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Oldsmobiles were first manufactured by the Olds Motor Vehicle Company in Lansing, Michigan, a company founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In 1901, Olds introduced the Curved Dash Olds which sold 425 cars, becoming the first high-volume car of the day. Olds became, for a few years, the top selling car company in the United States. Ransom Olds left the company in financial difficulties and formed REO Motor Car Company. The last Curved Dash Olds was made in 1907, and in 1908, General Motors purchased the company.
After acquisition by General Motors, Oldsmobiles were marketed for their technical sophistication. It was the first American car with an automatic transmission (1940) and the first to use chrome (1920), and frequently was early with other features, such as automatic headlight dimmers.
Oldsmobile promoted its "Rocket" engines heavily. This came to be a problem when some customers sued after they discovered that their Oldsmobiles had been equipped with ChevroletChevrolet or Chevy is a brand of automobile that is now part of the General Motors group. Its founder, Louis Chevrolet, was a racing driver born on December 25, 1878 in La Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland. On November 3, 1911, Chevrolet officially entered the engines beginning in the late 1970s.
In the 1970sMillennia: 1st millennium 2nd millennium 3rd millennium Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Years: 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 Events and trends, the mid-sized Oldsmobile CutlassThe Oldsmobile Cutlass is a type of automobile made by General Motors. The Cutlass was introduced in 1961 as a unibody compact car competing with the Ford Falcon and Plymouth Valiant. Over the years, the Cutlass name was used by Oldsmobile as almost a sub was the division's best selling model, and for several years in the late 1970sMillennia: 1st millennium 2nd millennium 3rd millennium Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Years: 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 Events and trends and early 1980sMillennia: 1st millennium 2nd millennium 3rd millennium Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s 2030s Years: 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 Events and trends, it was the best-selling car in America. But the sales of the Cutlass and other Olds models fell beginning in the 1990sCenturies: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s 2030s 2040s Years: Events and trends Computers, technology Explosive growth of the Internet; decrease in the cost of computers and other techn. The brand was hurt by its image as old and stuffy and this public perception continued despite a public relations campaign in the late 1990s that this was "not your father's Oldsmobile."