Oldsmobile
USA · Founded 1897
GM's innovation lab. Automatic transmissions, Rocket V8s, front-wheel drive muscle — and then they killed it.
Heritage
Oldsmobile was America's oldest surviving automotive brand when GM pulled the plug in 2004. That 107-year run included some genuine firsts: the first mass-produced car with a fully automatic transmission (1940), the first modern overhead-valve V8 (the Rocket, 1949), the first front-wheel-drive American car in decades (Toronado, 1966). The 442 was genuine muscle car royalty — the 'W-30' package was one of the fastest things on the street. But GM's brand mismanagement turned Oldsmobile into a badge-engineered wasteland by the '90s. The brand that pioneered innovation died building rebadged Chevys. The good news: those '60s and '70s Oldsmobiles are finally getting the respect they deserve.
Oldsmobile Vehicles (3)
1966 Oldsmobile Toronado
The Toronado was audacious: a full-size personal luxury car with front-wheel drive, at a time when the only other FWD cars in America were imports. GM's engineers developed a unique split drivetrain — the engine sits behind and above the transmission, connected by a chain to the torque converter. It worked, and worked well enough to win Motor Trend's Car of the Year. The dramatic fastback roofline and hidden headlights made it look like nothing else on the road. The Toronado proved that Oldsmobile was willing to take engineering risks that other GM divisions wouldn't touch.
1970 Oldsmobile 442
The 442 was Oldsmobile's answer to the GTO, and by 1970 it had evolved into a legitimate muscle car heavyweight. The 455 V8 made a stump-pulling 500 lb-ft of torque. The W-30 package added Ram Air induction, a hotter cam, and an aluminum intake — the fastest Oldsmobile you could buy. The '70 redesign gave it swoopier lines that aged better than some competitors. 'Dr. Oldsmobile' ads positioned it as the prescription for boring transportation. The 442 name originally meant 4-barrel carb, 4-speed manual, and dual exhaust — by 1970 it had become its own model designation.
1976 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme
The Cutlass Supreme was America's favorite car in the mid-1970s — not a Chevy, not a Ford, but an Oldsmobile. The Colonnade body introduced in 1973 hit exactly the right note of personal luxury: formal rooflines, opera windows, comfortable interiors, and enough engine options to satisfy most tastes. The 1976 model year was peak Cutlass, selling over 500,000 units. These were the cars parked in suburban driveways across America, the cars driven to disco and back, the cars that defined malaise-era comfort. Today, they're finally getting respect as survivors of an underappreciated era.