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. During its time as a division of General Motors, Oldsmobile slotted into the middle of GM's five divisions, and was noted for its groundbreaking technology and designs.
"Gloomy Sunday", also known as the "Hungarian Suicide Song", is a popular song composed by Hungarian pianist and composer Rezső Seress and published in 1933.
98 (ninety-eight) is the natural number following 97 and preceding 99.
The Oldsmobile 98 is the full-size flagship model of Oldsmobile that was produced from 1940 until 1996. The name — reflecting a "Series 90" fitted with an 8-cylinder engine — first appeared in 1941 and was used again after American consumer automobile production resumed post-World War II. It was, as it would remain, the division's top-of-the-line model, with lesser Oldsmobiles having lower numbers such as the A-body 66 and 68, and the B-body 76 and 78. The Series 60 was retired in 1949, the same year the Oldsmobile 78 was replaced by the 88. The Oldsmobile 76 was retired after 1950. This left the two remaining number-names to carry on into the 1990s as the bread and butter of the full-size Oldsmobile lineup until the Eighty Eight-based Regency replaced the 98 in 1997.
The Oldsmobile 88 is a full-size car that was sold and produced by Oldsmobile from 1949 until 1999. From 1950 to 1974, the 88 was the division's most profitable line, particularly the entry level models such as the 88 and Dynamic 88. The 88 series was also an image leader for Oldsmobile, particularly in the early years (1949–51), when it was one of the best performing automobiles, thanks to its relatively small size, light weight, and advanced overhead-valve high-compression V8 engine. This engine, originally designed for the larger C-bodied and more luxurious 98 series, also replaced the straight-8 on the smaller B-bodied 78. With the large, high performance V8, the Oldsmobile 88 is considered by some to be the first muscle car, although this title is disputed.
"Take My Breath Away" is a song written by Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock for the 1986 film Top Gun, performed by American new wave band Berlin. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song in 1986.
The Oldsmobile Starfire is an automobile nameplate used by Oldsmobile, produced in three non-contiguous generations beginning in 1954. The Starfire nameplate made its debut with the 1954–1956 Ninety-Eight series convertibles. For 1957 only, all Ninety-Eight series models were named "Starfire 98".
The Buick V6, popularly referred to as the 3800 in its later incarnations, originally 198 cu in (3.2 L) and initially marketed as Fireball at its introduction in 1962, was a large V6 engine used by General Motors. The block is made of cast iron and all use two-valve-per-cylinder iron heads, actuated by pushrods. The engine, originally designed and manufactured in the United States, was also produced in later versions in Australia. It was the first six-cylinder engine designed exclusively for Buick products since the Buick straight-six was discontinued in 1930.
The Oldsmobile V8, also referred to as the Rocket, is series of engines that was produced by Oldsmobile from 1949 to 1990. The Rocket, along with the 1949 Cadillac V8, were the first post-war OHV crossflow cylinder head V8 engines produced by General Motors. Like all other GM divisions, Olds continued building its own V8 engine family for decades, adopting the corporate Chevrolet 350 small-block and Cadillac Northstar engine only in the 1990s. All Oldsmobile V8s were manufactured at plants in Lansing, Michigan while the engine block and cylinder heads were cast at Saginaw Metal Casting Operations.
The Oldsmobile Calais is a compact car that was manufactured and marketed by Oldsmobile from 1985 through 1991, superseding the Oldsmobile Omega and named after the city of Calais, France. Renamed the Cutlass Calais for 1988, and briefly available in 1987 as the limited edition GMO Quad 4, the Calais shared the GM N platform with the Pontiac Grand Am and the Buick Skylark/Buick Somerset — and was superseded by the Oldsmobile Achieva in 1992. The Calais was selected the Indianapolis 500 Pace car for 1985 and was driven by actor James Garner.
The B platform is a full-size rear-wheel drive car platform produced by General Motors (GM) from 1926 to 1996. Originally made for Oldsmobile and Buick, all of General Motors's five main makes would use it at some point. It was closely related to the original rear-wheel drive C and D platforms, and was used for convertibles, hardtops, coupes, sedans, and station wagons. With approximately 12,960,000 units built, divided across four marques, the 1965-70 B platform is the fourth best selling automobile platform in history after the Volkswagen Beetle, Ford Model T and the Lada Riva.
The Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser is an automobile that was manufactured and marketed by Oldsmobile in three generations from 1971 to 1992. The first full-size station wagon produced by Oldsmobile since the 1964 Oldsmobile 88 Fiesta, the Custom Cruiser was produced exclusively on the General Motors B platform as a five-door station wagon. The nameplate was first used by Oldsmobile from 1940 to 1947, denoting the top trim level of its C-body model line. 451,819 Custom Cruisers were sold over the years.
Lansing Car Assembly was a General Motors automobile factory in Lansing, Michigan. It contained two elements, a 1901 automobile plant in downtown Lansing, and the 1920 Durant Motors factory on Lansing's Far Westside.
"In My Merry Oldsmobile" is a popular song from 1905, with music by Gus Edwards and lyrics by Vincent P. Bryan.
"The Sound of Music" is the title song from the 1959 musical of the same name. It was composed by Richard Rodgers with lyrics written by Oscar Hammerstein II. The song introduces the character of Maria, a young novice in an Austrian abbey.
"If You Could Read My Mind" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot. It reached No. 1 on the Canadian Singles Chart on commercial release in 1970 and charted in several other countries on international release in 1971.
"Stay the Night" is a song written by Peter Cetera and David Foster for the group Chicago and recorded for their album Chicago 17 (1984), with Cetera singing the lead vocals. Upbeat and rock-oriented, it was the first single released from that album, and reached number 16 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song features noted session drummer Jeff Porcaro taking the place of Chicago drummer Danny Seraphine.
The Oldsmobile Aerotech was a series of experimental high-speed vehicles manufactured between 1987 and 1992 incorporating the latest in performance technology with the intention of breaking multiple automobile speed records. The first such car was driven by four-time Indy 500 winner A. J. Foyt to a world closed-course speed record of 257.123 mph (413.788 km/h) on August 27, 1987 at the 7.712-mile (12.411 km) test track near Fort Stockton Texas. Prior to this, on August 26, 1987, the car had posted a top speed over a mile of 267.88 mph (431.10 km/h).
The Oldsmobile Touring Sedan is a full-size car that was produced by Oldsmobile. Marketed from 1987 to 1993, two generations of the Touring Sedan were produced. Introduced to commemorate the 90th anniversary of Oldsmobile, the model also was an attempt by General Motors to further differentiate Oldsmobile from Buick by marketing it to younger, upscale buyers, and to better compete with European import offerings.
A car song is a song in a style with lyrics or musical themes pertaining to car travel. Though the earliest forms appeared in the 1900s, car songs emerged in full during the 1950s as part of rock and roll and car culture, but achieved their peak popularity in the West Coast of the United States during the 1960s with the emergence of hot rod rock as an outgrowth of the surf music scene. Though this popularity declined by the late 1960s, cars remain a frequently used subject matter in pop music into the 21st century.
