spare a thought for a bit of automotive history passing on this week. dont know much about them but any brand passing on has to be a sad day.
tinyurl.com/356ym
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That\'s truly tragic. The \'curved dash\' was the first mass produced car, and the 4-4-2 was a serious musclecar. The name alone had considerble charisma. This should give Growler something to growl about. Mind you, a lot of today\'s Chevrolets are yesterday\'s Daewoos, Opels and Isuzus.
HJ
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the demise of Oldsmobile has left certain GM plants with excess capacity - so now the Olds version of the Trailblazer is now replaced with the Buick Rainier and Saab 9-7x, whilst the minivan (Silouette, i think - the Chevy version was briefly sold in the UK has as the Vauxhall Sintra) has now given way to Buick and Saturn badged variants.
What a waste.
Steve
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thats all folks..............
tinyurl.com/yvv6x
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In the post-war days the Olds was the most powerful car you could buy in America. The Rocket 88 was one to have and out-matched the Cadillac of the era. IIRC correctly it was OHV in an era when most US cars were still flatheads.
HJ, yup. When I lived in Bahrain the guy in the flat below me did the Breakfast Show on local radio. That old 4-4-2 starting up every morning helped me get to work on time.
Her comes the trivia bit.
What you may not know is that Oldsmobile is part of a greater legacy. Jackie Brenston and the Delta Cats. Rocket 88 - 1951. Widely regarded as the first rock n roll record. Ike Turner played guitar. Amazingly it didn\'t sell but Sam Philips picked it up and I think if IIRC Leonard Chess in Chicago eventually issued it. Only years later did that record\'s seminal impact get recognised. Fast forward to Bill Haley etc.......
Sad. Like those wonderful others now gone. The Studebaker Champion...what a pretty little car, the DeSoto Firedome with those monstrous rocketship fins and the green moonroof and the push button auto change on the dash, not long I suppose before it\'s the last of Pontiac and Mercury as well.
(((And here\'s the link Growler put into another thread entirely:-
www.drivingtoday.com/carstuff/greatest_cars/olds_r.../
HJ)))
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Oh yes, and the 4-4-2 was brown and white with big graphics on the doors. So seventies!
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The first time i had heard of oldsmobile was in the 'blues brothers' as Jake and Elwood were crashing through the shopping centre, Elwood says 'the new oldsmobiles are in early this year' as you see a 1980 car. dont know what model it was though. They must have facelifted them once a year in those days.
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Sad news indeed, but they lost their own identity years ago and became another Chevy/Pontiac with armrests and electric fuel flap. They tried to revive the brand in the late '90s but failed. In 1997/8, a guy I know who builds engines for cigarette boats was retained to develop a race engine for Olds (a 4.0 V8 I think.) He told me that it was good for a reliable 800bhp but the project was shelved after he'd delivered 3 of them.
Another friend has gorgeous '70 442 convertible.
Maybe it'll be worth a bit more now.
Kevin...
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A '70 442 rag-top? Slap a preservation order on it immediately!
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You bet!
Rumble up to your g/f\'s front door. Leave it on idle. You are a big poser. She takes her time tripping down the pathway in those platform shoes because she wants to make sure she gets noticed by the neighbours. Get out (you\'re a gent right?), open the passenger door for her and watch that skirt ride up as she slides in and her nylons generate that static on the seats. She she tut-tuts slightly annoyed. Toss her the pack of untipped Camels. Looks like she\'s in a modd, got some work to do tonight if the ROI is to realised.
I must come clean and say I never did this a 4-4-2. I did so with a Pontiac Bonneville, a Mustang and (to my everlasting shame a Mitsubishi Galant........when I was ME based). I thought the Firebird with that huge decal on the hood was terrific also. It used to sell in Bahrain for peanuts.
Take it to the main road then nail it. After 10 pm the cops never bothered you anyway.
Now then where did I put the Bay City Rollers Greatest Hit(s).
Mustang outside, might tell her Madam-ness to get hat and kickers on we\'re going for a blast first thing tomorrow a.m.
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That photo is pretty close to my friends car. His is solid bright red with white interior and ragtop but no white side-stripes or hood detailing.
> a proper car not a 16v.
Actually it is a 16v.
The original engine is still languishing in the corner of his garage because it threw a rod shortly after he bought it (in '96) so the numbers don't match.
He's a complete petrolhead who runs a Buick Roadmaster as a family runabout, the Olds and an Indian bike for weekends and one of these for mixing margaritas.
www.totallygross.com/showroom.html
Kevin...
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a proper car not a 16v.
Actually it is a 16v
Yeah, from eight cylinders, not four :-)
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Actually it is a 16v
i was speaking 'metaphorically' of course meaning V8's are proper cars and 16v are a bit sissy. if you've ever driven an old american V8 you'll understand.
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imagos -- are you my alter ego?
All proper cars should be V-8's and all proper bikes should be V-twins?!
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imagos,
both my current cars are V8s so I'm already a convert. A Chevy Z28 for fun and an XJ8 for commuting and business.
Called in at my local Jag dealer this afternoon to take a look at the XJR. The wife's first reaction was "The wheels are nice but that grille looks odd".
Guess Ive got some persuading to do.
Kevin...
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Posted by Growler elsewhere in a "senior" moment..... ND
In response to the earlier Oldsmobile thread, I came across this:
www.drivingtoday.com/carstuff/greatest_cars/olds_r.../
Interesting for those of us with an interest in Americana.
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www.drivingtoday.com/carstuff/greatest_cars/olds_r.../ Interesting for those of us with an interest in Americana.
thanks mr dosh for that, a great insight into oldsmobile makes even more of a tragedy that this marque has quietly disappeared.
i knew virtually nothing of this company but i've learn't so much over last few days.
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What is a quote unquote senior moment?
Perhaps it's the new PC way of saying the silly old (expletive) can't remember anything any more.
Now then where did I put my car keys.................
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What is a quote unquote senior moment?
It's a prerequisite to entering the "confused old duffer in an automatic saloon*" qualifying rounds, taking place in a one-way system near you this weekend.
Tongue firmly in cheek Growler...... :o)
(*sedan for our transatlantic visitors)
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Well LOL thank you for that edifying explanation. I'm none the wiser but will accept it in the spirit in which I'm sure it was meant.
Confused, oh yes (Babes I have the car keys cos you always lose them Yes mahal that's why I need you).
Old, well that is a simple undeniable fact which is a matter of record (and I just hope when you get as old as I am you're as lucky as I am).
Duffer. Now that I do have a problem with. It verges on the personal.
I bet I can pull down a V-8, after breakfast, do a full valve job and still hit the pub when it opens with all cylinders firing as intended. So there.
Never did on an Olds I must say but on a Mercury.
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Duffer. Now that I do have a problem with. It verges on the personal.
Fair point. My apologies to you Mr G.
ND
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LOL say what you want. Come to Manila and I'll shout you the first round.
But to the thread. What we are seeing here is not simply the passing of an automobile marque per se, but something more.
The Olds was one of many symbols of the post WW2 recovery of the US -- not simply in automotive terms, but in nationally psychologically ones as well. The Rocket 88 was a much a part of the rebirth of America as was Elvis Presley.
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And all in the same week the very last Rover (nee GM) V8 was built.
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And all in the same week the very last Rover (nee GM) V8 was built.
what! really? the venerable V8 that came from buick?
been around as long as the hills?
any more info?
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Moddies I really do think this post from NoWheels should be removed.
Post removed at NoWheels\' request, but I\'m still puzzled. ND
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I have a feeling I may regret this....
Moddies I really do think this post from NoWheels should be removed.
Why?
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Kathy Mattea said it all
Mr. Smith had an Oldsmobile
Baby blue with them wire wheels
I took her home the day that she was advertised
He said she leaked when it would rain
And sounded like an aeroplane
But I knew she was a jewel in disguise
She had a 455 Rocket
The biggest block alive
I couldn't hardly wait just to take my turn
She was made for the straight aways
She grew up hating Chevrolets
She's a Rocket, she was made to burn
Whose junkpile piece of Chevelle is this?
You boys come here to race or just kiss?
Don't you wanna know what I got underneath my hood?
I know she might sound like she's missing
But buddy, she could teach you a lesson
In just a quarter mile, and I'll smoke you good
In my 455 Rocket
The kind the police drive
I couldn't hardly wait just to take my turn
She was made for the straight aways
She grew up hating Chevrolets
She's a Rocket, she was made to burn
I'm telling you and I ain't ashamed
I cried when that wrecker came
As we skid I thought I heard the angels sing
We hit the curve and began to sail
Took out most of the safety rail
Even the cop asked me
"Man, what'd you have in that thing?"
I had a 455 Rocket
The very kind you drive
You oughta watch yourself when you take that turn
'Cause she was made for the straight aways
She grew up hating Chevrolets
She's a Rocket, she was made to burn
Lord, she's a Rocket she was made to burn
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Now Kathy Mattea that does take me back. I'm thinking 24/7 C&W from Aramco (the oil company) radio across the water from Dhahran to Bahrain. Really 80's. There was something too from Lacy J. Dalton which also fits but I forget now.
But to the thread. An Olds I never owned but V-8's I have. There is nothing like that lazy get up and go.
But that's not the point. The Oldsmobile is part of that era of optimism that the world would be a better place after WW2 --- thus it was a statement beyond a mere automobile.
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I have a feeling I may regret this.... >> Moddies I really do think this post from NoWheels should be >> removed. >> Why?
I'm also a bit puzzled about the why -- my post was just a sily aside intended to be humorous and not to put anybody down.
If it has somehow caused offence, please accept my apologies, 'cos that wasn't my intention -- and mods, please remove it
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Ok NoWheels, At your request I'll hide the post.
ND
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