88?
Registered User
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 450
From: brookfield, ill
If you look through olds history, their models were "number" designations 88,98 etc. Guess they didn't want to lengthen it out to the 100's, so they stuck with the 88 98 designation to the bitter end(almost). Someone with more knowledge can chime in too.
Registered
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 4,430
From: Northeast Ohio
I never thought about it?
There are 88 counties in Ohio and R.E. Olds was born here?
The 88 Wiki says that the "Delmont, Delta, Dynamic, Jetstar, Starfire, Super, Holiday, L/S, LSS, Celebrity, and Royale were used at various times with the 88 badge".
Also from the Wiki;
"Oldsmobile introduced the 88 badge in 1949. It was named to complement the already-existing 76 and 98. The new car used the six-cylinder 76's A-body platform with a powerful new Rocket V8 engine. This combination of a small light body and large, powerful engine made it a precursor to the muscle car."
I never knew why the 98 was named the 98, learn something new every day.
It was a Custom Cruiser to begin with.
The later six cylinder models should have been called the "96" going by this.
From the 98 Wiki;
"Naming standards were in flux at Oldsmobile during the late 1930s and 1940s. From 1932 through 1938 Oldsmobile had two series: "F" and "L". Series F came with a straight-6 engine and series L came with a larger body and a straight-8 engine. Series F was renamed series 60 in 1939 and series L was replaced with the series 70 and 80, with the series 70 and 80 being powered by the straight-6 and the straight-8 respectively. In 1940 a larger body was introduced and it alone was powered by the straight-8. In order to differentiate it from the previous year's series 80 it was named series 90 (there was no series 80 that year). The series were also given names for the first time that year with the series 60, 70 and 90 being called the Special, Dynamic and Custom Cruiser respectively. In 1941 both engines were offered on each series so to differentiate between the two the second digit was used to denote the number of cylinders, so the Custom Cruiser 90 was replaced with the Custom Cruiser 96 and 98. In 1942 Oldsmobile dropped the six cylinder series 90 model leaving only the Custom Cruiser 98."
There are 88 counties in Ohio and R.E. Olds was born here?
The 88 Wiki says that the "Delmont, Delta, Dynamic, Jetstar, Starfire, Super, Holiday, L/S, LSS, Celebrity, and Royale were used at various times with the 88 badge".
Also from the Wiki;
"Oldsmobile introduced the 88 badge in 1949. It was named to complement the already-existing 76 and 98. The new car used the six-cylinder 76's A-body platform with a powerful new Rocket V8 engine. This combination of a small light body and large, powerful engine made it a precursor to the muscle car."
I never knew why the 98 was named the 98, learn something new every day.
It was a Custom Cruiser to begin with.
The later six cylinder models should have been called the "96" going by this.
From the 98 Wiki;
"Naming standards were in flux at Oldsmobile during the late 1930s and 1940s. From 1932 through 1938 Oldsmobile had two series: "F" and "L". Series F came with a straight-6 engine and series L came with a larger body and a straight-8 engine. Series F was renamed series 60 in 1939 and series L was replaced with the series 70 and 80, with the series 70 and 80 being powered by the straight-6 and the straight-8 respectively. In 1940 a larger body was introduced and it alone was powered by the straight-8. In order to differentiate it from the previous year's series 80 it was named series 90 (there was no series 80 that year). The series were also given names for the first time that year with the series 60, 70 and 90 being called the Special, Dynamic and Custom Cruiser respectively. In 1941 both engines were offered on each series so to differentiate between the two the second digit was used to denote the number of cylinders, so the Custom Cruiser 90 was replaced with the Custom Cruiser 96 and 98. In 1942 Oldsmobile dropped the six cylinder series 90 model leaving only the Custom Cruiser 98."
