 | |
  Location within Michigan | |
| Established | May 1981 |
|---|---|
| Location | 240 Museum Drive Lansing, Michigan |
| Coordinates | 42°43′53″N84°32′53″W / 42.73135°N 84.54807°W |
| Type | Automotive |
| Director | Sara Schultz |
| Website | www |
The R.E. Olds Transportation Museum is named for Ransom E. Olds, founder of Oldsmobile and REO, and is located in Lansing, Michigan. It is one of the top-rated automotive museums in the United States.
The R. E. Olds Museum houses a diverse collection of Oldsmobiles dating from 1897 to 2004. The 1897 Olds, one of four built that year, is on loan from the Smithsonian Institution. There is also a replica of the 1893 steam carriage built by Ransom E. Olds on display, prior to the founding of the Olds Motor Works, which was the official name of Oldsmobile until the 1940s.
This museum also houses automobilia covering nearly a century, including a nearly complete collection of Michigan license plates, early traffic signs and a working 1950s-era traffic signal. A bicycle collection shows the connection between early automakers and cycle makers who had the tools, know-how and creativity to successfully produce an automobile.
It also houses a collection of REO vehicles from the company that Ransom E. Olds created after he resigned from Oldsmobile. A well-known vehicle from that company is the REO Speed Wagon, the namesake of a major band by the same name. Another well-known truck that was made by a successor of that company is the Diamond REO.
Another significant part of this museum's collection are items from the Ransom E. Olds household.
The R. E. Olds Museum collection includes multiple electric cars, including an 1899 Olds Motor Works Electric and a 1996 General Motors EV1. [1] The EV1 in the museum's collection is one of approximately 40 that were not destroyed when the EV1's entire production run was recalled in the early 2000s. [2]
The last Oldsmobile built, a 2004 Alero GLS, was displayed at the museum after it rolled off the assembly line at Lansing Car Assembly. The "Final 500 Collector's Edition" (#500 of 500) Alero sedan in Dark Cherry Metallic paint was on display at the museum until 2009, when it was moved to the GM Heritage Center in Sterling Heights. The final Oldsmobile was sold to a collector in Florida in late 2017. [3]
Plans were in the making for an automotive museum in Lansing as early as 1977. [4] The R. E. Olds Museum opened in May 1981, following years of planning and preview events. Highlights of the initial collection included a 1911 Oldsmobile Limited from the Oldsmobile factory collection, and the first Oldsmobile Toronado produced. [5]
The museum's building holds a place in Lansing's automotive history, as the home of the Bates automobile. The building was subsequently used as a beer warehouse, and was the original bus garage for CATA at its inception in 1972. Converting the building to a museum required substantial work, performed mostly by volunteers.
The city leased the building to the museum for $2 per year until 2018, when the museum purchased the building for $2. [6]
The Olds Museum was featured on American Pickers in 2011. The museum was the buyer of a 1908-vintage license plate used by the Oldsmobile factory on its test cars. [7]
Lansing is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The population of its metropolitan statistical area (MSA) was 541,297 at the 2020 census, the third largest in the state after metropolitan Detroit and Grand Rapids. It was named the new state capital of Michigan in 1847, ten years after Michigan became a state.
The REO Motor Car Company was a company based in Lansing, Michigan, which produced automobiles and trucks from 1905 to 1975. At one point, the company also manufactured buses on its truck platforms.
Oldsmobile was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produced over 35 million vehicles, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory alone.
Ransom Eli Olds was a pioneer of the American automotive industry, after whom the Oldsmobile and REO brands were named. He claimed to have built his first steam car as early as 1887 and his first gasoline-powered car in 1896. The modern assembly line and its basic concept is credited to Olds, who used it to build the first mass-produced automobile, the Oldsmobile Curved Dash, beginning in 1901.
The Brass Era is an American term for the early period of automotive manufacturing, named for the prominent brass fittings used during this time for such features as lights and radiators. It is generally considered to encompass 1896 through 1915, a time when cars were often referred to as horseless carriages.
The Oldsmobile Alero is a midsize car that was produced by General Motors for its Oldsmobile division. Introduced in 1998 as a 1999 model, the Alero was the replacement for both the Achieva and Cutlass. The Alero was Oldsmobile's last new model nameplate, and — on April 29, 2004 — was also the last Oldsmobile manufactured.
The gasoline-powered Oldsmobile Model R, also known as the Curved Dash Oldsmobile, is credited as being the first mass-produced automobile, meaning that it was built on an assembly line using interchangeable parts. It was introduced by the Oldsmobile company in 1901 and produced through 1903; 425 were produced the first year, 2,500 in 1902, and over 19,000 were built in all. When General Motors assumed operations from Ransom E. Olds on November 12, 1908, GM introduced the Oldsmobile Model 20, which was the 1908 Buick Model 10 with a stretched wheelbase and minor exterior changes.
The Gilmore Car Museum is an automobile museum located in Hickory Corners, Michigan, United States. The museum exhibits over 400 vintage and collector vehicles and motorcycles from all eras in several vintage buildings located on a 90-acre campus. The museum claims to be the largest automobile museum in North America. It is part of the MotorCities National Heritage Area.
The Oakland Motor Car Company of Pontiac, Michigan, was an American automobile manufacturer and division of General Motors. Purchased by General Motors in 1909, the company continued to produce modestly priced automobiles until 1931 when the brand was dropped in favor of the division's Pontiac make.
The Petersen Automotive Museum is located on Wilshire Boulevard along Museum Row in the Miracle Mile neighborhood of Los Angeles. One of the world's largest automotive museums, the Petersen Automotive Museum is a nonprofit organization specializing in automobile history and related educational programs.
The Reo Motor Car Company Plant was an automotive manufacturing factory, built for the REO Motor Car Company, located at 2100 South Washington Street Lansing, Michigan. It was designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL) and listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1978, but completely demolished by the beginning of 1980. It was delisted from the NRHP in 1986.
REO Town is a district in Lansing, Michigan, United States, located south of downtown. The neighborhood is bordered by West Malcolm X Street to the north; South Cedar Street BL I-96 to the east; West Mount Hope Avenue to the south; and Townsend Street, the Grand River, and South Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to the west.
Frederic Latta Smith was a pioneer of the automobile business. He was one of the founders of the Olds Motor Works in 1899 and of General Motors Corporation in 1908. He was also the president of the Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers in its early years.
Shanghai Auto Museum is an automobile museum located in Anting, Jiading District, Shanghai, China, in the Auto Expo Park of Shanghai International Automobile City. Designed by the Architectural Design & Research Institute of Tongji University and IFB from Germany, the museum opened to the public on January 17, 2007.
David Lyon is a car designer best known for his work with General Motors where he worked directly from college in 1990 until 2012. He is originally from Naperville, Illinois, United States and has been moved around several General Motors design studios during his career. He is currently working for VinFast, a Vietnamese automobile manufacturer.
The Martin Auto Museum is a privately owned non-profit automobile museum located in Glendale, Arizona. The museum is dedicated to the preservation of collectible automobiles for educational purposes. Admission is a $10 donation per person over the age of 12. Some of the services provided by the museum include guided tours for such groups as local schoolchildren, veteran organizations and car clubs.
