insisted that the Olds Motor Works locate in Detroit, which was already a thriving manufacturing center for carriages, stoves, and other products. At this point, another Detroiter, Henry Ford, was still attempting to launch his own motor-vehicle manufacturing operation; he had incorporated one in 1899, but it failed a year later. The newly-built Olds Motor Works plant and offices on the Detroit River were the city's first permanent auto manufactur -
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Fire - Relocation - Re-birth
- Ransom comes home from a trip to see his father in California to read in the newspaper headlines that his company burned to the ground while he was gone.
- Olds Motor Works moves back to Lansing, MI. 425 "runabouts" were built after the relocation; the little car became quite popular in the years remaining - 1907.
- The Curved-Dash Runabout specs: 1 cylinder / 4.5 HP / 2-speed manual / $650.00
- Ransom comes home from a trip to see his father in California to read in the newspaper headlines that his company burned to the ground while he was gone.
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HOLD ON HENRY FORD !!!!
*** The 1901 to 1907 Oldsmobile Curved Dash was the first mass-produced car, made from the first automotive assembly line, an invention that is often miscredited to Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company. (Ford was the first to manufacture cars on a moving assembly line.) *** -
New Company Name
Olds Motor Works is renamed to what we know (formerly know) today as Oldsmobile Motor Company. Olds + Automobile = Oldsmobile -
The Beloved Curved-Dash is NO MORE
The Curved Dash Runabout's production is stopped by Oldsmobile; bigger, better, and new is wanted. 19,000 were built between 1901-1907. -
Oldsmobile Joins General Motors Company
Located in Flint, MI, General Motors Company (GM), adds to both Buick and Oldsmobile to their company. -
(1,000,000) Oldsmobile SOLD
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WWII Begins
Automobile production decreases as the company aides the war effort. Many workers leave for the war. -
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New Transmissiion
Futuramic Oldsmobile introdcues their Futuramic Olds. Basically it was their first automobile to have an "auomatic transmission". -
Ransom E. Olds Dies
Ransom E. Olds dies in his home in Lansing, MI at the age of 86. -
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The Hurst Olds
In 1968, shifter mogul George Hurst had a '68 442 that he had swapped an Olds 455 into, and found the swap to be not only successful, but relatively simple. George's right-hand man, Jack "Doc" Watson, took the idea of the engine swap a few steps further, adding special paint, a Hurst shifter, engine modifications, and a walnut dash applique, and the Hurst/Olds was born. -
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Muscle Car Era Ends
Oldsmobile's production of their performance model 442 continues, however a new body style is introduced (European inspired) and the raw horsepower the beloved model once had was gone. The three main speed bumps were insurance premiums, tougher environmental laws, and the 1973 OPEC oil embargo. -
Hurst Olds Model Resurfaces
The Hurst Olds Model is broght back 1983 and 1984. Paint for "83 - Black (main) - Red (stripe) - Sliver/Grey (Bottom) -
Last Hurst Olds Model
Colors are flipped from the 1983 model. -
100th Anniversery
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Oldsmobile NO LONGER???
GM announces they will phase out the Oldsmobile division. -
Last Olds Is Produced
The 2004 Oldsmobile Alero is the last vehicle Oldsmobile produced. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory.
