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Golden Rocket: 1957

Columbus, Georgia. "Oldsmobile dealer." The Golden Rocket 88 Holiday Sedan for 1957. 4x5 inch acetate negative from the News Archive. View full size.

Columbus, Georgia. "Oldsmobile dealer." The Golden Rocket 88 Holiday Sedan for 1957. 4x5 inch acetate negative from the News Archive. View full size.

 

On Shorpy:
Today’s Top 5

98 Rocket

Had a girl friend in high school whose mom had 1957 98 four door sedan with the J2 option. When asked why, she replied, "Because it's fast!"

Obscure

Thanks, Dave, it has taken me two days to find that pesky "phonetic phooey"! That's the fun of Shorpy, finding noted details. I can rest easy tonight!

Hardtop Styling

Back when there was enough steel in a four-door car to toss out the B-pillar and roll down those windows for some real open air driving. Sigh. I had a 1965 Imperial LeBaron a few years ago that had no B-pillar. That small, missing detail really made rolling down the windows a liberating event.

[There's generally more steel in cars now. The four-door hardtop, introduced by GM in 1955, took quite a bit of engineering. The roofs, however, tended to collapse in rollovers. - Dave]

Bumper

The front bumper makes it look like it had collagen injections for the "bee-stung" look.

Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports bought a 1957 base-model Golden Rocket 88 in 1957 and remarked that with the exception of the Chrysler 300, it was the most powerful car they had ever tested--not surprising when you consider how recently these brands had been virtual puddle jumpers.

In prior years, both the Super 88 and 98 had the same higher compression engine with a four-barrel carburetor with a lower compression two-barrel in the base 88. However, in '57 in an attempt to gain back some of the performance lost to the very powerful Pontiac and Chrysler 300, all Oldsmobile series were equipped with the same 371 cubic inch four-barrel setup but with different axle ratios--3.07 for the base model, 3.23 for the Super 88 and 3.42 for the 98. The only engine option was the three two-barrel J-2 setup available for about $75 in any model.

Rucker Oldsmobile

In 1956, it was Rucker Oldsmobile Inc., 1300 5th Ave., TEL 3-7313, according to Polk's City Guide for Columbus (Muscogee County) Georgia and Phenix City (Russell County) Alabama. With apologies to the Rustin family, the 1962 name change to Rustin Oldsmobile was an unexpected gift for local punsters and other comedians.

13th and 5th

This is the northeast corner of 13th street and 5th Avenue in Columbus. The construction of the 13th street bridge took its toll on this deco building. I believe it became Rustin Oldsmobile around 1962.

The upper level was for extra parking (still is) and for showing new models as well. I remember driving by there for years and seeing shiny new cars perched on the edge of the abyss.

[Who can tell us the name of the dealership in 1957? - Dave]

Rusting ALREADY?

Is it my imagination or is there already rust on the back door? I see a spot with streaks below it just ahead of the rear wheel!

[Pontiac had its Silver Streak; Olds had the Brown Streak. - Dave]

A Deal You Can't Refuse

C'mon down, folks. If you buy this little number today, I'll include this futuristic space-age antenna.

All bricked up...

when they built the viaduct over the rail yard, I would guess. Close inspection of the building through the vegetation on the right matched the 1957 photo. Last used as a Mitsubishi dealer.

Fast Car

My parents had a 1957 Olds Super 88. My cousin and I were riding in the back seat with my dad driving. We looked up to see what my dad was up to and saw that we were going over 110 mph. As I remember, I think that slowed him down. I don't believe Missouri had a fixed speed limit in 1957. The good old days.

"8" Speech

A phonetic "phooey":

Shoe option

Two-tone to match the paint? Yes please!

Roof lighting

You might think there's a used car lot up there, but it's actually the spaceport.

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