This Is The Most Underrated Oldsmobile You Forgot Existed

Oldsmobile was axed over twenty years ago, after giving the world some memorable cars. Their last production model is definitely one of them.

Remember the Oldsmobile? It was one of General Motors' early brands, nestled between Cadillac and Chevrolet. While GM's flagship brand Cadillac was often associated with high-end luxury, the Chevrolet was the everyman mainstream brand. Although Buick already catered to the mid-luxury segment, GM decided to introduce Oldsmobile geared towards the same market.

However, through the 1980s into the early 1990s, Oldsmobile faced a steep decline in sales. To rejuvenate a collapsing brand, GM launched the Oldsmobile Aurora. With its design inspired by the 'tube' concept car, the Aurora had futuristic styling and radical engineering. It aimed at rekindling the Oldsmobile's glory and resuscitating its image. This is the story of a car that history nearly forgot.

Doug DeMuro's recent review of the Oldsmobile Aurora reignited the conversation about this classic car. The first-gen Oldsmobile Aurora is an overlooked '90s American sports sedan. An ambitious project, the Aurora has an interesting story behind its birth.

It was the 1980s and Oldsmobile was struggling. The market had begun identifying the company with old, outdated products. Its executives decided that a luxury sports sedan might revive their fate, rivaling the Japanese Acura (owned by Honda) and perhaps even the German stalwarts like the BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Most people forget the role Oldsmobile played in the automotive history. It was the oldest American automaker that built some of the most powerful muscle cars in its prime.

Talks about this potential mid-luxury segment entry with a new car began in 1988. In the following year, the company unveiled a prototype as well. However, a capital crunch and leadership changes at GM spelled delays and uncertainties.

The Aurora finally made its debut in 1993. In stark contrast to the prevalent 'boxy' designs, its sleek curves and futuristic features captured attention. The company started production in 1994 for the '95 model year.

Related: These Oldsmobile Classics Are Now Worth A Fortune (5 That Are Worth Nothing)

The first-generation Aurora's design was unique for its time. It had an elongated teardrop front end, the headlamps were horizontal but wide. And interestingly, there was no grille - at least not in the traditional sense. Grilles used to be a key component in all cars during the time, but the Aurora had a hidden grille. This was a totally new take.

Doug DeMuro, in his review of the Aurora, brought attention to another interesting quirk. The car had absolutely no Oldsmobile badges - a radical decision made to keep in mind the failing image of the Oldsmobile brand.

Instead, the Aurora had its own model-exclusive badging. It had a scripted letter “A” on the hood, engine cover, and steering wheel as well as “Aurora” written into the tail lamp. The Oldsmobile name was only found on the car’s stereo. This ended up giving an air of mystery to Aurora's distinct identity.

The sleek lines, panoramic glass, and frameless windows not only made Aurora elegant but also boosted its futuristic appearance. It is worth mentioning that Oldsmobile was quite an innovative automaker during its best years, being the first American automaker to offer airbags, automatic transmissions, and possibly the first muscle car.

The interiors were a clearer window to the company's innovative strategies. Driver-focused cockpits were the trend in the 1990s, with giants like BMW doing it too. While it's not entirely common to see angled driver-focused cockpits anymore, we are seeing automakers constantly improving in-vehicle experience. To that end, a fully integrated digital cockpit may become the next big thing in the coming years.

The Oldsmobile Aurora, however, took the cockpit design to another level. Its driver-cockpit and the center control stack angled so much towards the driver, that it had enough room on its side to position a passenger climate vent. The makers even gave a separate climate control temperature dial placed on the passenger door panel. The steering wheel had climate control switches as well.

Additionally, all Auroras since 1999 included GM's OnStar satellite system as well. The center control stack housed a slim digital screen with dedicated buttons displaying essential information like fuel economy, date, current fuel range, and more. However, despite the relatively advanced interior, the materials used were pretty substandard with lots of plastic.

Related: 5 Oldsmobile Cars No One Bought (And 5 That Sold Like Hotcakes)

Borrowing a page from its German rivals, the Oldsmobile Aurora had a cigarette lighter and ashtray in both rear door handles. The legroom was ample, though the curvy design meant a compromise on the headroom.

Under the hood of the Aurora sat a modified version of Cadillac's Northstar V8 - renamed the Aurora V8, that took the car from 0-60 mph in 8.3 seconds. Displacing 4.0 liters, it generated 250 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque. This was quite standard given the time and competition. It had a four-speed automatic transmission, with a monolithic gear selector - another quirk that looked cool but nothing beyond. Like most cars of the time, Aurora had a front-wheel-drive setup too.

This sports sedan wasn't intended to be exciting fast, but to bring a new meaning to luxury. In his review of the Oldsmobile Aurora, Doug DeMuro observed that the Aurora drives well, given its timeframe. The company had paid fair attention to giving a great experience driving this car. The cockpit-styled interior enhances the accessibility of using the center control stack.

However, Oldsmobile had ample experience with building fast cars. One of their best-known cars is the Hurst/Olds, which was Oldsmobile's fastest production car at the time. Equipped with a V8 churning 390 hp, this muscle car had a 0-60 mph time of just 5.4 seconds.

The first-generation Aurora lasted through 1999. Despite those strong first-year sales figures, they dropped significantly in its second year to just over 22,000. Then it fluctuated from there, averaging around 20,000 cars sold each year.

The new millennium dawned and Oldsmobile realized the Aurora wasn't doing all that well in the market. They decided to debut the second-gen Aurora, but that proved futile in saving the dying brand. Circumstances were different this time as the automotive landscape had changed. The makers gave up on the unique, futuristic design and reverted to a pretty standard look.

The second-generation Aurora was shorter and shared design cues. This only meant a dilution of the exclusivity they first wanted to create. However, it boasted a list of luxury features ranging from moisture-sensing windshield wipers to a driver information center with 27 functions.

The sales kept running downhill. The production ceased in 2003, marking the end of both the Aurora and Oldsmobile.

Related: The Legendary Oldsmobile Aerotech: A Tale Of GM's Record-Breaking Concept Cars

The Oldsmobile Aurora was not the savior Oldsmobile had sought it out to be. But it was a remarkable car in its own right. Its first generation was innovative, but the company backtracked with the second-gen Aurora by ditching the sleek and sporty look, and it only backfired.

The brand, gone now for nearly twenty years, gambled on the Aurora, spending millions on research. As Doug DeMuro pointed out in his review, it wasn't the car that was a problem, but the Oldsmobile brand image itself. People were so engrained in their view of the brand being old and outdated, that a car with no Oldsmobile badge couldn't revive its image either. That gives a pretty accurate picture of the unsalvageable condition Oldsmobile was in.

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A young, talented creative writer and journalist, Vedant is a motor head particularly interested in vintage and classics. He enjoys open mics and public speaking, invests on the side, and buys thick books to read them a year later. When not writing, Vedant can be found at his desk, pulling his hair, trying to write.