Oldsmobile

[carman21]

Asssuming that the tragic loss of Oldsmobile was meant to be. I was thinking of what GM could have done to make a smoother transition from Oldsmobile to Saturn. This assumes that Saturn is the successor to Oldsmobile. So, what would have been better for GM's market share than what happened, at least a 2 point drop related to Olds' demise and beyond. Any transition is highly risky but, I think mine would have been better. Based on Letters dating up to 8 years before the annoucement of Olds' demise. GM had prepared the ground if that needed to happen. GM first tried to assault the market with new products but, objective observers by 1998 showed that Olds' market share continued its downward spiral. So, GM executives must have had solid backup plans if the new models failed and that parachute should have been Saturn. By 1998 plans were well under way for large vehicles for Saturn. So, the new Oldsmobiles could have been inherited by Saturn in the case of Olds' demise. Ok, so what would I have done. The Cutlass would have run as it did from 1997my to 1999my. When the 2000 Malibu got a mild restyling the Cutlass would have been restyled as the 2000 Saturn L-series(that certainly would have been better than the actual L-series). When Olds' was officially being phased out Saturn's inheritance would have accelerated. The Intrigue ran from 1998-2002my. The Intrigue would have been restyled as a Saturn for the 2003my before the Grand Prix got restyled for the 2004 my. The Alero would have run from 1999-2004 as was and killed with the Grand Am. The Bravada would have became a Saturn in the 2004my & the Relay would be essentially what the Terraza is. The Aurora would have stayed on until 2005my. The Aurora was the last true symbol of what Olds was so it would have been retired with Oldsmobile last Summer. The Aurora would have become a Saturn this year when all of GM's Full-size cars like the DTS & Lucerne got a major revamp. Saturn would have been a totally reinvented Oldsmobile. Unfortunately, GM amputated Olds without backing it up. As great as those cars used to be GM wasted a lot of time money, and effort on those cars just to throw them away. What a shame especially since Saturn is quickly replacing Olds over the next 3-8 years. So, what would you have done? Besides saving Olds, which all true Olds fans would really prefer. :) Edited October 8, 2005 by carman21

[DBeaSSt]

Interesting thoughts. Might have worked had it been executed correctly. At the very least saved Saturn from a very small and lame-ish lineup. Didn't Olds try the no haggle pricing too? Might have blended nicely to Saturn that way as well. I always thought that the Alero would make a great entry level Buick. But then I thought Buick really didn't/doesn't need a compact car so maybe not. I miss Olds....

[HarleyEarl]

Some random Oldsmobile thoughts from HarleyEarl: 1. Ever notice the front ends of earlier Saturns and the Vue...they have some Olds elements. Makes you wonder if that was intentional and they knew long ago of Olds demise. 2. Squint your eyes while looking at the Saturn logo...and remember the last Olds logo....very similar. Huh?...makes you wonder? 3. Oldsmobile for many years had the Rocket image in their logo and the famous V8....Saturn, planet...outerspace, rockets...see the connection?..huh? 4. Last great Oldsmobile, the Aurora....next great Saturn, the Aura...see the connection?....feelin' it? 5. Saturn Sky......Olds Rocket shooting up into the Sky...see? 6. Saturn Vue....viewing the Olds Rocket shooting up into the sky.... 7. Now, Saturn in moving into a new phase, an 'Oldsmobile' phase if you will. It will be become the defacto Oldsmobile division. When you see a V8 in a larger Saturn, the process will become complete. I think this was planned long ago. ....crap, I'm rambling now..stop me. just a stream of thought that overtook me...who knows I may add more interconnections of the interplanetary type.

[knightfan26917]

Some random Oldsmobile thoughts from HarleyEarl:
...
....crap, I'm rambling now..stop me.  just a stream of thought that overtook me....

*raises eyebrow*

Don't stop now ... your ramblings make sense, actually.....

Hmmmm.....


carman...cool thread.


Cort, "Mr MC" / "Mr Road Trip", 32swm/pig valve/pacemaker
MC:family.IL.guide.future = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/
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"I can’t take anymore" ... 3rd Eye Blind ... 'How's It Going To Be'

[torobud]

Its sad - but some of that is quite true and I don't see it ending here....

[razoredge]

Fuck saturin

its a stupid name in the first place, in the second place the name has come to mean cheap styless cars.

Get this off the Oldsmobile page !

Holy shit, lets invite the guy the wife was cheating with over for dinner.

[carman21]

woah,razoredge,relax, the assumption for this whole thread is that GM planned to kill Olds going back to the early '90s. The "new" Oldsmobiles were a desperate effort by Olds to convince GM to save Olds. In 2000, after 5 years of new product falling far short of expectations. GM seems to have allowed Saturn to steal Oldsmobile Icons and styling since its inception. The Insignia for Saturn looks like a 1980s Olds insignia, the first Olds' Aurora looks an aweful lot like a bloated 1st gen S-series. I'm a big fan of Olds and I personally wished that GM had at least left some of the great Oldsmobile legacy in another GM brand. Saturn looks like the likely candidate to me even if GM didn't make that obvious until now.
Thanks for the complement knightfan26917 and great points HarleyEarl.

The King is dead,
Long live the King! :) :CG_all: Edited October 8, 2005 by carman21

[knightfan26917]

Thanks for the complement knightfan26917

*nods*

You are welcome!

[GMFAN83]

Interesting points Carman

[mrmonte]

That is pretty interesting . What they should have done was keep building the freakin cars people bought and felt good about buying. Not the turds we got after they decided to crap up the division (Downsized fullsize cars in 86 and FWD Cutlass in 88) Some real jerkoffs ran that division thats for sure.

[Oldsnut]

All that one needs to do is look at the TCX concept car from the early 90's. The front end looks like a freak'n Saturn with the interior and back end from a Cutlass. A true sign of things to come in retrospect. I am not sure how to post pix on this site, but if you go to outright olds.com, they have a picture in the concept area that is sure to raise eyebrows.

[Oldsnut]

I found out how to post pix and here it is. The TCX concept.

[NeonLX]

I found out how to post pix and here it is. The TCX concept.

[post="115261"][/post]

Yuck. Looks like some kinda high school shop class project. Hope they got an "F" on it.

[Oldsnut]

It deserves a worse grade than that! My 10 year old could design a better looking car than the TCX.

[NeonLX]

Maybe it's just the perspective of the photo, but it sure looks as though there wouldn't be enough room for a powertrain under the hood of that thing. Or maybe they used a pancake four out of a Subaru or old VW bug?

[Oldsnut]

Beleive it or not they stuffed a 3800 v-6 in to that ugly concept car. Notice the windshield is longer than the average Cutlass, the motor extends well underneath the dashboard. Can you just imagine having to service that that thing. Thank God for un-answered prayers!(as Garth Brooks once sang)