Who was Oldsmobile?

[Thepoorman]

Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In 1901 the company produced 635 cars, making it the first high-volume gasoline-powered automobile manufacturer. Electric car manufacturers such as Columbia Electric and steam-powered car manufacturers such as Locomobile had higher volumes a few years earlier.

March 1901 the factory caught fire and burned to the ground, destroying nearly all of the prototypes that were inside. The only car that survived the fire was a Curved Dash prototype, which was wheeled out of the factory by two workers while escaping the burning building.

In 1908 General Motors purchased the company. Oldsmobile operated as a division of GM until 2004.

In 2004 the final 500 Aleros, Auroras, Bravadas, Silhouettes and Intrigues produced received special Oldsmobile heritage emblems and markings which signified 'Final 500'. Only 360 Silhouettes were built due to the plant running out of production capacity for fleet order obligations on the same assembly line.

The Oldsmobile division's last completed production car was an Alero GLS 4-door sedan, which was signed by all of the Olds assembly line workers. In 2017, the car was auctioned off at a dealer-only auction for $42,000 to a Florida dealer.