Oldsmobile 98

The Oldsmobile 98 (spelled Ninety-Eight from 1952 to 1991, and Ninety Eight from 1992 to 1996) is the full-size flagship model of Oldsmobile that was produced from 1940 until 1942, and then from 1946 to 1996. The name – reflecting a "Series 90" fitted with an 8-cylinder engine – first appeared in 1941 and was used again after American consumer automobile production resumed post-World War II. It was, as it would remain, the division's top-of-the-line model, with lesser Oldsmobiles having lower numbers such as the A-body 66 and 68, and the B-body 76 and 78. The Series 60 was retired in 1949, the same year the Oldsmobile 78 was replaced by the 88. The Oldsmobile 76 was retired after 1950. This left the two remaining number-names to carry on into the 1990s as the bread and butter of the full-size Oldsmobile lineup until the Eighty Eight-based Regency replaced the 98 in 1997. Occasionally additional nomenclature was used with the name, such as L/S and Holiday, and the 98 Regency badge would become increasingly common in the later years of the model. The 98 shared its General Motors C-body platform with Buick and Cadillac. Since it was the top-line Oldsmobile, the series had the most technologically advanced items available, such as the Hydramatic automatic transmission, the Autronic Eye, an automatic headlight dimmer, and Twilight Sentinel (a feature that automatically turned the headlights on and off via a light sensor and a delay timer, as controlled by the driver), and the highest-grade interior and exterior trim. Naming standards were in flux at Oldsmobile during the late 1930s and 1940s. From 1932 through 1938 Oldsmobile had two series: "F" and "L". F-Series came with a straight 6 engine and L-Series came with a larger body and a straight 8 engine. The F-Series was replaced by the Series 60 in 1939 and L-Series was replaced with the Series 70. The Series 60 used the GM A-body and the Series 70 used the B-body. In 1940 the even larger C-body was introduced to Oldsmobile and it alone was powered by the straight-8.

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Related concepts (8)

Muscle car

Muscle car is a description according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary that came to use in 1966 for "a group of American-made two-door sports coupes with powerful engines designed for high-performance driving." The Britannica Dictionary describes these as "an American-made two-door sports car with a powerful engine." Although the term was unknown for another fifteen-plus years, General Motors is credited by some as introducing the first "intentional" muscle car in 1949, when it put its Rocket V8 from its full-sized luxury car 98 model into the considerably smaller and lighter Oldsmobile 88.

Oldsmobile 88

The Oldsmobile 88 (marketed from 1989 on as the Eighty Eight) is a full-size car that was sold and produced by Oldsmobile from 1949 until 1999. From 1950 until 1974, the 88 was the division's most profitable line, particularly the entry level models such as the 88 and Dynamic 88. The 88 series was also an image leader for Oldsmobile, particularly in the early years (1949–51), when it was one of the best performing automobiles, thanks to its relatively small size, light weight, and advanced overhead-valve high-compression V8 engine.

Personal luxury car

Personal luxury car is a North American car classification describing somewhat sporty, sophisticated mass-market coupés that emphasized comfort over performance. The North American manufacturers most often combined engineering, design, and marketing to develop upscale, distinctive "platform sharing" models that became highly profitable. Although luxury coupes had been produced in North America for several decades previously, the beginning of the "personal luxury car" genre is generally considered to have started in 1958, due to the success of the Ford Thunderbird (second generation) when it was redesigned from a two-seat car to a four-seat car.