Jump to content
Create New...

Old Oldsmobile sign


Recommended Posts

This was a picture taken during the 1983 Salt Lake City floods and the Oldsmobile sign caught my attention. I don't think I've ever seen an Olds sign like this in person before.

535301614_5a135a6329_b.jpg

Does anyone know when GM started putting up these rectangular signs for the brands? It's all I see around here today. Ford started updating theirs with the huge blue oval on top of the round column in the late 90s...I'm surprised GM hasn't brought out any new signage lately (as far as I've seen).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mustang- here's a local landmark from my area that thankfully still stands to this day:

poo081.jpg

Haskins Oldsmobile on 469 Washington Street in Wellesley, Massachusetts may have shut its doors years ago, but the dealership that now owns it keeps its used inventory there and has made the conscious decision to leave the Oldsmobile sign up. And, as you can see in my photograph, the used inventory gets moved off-site and it becomes an Oldsmobile dealership once again for a Sunday every spring when the Eastern Massachusetts GMO chapter hosts their annual Oldsmobile-only Spring Dust-Off. Very cool.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

DSCN8069.jpg

Within the last year I've begun taking pictures of dealership signs. This Olds sign is from Charles Oldsmobile-Cadillac in Britsol, PA. When Olds closed the Caddy business stayed open, but I don't know for how long. I know that the Caddy business hasn't been in operation since 2007 the earliest, atleast that's when I went by there to see what cars they had for sale and noticed it was closed. When I took this picture last September (the Caddy sign was no where to be seen), the dealership was in the process of being transformed into an Amish market. I have not been in that part of town in a while, so I have no idea if the sign is still there or if its been removed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 7 months later...

FYI: Those GM box dealer signs date back to the late 60's, not the 80's, and are at 90% of dealers since.

The one in the pic above is an original Olds sign, with the red backgrounds for dealer name. When the last Olds logo came out in 90's, then all GM signs had black backgrounds for dealer name.

All GM divisions had a brand name for their used cars. Most well known is Chevy's "OK", which is still used. Olds dealers' used cars were called "Value Rated", Buick was "Quality Checked". Darn, I can't remember Pontiac or Caddy's, ;(

Edited by Chicagoland
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I remember a sign like that from childhood from Montgomery Pontiac-Oldsmobile, Steubenville, Ohio, circa 1975-1980. This dealer was in my neighborhood, across from my elementary school. Used to walk past it every day on the way to school..remember the downsized '77 C- and B- bodies first appearing, the '77 Can Am, the various Trans Ams and 442s...

Edited by Cubical-aka-Moltar
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mustang- here's a local landmark from my area that thankfully still stands to this day:

poo081.jpg

Haskins Oldsmobile on 469 Washington Street in Wellesley, Massachusetts may have shut its doors years ago, but the dealership that now owns it keeps its used inventory there and has made the conscious decision to leave the Oldsmobile sign up. And, as you can see in my photograph, the used inventory gets moved off-site and it becomes an Oldsmobile dealership once again for a Sunday every spring when the Eastern Massachusetts GMO chapter hosts their annual Oldsmobile-only Spring Dust-Off. Very cool.

Very cool indeed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

FYI: Those GM box dealer signs date back to the late 60's, not the 80's, and are at 90% of dealers since.

The one in the pic above is an original Olds sign, with the red backgrounds for dealer name. When the last Olds logo came out in 90's, then all GM signs had black backgrounds for dealer name.

All GM divisions had a brand name for their used cars. Most well known is Chevy's "OK", which is still used. Olds dealers' used cars were called "Value Rated", Buick was "Quality Checked". Darn, I can't remember Pontiac or Caddy's, ;(

One of our Chevy dealers here still has a 'bulb' OK sign on their lot. Was really cool a few years ago when all the bulbs worked. Wish I could've nabbed a picture.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From the little bit of online research I did about the "GM Mark of Excellence" dealership signs, dealers leased them through a company GM contracts with and dealers don't own them. Once a dealership closes, the company would come by to remove the signs (I witnessed this at two local GM dealerships that closed). I'm guessing GM allowed some Oldsmobile dealers to buy their signs? The one I took a picture of (new style Olds logo) was left in place after the Olds-Cadillac dealer closed, remained while the dealership was vacant for 2+ years, and was finally removed late summer last year and replaced with a custom-made sign insert for the new Amish marketplace that opened on the lot.

BTW, these signs debutted in 1969 and were incorporated at all GM dealerships as the years progressed. Maintenance, replacements, and removals are handled by the company GM uses for the signs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 6 months later...

Join the conversation

You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...

Hey there, we noticed you're using an ad-blocker. We're a small site that is supported by ads or subscriptions. We rely on these to pay for server costs and vehicle reviews.  Please consider whitelisting us in your ad-blocker, or if you really like what you see, you can pick up one of our subscriptions for just $1.75 a month or $15 a year. It may not seem like a lot, but it goes a long way to help support real, honest content, that isn't generated by an AI bot.

See you out there.

Drew
Editor-in-Chief

Write what you are looking for and press enter or click the search icon to begin your search

Change privacy settings