Oldsmobile: A 1901 Factory Fire, the Rocket V8 and the Final Alero

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On April 29, 2004, a dark cherry metallic Alero rolled off the line in Lansing, Michigan, as workers signed the underside of its hood, ending Oldsmobile after 107 years. Ransom E. Olds founded the company in Lansing in 1897, and when its Detroit factory burned in March 1901, two workers wheeled out the only surviving prototype, the Curved Dash. With no way to make parts, Oldsmobile outsourced engines to Henry Leland and transmissions to John and Horace Dodge, helping seed Detroit's supplier network. It also ran a progressive assembly line before Henry Ford added the conveyor. A quarrel with sales manager Frederick Smith drove Olds out in 1904, and William C. Durant folded the brand into General Motors in 1908.

As GM's testing ground, Oldsmobile introduced the Hydra-Matic automatic transmission in 1940, the overhead valve Rocket V8 in 1949, the turbocharged Jetfire in 1962 and the front-wheel drive Toronado in 1966, and the Cutlass became North America's best seller in 1976. Then GM quietly put Chevrolet V8s into Oldsmobiles in 1977, triggering class action suits, and the rushed 350 diesel, converted from a gasoline engine, snapped head bolts. The "Not Your Father's Oldsmobile" campaign alienated loyal buyers, and in December 2000 GM announced the brand's end.

• The 1910 Limited cost $4,600, rode on 42-inch wheels and raced the 20th Century Limited passenger train.
• The Rocket V8 inspired the song Rocket 88, widely considered the first rock and roll record.
• Owners discovered the 1977 engine swap when parts bought for their Oldsmobile V8 would not fit.
• The diesel's fuel lines clogged with wax in cold weather because the cars lacked proper fuel heating and water separators.
• Guidestar on the 1995 Olds 88 was the first onboard satellite navigation in a U.S. production car.