Oldsmobile Article :-(

[WhiteOut]

Probably could have put the Olds moniker on the 3.6VVT too since its derived from the 3.5L Shortstar.

 

Hehehehe, hohohoho. Best laugh I've had in a while.

 

FYI, the 3.6VVT is not really based off of anything, other then it is a 60* and not a 90* like the 3.5 is. The Olds 4.0 is just a destroked (i think) version of the Northstar so technically it is still a Caddie engine.

 

I'm well aware of the fact that the two engines aren't any more related than the 3.5 Shortstar is to the 3.4DOHC, and for that matter the Shortstar is no more of a Northstar than the 3.4DOHC is, except that it shares similar architecture. All I meant by that is that the engine is in GM's DOHC family of engines, I just failed to clarify what I meant "exactly". And you are correct, the 4.0 is a destroked Northstar and is esentially a Cadillac engine. But the point here is that I think it would have been cool if they had kept the Olds name around in some fashion or another, whether it be on a engine or a car its still better than dying completely.

[WhiteOut]

I don't see why that engine would be cool. It IS a Northstar, a smaller bore Northstar at that. Every part is same as a Northstar except the bore. What's the point of a smaller bore Northstar? Pretty useless motor IMO, they should have put real Northstars in the Aurora from the beginning.

 

I think Oldsmobile lost their identity when they went to the grille-less front ends. The latest Aurora front end looks like some kind of R2D2 robot.

 

The obvious reason for keeping the 4.0 and putting it in the GXP is product differentiation. I'm sure GXP owners will be happy they have a Northstar, but I'm sure Caddy is pissed as hell that they're luxury cars will have the same engine as a full size Pontiac. It kind of detracts from the cache and exclusivity of owning a Caddy. Sure the GXP will have 25-45hp less than a Caddy, but its still a bad thing for Caddy. Keeping around the 4.0 would have allowed V8 power without infringing of Caddy, you know kind of like why Olds got a 4.0 instead of a 4.6 to begin with. Plus the 4.0 was a great engine, its heavily used in race apps, and if you doubt its quality ask Carrol Shelby why he's dropping it in his cars (or at least why he was when the project was still alive).

 

Secondly, Olds never lost the split grill look. It kinf of went into hibernation when some of the older cars got face lifts in the mid to late nineties, but the new cars retain the split grill look. The grills have just been moved down and to the edges of the bumper and have fog lights mounted in them. Whether you like that or not is kind of subjective, personally I have mixed feelings about it. I must admit though I did like the Intrigue 442 concept which had a more traditional style split grill in the front bumper, that looked damn nice and shouted Olds at the same time.

[supreme_style21]

I love the Alero. Took one out for a test drive 3400 has lots of pep. The interior look way better than Grand AMs.

 

No kidding! If I happen to come across a loaded Alero when I'm in the market, it'll be mine. I was very impressed with the braking and acceleration that thing had!

 

I love driving the Alero, but lets not give the brakes too much credit. IMO the Alero has just as many brake issues as our w's do. Thats the only think my wife complains about with "her" car.

 

Keep in mind I've only driven a few Aleros for no more than a couple hours, so I have no idea how they stand up over time.. but I do recall one had 135,000 miles and the brakes were AWESOME.

[Steve LS]

I've been following posts on this since the day Wagner announced the axe job. Sales were down, even lower than Saturn. They did loose old buyers when they changed the models but they would have come back. I hated the new rocket myself but now Im fine with it. However they were down to 4 models maybe 5 with the van(i TRY NOT TO THINk ABOUT VANS). Models should have been cut from other divisions, like the 2 W bodys Buick has. But how many versions of the GP and Bonneville are there. How many W bodys does Chevy have now. This is the stuff that pisses me off. GM didnt down size at all. The gave more models to Pontiac and Chevy. Some of you have said axe Buick. I am a Buick/Olds man as you can tell. Yes Buick has some serious styling issues, Im not sure why. They were at the top in the late 80's but in 92 everything went too hell. The last Riviera was the last great looking Buick. Buick always had some sharp classy looking cars with serious sex appeal. Not after 92. Buicks FWD platform and 3.8 drivetrain is what kept GM where they are.(not discrediting the 60* as they had a large part as well). Pontiac would have been lost if they didnt have that 3.8 handed to them. Pontiac people try hard to forget that their engine came from Buick. Now they have the Norstar handed to them. The only thing Pontiac has brought to the table in contribution is sales. They sell alot of cars and have this huge popularity but they are all built from the other divisions drivetrains and platforms. Since 63 & 66 the Riviera and Toronado were one of a kind cars. Then became the Riviera/ Aurora in 95, still two one of a kind cars. Now both are dead and their long history stopped. And the platform gets handed to Bonneville along with Caddys engine. Just what has Pontiac done to deserve all these free rides ? I doubt that the GXP will sell alot. Just the few rare people that are willing to spend the extra just like the few rare people that bought late model Rivieras and Auroras. Buick and Olds would have done well to have GT models of the Aurora and Riviera but were they allowed too? I know they had handling packages but I mean appearence packages as well with promotion to let people know how great of cars they were and more added sex appeal for the younger buyers. Why were they priced so high. I think the GXP is priced lower than the Aurora was ? Maybe GM didnt want Olds to sell car. They certainly did not want Buick to be sporty. Why else did the successfull Buick racing program of the 80's disappear ? Along with the sharp looking cars ? Certainly not because Buick couldnt build a good engine and win races!

 

The 4.0 Aurora engine was a short stroke engine built for the Aurora and road racing. Short stroke = better for long duration heavy pounding. Unlike drag racing and domestic highway racing. In road racing bigger is not better. Engines are limited to their size according to the weight of the cars or just plain limited as in litre catagories. This helped to promote engine tecnology to get more perforfmance per litre instead of just making bigger engines. You know to avoid the - "If you cant dazzle them with brilliance, baffel them with bullshit." This is what went on in early racing, but the bigger engine cars didnt handle and brake well and were dangerous and usually in the way, but then they'd blast by in the straights just to get in the way again.

 

The old days were much more colorful though.

 

Just like old girlfriends you can never get it back. When its gone its gone.

 

Oldsmobile is history. Owners of Oldsmobiles have not been able to get crap for their cars since Wagners famous announcement.

[cutsup1996]

[BurneroftheRice]

for Olds leaving.

nothing can beat the way w-body cuttys look in racing stripes