Photo Gallery: Happy Birthday, Oldsmobile!

PausePlayPlayPrev|Next

(Image/OnAllCylinders)

(Image/OnAllCylinders - Matt Griswold)

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

left

right

On this day in 1897, Olds Motor Works was founded in Lansing, MI.

Before its demise in 2004, Oldsmobile gave us some iconic street machines and muscle cars, including the 88, Cutlass, and 4-4-2. During its 107-year run, Oldsmobile produced over 35 million automobiles, and its Curved-Dash model was the first car to be mass-produced on an automotive assembly line (Ford’s version was actually the first moving assembly line).

Here are a few other interesting facts about Oldsmobile from Steve Magnante’s 1001 Muscle Car Facts book:

• The 1962 Olds Jetfire was America’s first mass-produced passenger car with a turbocharged V8
• Ten 4-door 4-4-2 models were built in 1964
• Oldsmobile pioneered the use of rear sway bars in 1964, installing them on under its 4-4-2s
• Oldsmobile engineers dabbled with their own version of the HEMI-style engine in the late-1960s, but they were derailed by the ecology movement of the 1970s.

We’re celebrating Oldsmobile’s role in American automotive performance with an Oldsmobile-exclusive photo gallery. Check it out above!