66-3X2 442

Looking through the 66 service manual I ran across something I did not know. It said that all 98's were built in Lansing,no other assembly plants built them.

Octania

Similar to the Tornado flagship- kept under close watch. Any idiot can build an 88 or Cutlass/F85, but 98, Toro, and W-machines.... right here.

Rustbucket2

Octania, any idiot! come on, are not all Oldsmobile great cars!

MDchanic

No, not particularly. They were regular American cars, positioned to sell to the "upper middle" segment of the market, with design and quality similar to all other American cars of the time (and therefore abysmal compared to those of modern cars...).

- Eric

Octania

well, maybe that is too harsh if taken literally.

Any factory in CA or TX or Canada can build "an" Oldsmobile, but for "the" Oldsmobiles, the close scrutiny possible only at home was requuired. Is that better? Not to imply that Texans who built Oldses in Arlington were all idiots.... but idiots are everywhere.

joe_padavano

Like the 260 diesel cars?

How about the 1980-90 B-body wagons that used Chevy sheet metal?

Then, there's the final-gen "Cutlass"...

rocketraider

Depends on the year. Most years thru late 60s 98 were all Lansing-built, but by the mid 70s about all the plants were making them. As in my 76 Regency is a Linden NJ car, #1808 off the line that year.

rustyroger

Where were American car built over the years?. Perhaps "Detroit Dinosaur" might not be an accurate term for more of them than I thought.
I know Corvettes are built in Kentucky, and now a lot of overseas owned makers are based all across the USA. But what about in the time when "American" mostly meant a V8 powered rwd land yacht?.

Roger.

Professur

I'm telling Mom you said that.

Koda

I don't know which Big 3 cars are made where, but there are enough of them made in Canada, Mexico, and overseas that you can end up with a domestic car being foreign built with mostly foreign parts, and a foreign car being built with domestic labor and mostly domestic parts. Companies are global these days; they sort of transcend national boundaries.

Then people go for the quality argument, but that usually falls flat. GM and Ford are improving on that, Chrysler still has issues, from what I read.

Then people go for "where the profits go" argument, as in the profits go to Detroit or to Japan, and that's reason alone to buy from the big 3 (even though they were usually cussing CEO's five minutes earlier). That kind of dies when you point out all companies are publicly held and traded on the NYSE and you can own stock and get a dividend from any of them, and that's "where the profits go."

Last argument is usually the heritage one. "My daddy was an Oldsmobile man and so am I," to which the response is usually, yeah, how's the Olds division working out these days? Then that gets blamed on the imports, not bad management or inefficiency; who knows with some people?

End of the day, buy the best car you can get for your money. Don't be loyal to a company who doesn't invest back in the community.

joe_padavano

This thread is about Oldsmobiles from the 1960s and 70s and what plants they were built in, which was long before NAFTA and the global economy. I don't pretend to know whether "domestic" cars built in Mexico are better or worse for the U.S. economy than "foreign" cars built in South Carolina, but that is a discussion for a different thread. Frankly, all new cars look exactly alike (especially since they are all painted silver) and none of them excite me. I drive a lot of new cars as rentals and they are all outstandingly adequate as transportation appliances.

Koda

Pardon me.

Professur

Amen.

Koda

If anyone cares, the most popular colors are, in order, I think, White, Black, Silver, Gold, and those are most of them. The rest are mostly blue, with some reds, and the occasional green. Purple, pink, and yellow are not usually done, nor is brown. I try to do tests on red cars on Toyota's lines, as they are easy to track, being bright and so few of them.

rocketraider

Those bland boring-*** colors are part of what's wrong with (especially) American car perception. It's either those or some loudass yellow or green that only a true extrovert or attention hound could love.

Read somewhere that white and silver are among the least expensive paints, is why we see so many cars in those colors.

You also find a whole lot of appliances painted those colors. I guess they're appropriate for a vehicle shaped like a used bar of soap, with all the panache and style of a washing machine.

rustyroger

So how many plants built Oldsmobiles between WW2 and 1990, and where were they located?, which models were built at the various plants?.

Roger.

1970cs

Tall order
Lansing, MI
Southgate, CA
Framingham,MA
Linden, NJ
Pontiac,MI
Tarrytown,NY
Wilmington,DE
Kansas City,KS
Detroit,MI
Fremont,CA
Baltimore,MD
Lakewood(Atlanta)GA
Fairfax,KS
Van Nuys,CA
Arlington,TX
Leeds,MO
Oklahoma,OK
Doraville,GA
St Therese, Quebec (Canada)
Ramos Arizpe (Mexico)
Oshawa, ON (Canada)
Lordstown,OH

If I missed any, please add to the list.

Pat

Charlie Jones

Here's a few for starters . through 1957 . As you will see not all 98's were built in Lansing. Sorry about the small pics .
If you have a magnifying glass you can see that there were only three plants before WWII and eight by 1954.
Before the mid-thirties all Oldsmobiles were built in Lansing. That's when the Southgate , CA and Linden , NJ plants were built .

1970cs

Which car to plant

Search Wikipedia Oldsmobile models.

Lansing WWII-1990:66,68,76,78,88,98,Toronado,Cutlass,442,Starfi re(full size), Hurst, F-85,Omega(rear drive only???) Cutlass supreme(rwd) Ralley 350, All W's, Cutlass calais, Custom cruiser and Vista cruisers. I am not sure on the Cutlass Wagon?

Please add on!
Pat

Charlie Jones

This is 58 through 63

rustyroger

Wow!. Thanks guys for your trouble.
When you looked this up did you expect to see so many assembly plants?.
I wonder how many plants the highest volume makes like Ford, Chevrolet, and Plymouth had?.

Roger.

Professur

For reference, the Ste-Therese, Qc plant is gone, closed with the last firebirds. This obscenity sits in it's place.

http://www.icifaubourgboisbriand.com/en/stores

TK-65

Willow Run Assembly built Omegas. Ypsilanti MI