My last American car, and actually the ONLY new car I owned that was truly an American car, was my 1993 Olds Cutlass Cruiser that I ran for 11 years and 271,000+ miles. It drove great in the snow, and was a faithful vehicle until it was just too run down to keep going. I wish this division had been retained by GM, since it had better quality than its other fellow divisions.

The first of my three daughters, Robin, at the wheel of my 1963 Olds Starfire. Kodachrome slide from 1964.

The Olds Cutlass Supreme was the best selling car in America in the mid 1970s. Not too long ago, when I was broke and needed a car, a co-worker sold me his '79 Cutlass Supreme for 200 bucks. I spent 10 bucks on an AM/FM radio out of a junked Buick Regal (same car, really), and, aside from tires, a water pump and an ignition module, drove it every day for two years without a problem. My mechanic neighbor waxed rapturous over its bulletproof small block V8, "You can't kill these things!" If it wasn't for the rusty frame, I might've kept it longer, but I was afraid the trunk was going to fall off in traffic. Oldsmobile, like Pontiac and Saturn, was the victim of an evolving American market, one where GM could no longer expect buyers to stay with the General over a lifetime of car ownership. The same could be said for Mercury and Plymouth. Hummer died because it was an insane product and people finally came to their senses.

In my youth, I owned a 1968 (maroon) Cutlass, a 1970 (gold) Cutlass, and a new 1976 Cutlass S (silver) in succession...all good cars and all had the 350 4 bbl. I have many fond memories of driving them as well as the other activities (wink-wink) they were used for. I still can't believe this hallowed marque is gone.

I had a 1973 Olds Cutlass S 2 door. Blue, with white interior. Clean. 350 Rocket.

I wish it had a 455.......

Yes, Lucille is longing for a ride in her Merry Oldsmobile! It's now parked in the back with the Plymouth and the DeSoto and the Edsel and the Mercury.

There's also the Pontiac and the Saturn, not to mention that big Hummer. And a Saab just pulled in.

Trivia: The Beverly Hillbillies' truck was a 1923 Olds flatbed.

As a proud, long-time owner of several old cars manufactured during the 1920s and 1930s, there are indeed good reasons why drip pans were and are used.

For 40 years I owned and drove a 1951 Hudson Hornet, the car that could blow the doors off of the Oldsmobiles of its era.

A Rocket 88 as I recall with the OHV V-8 and 4-speed Hydramatic transmission, owned briefly around 1975. Bought from a genuine Little Old Lady who let the transmission seals dry out and the fluid run dry. It would go for a little while on a couple of quarts, but after pumping a few quarts thru, I re-sold the car to someone who could afford to rebuild the transmission. Never did really care for the "frowny face" grille of that period.

Was an Oldsmobile Super88. This was a big Olds OH valve v8 in a Chevy sedan with Olds trim. A lot of fun was had in one of these at the early drag strips.

I was looking to buy my first car in 1994, and I thought about buying a late 1980's burgundy Olds...I ended up going with a 1986 gold-colored Pontiac Sunbird, instead.

I see that there is nothing at the top of the tree but if you know of Yosh and Stan Schmenge, you would remember that their custom is to toss a hat onto the top of their tree. As for Oldsmobiles, when my two oldest sons were ages 2 and 3, we moved next door to neighbors who owned a 1966 sleek powder blue, chrome-embellished loaded Toronado and they both admired and desired that car, even up until today, ages 46 and 47. It was a primo dazzler and they were just beginning to notice sharp vehicles and they still talk about it. It was "the car of the year" in 1966 and the word "toronado" had no meaning but it was pretty slick and my Chevy Impala at that time did not impress them. Merry Christmas and gratitude to all the jolly good producers, contributors and commenters of Shorpy, the best ever website.

was an Olds---a 1965 Cutlass. Being young and foolish I didn't realize that maintenance was required. I ran it nearly out of oil, the lifters were making lots of racket. As soon as I gave it it's proper allotment of oil it said "Thank you very much" and we went on our way. Still being foolish, I didn't know to make sure that the antifreeze solution was correct to withstand a Wisconsin winter, and allowed the radiator to freeze nearly solid. Once again, when I put in the proper fluids the car said "Thank you very much" and we went on our merry way. What a great car!!
My current car is also an Olds. This time an Alero. Though not as hardy as the Cutlass was, it too, has been great transportation.

I have always been fascinated by Rene Magritte's Surrealist painting of 1938, "Time Transfixed." I've seen it many times at the Art Institute of Chicago, and I've always wondered where the artist got the idea of making a steam locomotive come puffing out of a fireplace. Now I know the answer!

That is some very creative Christmas advertising!

Merry Christmas, Shorpy!!!!!

to leave something to catch the oil drips.

And I love that lamp.

Hey, is that a reflection of tterrace in one of the ornaments on the tree? Only kidding naturally. A very Merry Christmas to everyone in the Shorpy "family", and a special thank you to Dave for providing many enjoyable moments spent on his website this year.

Now that's what I call a stocking-stuffer! I really like the way they decorated the sales window to look like somebody's living room. And how thoughtful of Santa, to also put a sparkling-clean tray under the car to catch the oil droppings! (I wonder if new cars came with one of those trays as standard equipment back then...)

Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year to all our fellow Shorpyites!

My uncle followed the General Motors path of lifetime GM ownership; starting with Chevy, moving on to Pontiac, then Oldsmobile, then Buick, and finally ending with Cadillac. I think of all those cars, the Oldsmobile Aurora was his favorite, although the Cadillac CTS ranked pretty highly too. It’s difficult to imagine that an automaker such as Oldsmobile, with their 107-year history is gone, but with so much model redundancy I suppose it was inevitable.

This car must have made one heck of a stocking stuffer.

a Merry Oldsmobile to all my fellow Shorpy regulars, and a great New Year with lots of signage, fascinating people of the past, and—as always—a keener sense of history.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Yes, Lucille is longing for a ride in her Merry Oldsmobile! It's now parked in the back with the Plymouth and the DeSoto and the Edsel and the Mercury. That's a very clever display gimmick.

After this 1922 failed use of modern head light technology to navigate chimneys, on December 24, 1923 Santa returned to the traditional use of Rudolph, with his nose so bright, to guide his sleigh that night. And the rest went down in history..

Merry Christmas to the Shorpy site. You guys are great!

Could you send one of those down my chimney tonight too? I promise not to have a fire burning in it.
If my 12" diameter chimney is too small, just have the reindeer kick on the roof and I'll push the remote button to open the garage door.

This is going to be my favorite surreal window display photo for a long time. My late mother drove a series of Oldsmobile 98s from 1964 until she passed away in 2008. I'm still driving her last car, the 1993 model with a transverse 4.2-litre front end drive, fuel-injected engine that gives me more than 20 mpg in town and 24 mpg on long freeway runs, and it still easily passes the increasingly stringent California smog tests. Its fuel efficiency won't impress many folks these days, but my old Chevy 3/4-ton pickup rarely gave me better than 9 mpg even downhill. I love driving this Olds and can't afford to replace it yet, even though it's getting damned hard to find many parts for it that 1993 Cadillac owners can still take for granted.

I am of that age. My step-father had a '48 when he married my mom and was still driving them until the day he died.

Always a plain-jane, no frills model up until he had open heart surgery. His doctor told him it was time he had A/C for his health. The last one he bought was the first he ever owned with any option.

I learned to drive on a '56 Rocket 88. He did appreciate that big V8 engine, and so did I! I was sad when they went out of production.

Merry Christmas and Best Wishes to everyone at Shorpy.

So this is a brand new car and it has a drip pan underneath it?