tva442

FYI, last Final 500 Alero and last Cutlass and Ciera. Hope they go to good homes.

http://www.autonews.com/article/2017...-model-auction

http://www.foxnews.com/auto/2017/12/...-for-sale.html

https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2017/1...ealer-auction/

Sometime after 9:30 a.m. Eastern this morning, a Dark Cherry Metallic 2004 Oldsmobile Alero GLS sedan will cross the auction block at the dealer-only State Line Auto Auction in Waverly, New York. A 13-year-old GM N-body changing hands at a dealer auction is hardly remarkable, but in this case, the car is: As Automotive News reports, the Final 500 Collector’s Edition Alero is number 500, making it the very last car ever produced by Oldsmobile.

Crossing the auction block with the last Oldsmobile will be the last Oldsmobile Cutlass (a 1999) and the last Oldsmobile Ciera (a 1996).

jaunty75

Interesting. The second-last paragraph of the Hemmings article is sad:


Today, eight years later, there’s little evidence of Oldsmobile’s former glory on GM’s website. A search for an image of the last Oldsmobile built comes up empty, and the GM Heritage Center, which until today owned the Alero, did not have a single image of the car on its website. Even the venue chosen for its disposal—an auction open to auto dealers only—seems oddly out of place for selling a piece of American automotive history.

stevengerard

I saw this, I wouldn't expect this to be worth a ton of money and aren't upset that it isn't but..... you would think it would be held to a bit higher standard than this - especially with crazy collectors now-a-days. I'm sure some dealer will pay next to nothing for it put it on their show room floor and ask a mint for it. Hopefully one way or the other it will be babied.

JohnnyBs68S

Wow, look at ALL THOSE SIGNATURES. Must have been a sad day in Lansing.

oldcutlass

It went for $42000.

RetroRanger

wow i understand the significance but thats about 38000 more than i thought it would sell for !!!!

CRUZN 66

Someone really wanted it and was willing to pay a substantial amount to own it... After all it was the very last Alero built and quite possibly the very last Oldsmobile built... IIRC The only other Oldsmobile in the 2004 lineup was the Silhouette... Be interesting to know the actual build dates of the last Alero and Silhouette...

Human

The final Oldsmobile built was indeed this Alero. I remember seeing it on the TV news the evening after it rolled off the line. The Silhouette had been discontinued earlier in the year and due to a shortage of certain parts, production of the "Final 500" edition was halted well short of a full 500 units.

oldcutlass

The last Oldsmobile sold for $42,000, the last Cutlass and Ciera both did $17,000, apparently were all bought by the same buyer. Apparently all going to a good home.

jaunty75

From "Setting the Pace" and "Oldsmobile - The Last Chapter," the dates of last production of various models:

98: 1996
Achieva: 1997. If I'm reading the table correctly, 26,922 leftover 1997 Achievas were sold in the 1998 model year as 1998 models.
88: 1999, exact date not recorded
Cutlass: 7/2/99
Intrigue: 6/14/02
Aurora: 3/13/03
Bravada: 1/16/04
Silhouette: 3/26/04
Alero: 4/29/04

Grand total of all Oldsmobiles built, 1897-2004: 35,229,208
Oldsmobiles built at Lansing: 14,458,756

jaunty75

There was also a 2004 Bravada, at least according to the production tables. 3,475 were built. Silhouette production totaled 9,400, and the remaining 79,796 Oldsmobiles produced in the 2004 model year were Aleros.

stevengerard

wow, that is more than I thought but nice to see someone cares.

vette442

They'll be in very, very good company. I was really pleased when I heard who bought them. Word should be out publically on that soon.

Terry

1970cs

According to my sources inside and outside of the main plant. That Alero was actually produced about two weeks before the presentation. It does make me happy that those cars went for good money and sounds like a good home also!

Maybe there is hope for my Alero GLS coupe, which according to the numbers I received from the GMHC is more rare than the final 5's. Of course this may or may not equate to dollars.

Pat

jaunty75

According to "Oldsmobile - The Last Chapter" by Helen Earley and James Walkinshaw, with regard to the last Oldsmobile built:

"The car had been made the previous day and was stored in a locked crib so that nothing could happen to it. The employees had signed the hood, trunk lid, and various other parts of the vehicle. It was number 500 out of the "Final 500" special edition Aleros being built for sale through the last of the dealer organization. This car was being saved in the GM collection of special and antique automobiles. It had special trim, wheels, medallions, and other appointments that made it a true collector's vehicle."

The "previous day," in this case, was April 28, 2004.


Helen Jones Earley, otherwise known as "The First Lady of Oldsmobile" and the lady who would write back to you if you wrote to the Olds History Center when it still existed asking for information about your car, died on January 8, 2005, a little less than a year after the last Olds rolled off the line, at the age of 87.

I wonder what she would think about the sale of this car now.