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Back when the one car family was the rule and not the exception, the car you owned was a reflection of yourself. People know their position in society and a "regular Joe" owning a Cadillac would have been an object of scorn. Credit was tightly regulated and your income dictated what was available. Add to this brand loyalty. There were Ford owners, Chevrolet owners and Plymouth owners. It was like rooting for your home team and straying from it was heresy.

My father, a government employee with a college degree, decided that a Pontiac established him above the less educated Chevrolet owner — and yet did not intrude on his boss with an Oldsmobile. Consequently, his first car was a 1938 Pontiac, followed by replacement Pontiacs over the years.

In 1956 the family visited the Pontiac dealership with a new car in mind. As a knowledgeable car enthusiast, I felt I needed to voice my choice — a 1956 Oldsmobile. Even today I think the 1956 Oldsmobile is one of the best looking cars built that year. But for some reason the 1956 Pontiac was not purchased, nor were my words of wisdom heeded. We became owners of a used Chevrolet for my mother to drive. It was newer than my father's Pontiac, but that apparently was offset by it being a Pontiac. All this philosophizing in America ended in the 1960s with the influx of foreign cars and the advent of two car families.

I dedicate this article to the people who were good enough to own an Oldsmobile. You could revel in their glory as you drove past lesser brands. But keep in mind — those Buick and Cadillac owners were looking down at you. The good old days!

The most popular period for collecting seems to be the 1930s through 1970s, so the following is a review of Oldsmobiles for that period, starting with 1932:

Highlights      Literature 1932 - New 82 h.p. straight-eight Freewheeling introduced. Model year sales of 17,502 cars 1933 - Served as "Official Car" of the Indy 500 Race (not pace car) 1934 - Independent front suspension system was introduced Model year sales jump to 79,814 cars 1935 - 8-Litre engine receives 100 h.p. 1936 - The popularity of Oldsmobile increases dramatically and sales rise to 200,546 cars for the model year. 1937 - New "Safety Automatic Transmission" was a late model year addition 1938 - Introduction of the air cooled battery 1939 - Factory sunroof option (rare) 1940 - Hydra-Matic 4-speed transmission available as a $57 option on all models. A luxury line of cars, the 90 Series, was created which included the super rare Phaeton - only 50 made Optional Hydro-Matic automatic transmission 1941 - The 2,000,000th Oldsmobile is built 1942 - Wartime "blackout" models built as 1942 ½ models. Photograph at right comes with letter which discusses these cars. Production halted on Feb. 5, 1942 for war efforts 1946 - Postwar production began on Oct. 15, 1945, but a United Auto Worker's strike prevented production from Nov. 21, 1945 to Apr. 1, 1946. Only 140 station wagons built out of a total model year production of 119,388 cars. Oldsmobile is now the 7th largest U.S. automaker. 1947 - GM decides that Oldsmobile will become the performance division and demonstrates an experimental overhead valve V-8 with 12.5:1 compression ratio. 1948 - Futuramic 98 Series with two new, totally different, bodies. Oldsmobile was the first GM brand to receive this B-body which was introduced on other 1949 GM cars. 1949 - New overhead valve V-8 with 135 h.p. called the "Rocket V-8". Debut of GM's first true pillarless hardtop, the 98 Series Holiday 2-Door. They also had wraparound rear windows. Official Pace Car for the Indy 500 Race. Rare factory option of see-through plexiglass hood to show off the Rocket 88 V-8 engine. Won five NASCAR Grand National races. 1950 - Builds 407,889 cars for model year and becomes 6th in U.S. production. Wins 10 out of the 19 NASCAR races. Winner of the Mexican Road Race in a 1951 model. 1951 - Models debuted in showrooms very late (Jan. 1951) Wins 21 of the year's 41 stock car races. 1952 - Now 4th in total production in U.S. Wins stock car racing's most prestigious race - the Southern 500 in Darlington, South Carolina. 1953 - Luxurious limited production Fiesta model of the 98 Series was introduced as a convertible with a "panoramic" wraparound windshield and a 170 h.p. V-8 engine. Fiberglass-bodied Starfire toured auto shows. Wins nine NASCAR races, including the Southern 500. 1954 - Rocket V-8 engine was enlarged to 324 c.i.d. to produce 185 h.p. New Starfire convertible added to 98 Series. Cutlass F-88 dream car toured auto shows. Wins eleven NASCAR races. 1955 - Introduction of the 88 Series Holiday hardtops. Engine power increased to 202 h.p., giving it a 17.6 second quarter-mile time. Delta show car introduced. 1956 - Increase of 38 h.p. was offset by added weight which slowed acceleration. Golden Rocket experimental car toured auto shows. Only one big NASCAR race win due to added weight, but Lee Petty was able to establish a new "Flying-Mile" record of 144 m.p.h. at Daytona Beach. 1957 - Mona Lisa show car toured auto shows. Special J-2 induction system for racing engines became an option. For $395 you got 312 h.p. A street option with 300 h.p. cost $83. The 5th best selling car in America. Lee and Richard Petty joined Olds NASCAR team. Five Grand National wins before the J-2 induction system was banned. 1958 - Advertising claimed it to be "The Chrome King" of all cars. Rose to 4th place in U.S. sales. 1959 - Advertised as the "Linear Look", a drastic departure from previous year. Lee Petty, racing independently, drove an Oldsmobile to 1st place at Daytona 500. 1960 - Pace car for Indy 500 race was a 98 convertible 1961 - F-85 compact introduced as entry level model with an aluminum 215 c.i.d. V-8 with 215 h.p. 1962 - F-85 gets high-performance turbocharged Jetfire coupe 1963 - JT-R convertible concept car shown at Chicago Auto Show Success of full size model, plus the F-85, boost model year production to 476,753 cars. 1964 - Midyear introduction of 4.4.2 option package added to F-85 Cutlass turns it into a performance car 1965 - New 425 c.i.d. engine with 370 h.p. available in Jetstar 1 and Starfire series. 1966 - Introduction of the Toronado, a sensation with the media and the public. Front wheel drive is compared to 1936 Cord and revolutionary at the same time. Toronado receives "Motor Trend" magazine's "Car of the Year" award. 21,997 F-85 Cutlass models sold with 4.4.2 performance package. 1967 - 4.4.2 performance package available on only Cutlass Supreme, with 400 c.i.d. / 350 h.p. "Force-Air" option and ram-induction system also available. 24,829 4.42 models sold. 1968 - 4.4.2 becomes an individual series of different body styles. Hurst/Olds option introduced on 4.4.2 models. Includes 455 c.i.d. V-8. Only 515 produced. "Cars" magazine picks 4.4.2 as "Performance Car of the Year". Toronado takes 1st, 2nd and 3rd places in Pikes Peak Hill Climb. Only 111 RPO W34 high performance Toronados produced. Includes 455 c.i.d. / 400 h.p. engine and other performance enhancements. "Dr. Oldsmobile" plays a starring role in performance-oriented advertising. 1969 - A potent "W-31" package available in Cutlass and Cutlass Supreme models. 4.4.2 series receives an optional "W-30" package with 360 h.p. 5th place in U.S. sales with over 12,000,000 built during Oldsmobile's history. 1970 - F-85 and Cutlass receive optional "W-45" Rallye 350 package. 4.4.2 convertible is Pace Car for Indy 500 Race. 1971 - All models become heavily loaded with options. Toronados lead the way with 93.5 percent having vinyl tops, 74.6 percent with tilt steering columns and 65.6 percent with tape decks. 1972 - Celebrates it's 75th year as an automaker. Number 3 in industry sales with 758,711 cars sold. Hurst/Olds 4.4.2 convertible was Pace Car for Indy 500 Race. 1973 - New Omega compact line debuts. Sales reach a model year record of 938,970 cars. 1974 - H/O 4.4.2 "W-30" convertible was Indy 500 Pace Car 1975 - Introduction of Starfire subcompact. The "last" Oldsmobile convertible built. 1976 - A record 34 models were offered. Cutlass became the best selling automobile in the U.S. Overall, Oldsmobile ranked No. 3 in sales. 1977 - Sales exceeded $1,000,000 for the first time. Third in U.S. sales. Oldsmobile re-enters NASCAR racing. 1978 - New diesel V-8 engine offered, making it the king of diesel power in America. 1979 - Special Hurst/Olds coupes with "W-30" package and gold over white or gold over black paint. 1,068,155 cars produced during the model year.