Oldsmobile reaches the end of the line

The Oldsmobile, the line of cars that started out in 1897 and featured models such as the Rocket 88 and the muscular 442, is coming to an end this week.

The last Olds, an Alero, is due to roll off an assembly line on Thursday in Lansing, Michigan – the same city where the brand was born.

General Motors announced in December 2000 that it would discontinue the Oldsmobile, the oldest automotive brand name in US history.

“Generations of people in Lansing have been touched by Oldsmobile, either by making them in the plant or driving them down the road,” GM spokeswoman Kim Carpenter said.

“I can understand GM’s business decision, but seeing Oldsmobile go is almost like a death of someone in the family,” said Ken Nicholas, a long-time Olds enthusiast from Eaton Rapids.

No one will have a chance to buy the absolute last Olds off the assembly line. It is destined for Lansing’s RE Olds Transportation Museum.

The Oldsmobile was named after its founder, Ransom E Olds, who started the Olds Motor Vehicle Company.