Here’s how the Aurora was Oldsmobile’s last hope for survival
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- Опубліковано 18 бер 2022
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In this episode I provide the history of the Oldsmobile Aurora, the division's last attempt at a flagship model. It debuted in 1995, with no Oldsmobile badging and its own unique logo, as an attempt to distance itself from the Oldsmobile name. Although sales were strong at first, its high price and lack of changes over the next few years caused sales to to drop to less than a third by 1999. A 2nd gen Aurora debuted in 2001, but it was based off the Antares concept car which had been originally intended for replacing the Olds 88, so the 2001 Aurora was styled much differently than the 1st gen. Sales were strong in 2001 but dropped off quickly when the phase-out of the Oldsmobile brand was announced in December 2000, resulting in the Aurora's last few models selling in 2003, a year before the division shut down for good. - Авто та транспорт
Bittersweet....my late father had one...and we spent many happy hours on trips. Remember talking him into it compared to an "old man" design Cadillac. He was in his 70's at the time...but loved new tech and gadgets. Was his last car when he passed at 88 and still washed/waxed it.
I remember looking at a convertible a dealership had on display at the mall when they first came out.
I liked it. I was like, man that's a cool car.
I envy your father. I never got a chance to buy one.
@@Lethgar_Smith there never was such a thing as an aurora convertible. Aurora was a four-door sedan only.
@@danielulz1640 Well that's interesting. Then what I saw was a one off or something but there is no mistaking the unique wrap around interior of the Aurora and that's what caught my eye about it. So, perhaps they cut the top off to showcase the interior which you cant fully appreciate with the door open. I dont know. But I know I saw a convertible Aurora
I take great pride in washing and waxing my cars. I’m getting older so I’m slower and can only do one a day
@@davidmagen415 I wish I could’ve had my cars when they were new and not falling apart🙃😪 94 mark 8 95 thunderbird and 04 grand marq
My grandparents bought one of the first generation for their 50th wedding anniversary trip touring the United States.
They're from Germany, where my grandfather worked his entire career as an engineer at Opel and where my grandmother's family owns several Opel dealerships, and they wanted to buy a GM product for their trip.
They were down to a Cadillac Seville or the Aurora.
They chose the Aurora and over the next 6 months they put almost 30k miles on it touring the United States.
On their return to Germany they gifted the car to my mother who used it for years.
The car eventually got passed down to my oldest brother who used it through college.
It finally died when it was rear-ended at a stoplight and it had over 280,000 miles on it.
Everything except the cassette player still worked on it and over its lifetime it was amazingly reliable and durable.
Neat story! I'm my experience American cars are either amazing or crap. You never know.
@@baronvonjo1929 I have owned numerous GM vehicles , mostly Opel designed or produced Saturns and Buicks, and found them to be very reliable and durable with proper maintenance.
They have suffered fewer issues over higher mileage then several friends acquaintances and co-workers supposedly superior Japanese or Korean vehicles.
My current daily driver is a 2018 Buick Regal Tour X and so far it is accumulated 80,000 trouble-free miles.
A fellow supervisor at work as well as one of our team leaders purchased a Toyota Camry and a Honda CRV the same year and they have had more issues than I have with significantly less mileage on their vehicles.
Asian vehicles are not as good as urban legend suggests an American and European vehicles are not as bad.
Man, what a nice post!
Thanks for sharing it.
I have a nice relationship with GM vehicles too. Although for the first time in m my life I bought non GM product (Ford Explorer), I'm willing to get me a brand new Yukon xl next time.
@@williamegler8771 And then my experience is the exact opposite.
My Dad bought a Volvo S60 worst car to ever hit the driveway.
We have had a Chevy Suburban for over a decade and while it has been mostly solid it has had many issues to the point my dad will never buy another GM or American product.
We have a 23 year old 4Runner with 213,000 miles on it and still going. It does burn oil though. And we have another 2016 4runner and we use to own a 2009 Lexus RX and a 2013 Camry. (Sold off and wrecked in that order) but those cars were great.
It's mostly the people around me who have firmly driven my distaste for American cars. Uncle had a 2016 F-150 and it problems amd he sold it off. Family friend had a 2016 Escape and the transmission died at 70k.
Neighbors are always working on their Saturn's and Chevy Cruze, they did had a Malibu and it always had the hood popped up
And then of course GM and Ford have many vechiles at the bottom of reliability lists. Sticking with Toyota gives me a peace of mind American brands could never. It's a shame though as I am really limiting myself to my next car. I would love a Focus Hatch but... it's a Ford....
@@baronvonjo1929 I still own a 2001 Saturn LW300 that I bought new.
It currently has 386k on the original engine and transmission.
It is semi retired now and is used mostly as a dog taxi and extra vehicle but regularly makes 5 hour trips one way to our cabin.
We just recently gave a 2009 Saturn Astra to the brother of our housekeeper.
It had 265k and other that changing the oil prior to leaving he drove it from Madison Wisconsin to Fairbanks Alaska without any issues.
The two worst vehicles I have ever owned were a Honda Accord and a Mazda 626.
A co-worker swears by Toyota and like I mentioned it has had more problems than my Regal .
His Camry just turned 45k miles and he has already had to replace the A/C compressor and condenser.
The water pump and alternator .
The ABS pump and shift solenoids in the transmission.
It also has a minor valve cover leak.
I still have mine from 1995 brand new.
It's a long lasting gem.
Sell it to me
Awesome 😀
It's a keeper.
I no doubt worked on your car at the factory. Love hearing that you have one.
I dont know if its a gem, but it sure is one of a kind
I had one of these for a few years, a '95, champagne with tan interior, sunroof, the 250hp V8, and the air suspension package that actually lowered the ride height at highway speeds. MAN I LOVED THAT CAR! To this day it was the smoothest-riding car I ever owned--and was surprisingly fuel efficient on the highway. (Bought mine in Fort Lauderdale, drove it to Pensacola, and the next day to Pittsburgh, all in one shot.) But being too young at the time (barely 24) to understand how to maintain a high output v8 motor was the car's undoing--well that and a coolant leak I couldn't find until it was too late. I'll always have a soft spot for that Aurora.
The Buick twin to this car, the Riviera, was mentioned in this episode...I hope to see a future episode on that Riviera too!
I had a 95 also. The Northstar V8's headgaskets were a known issue and would blow up no matter how much preventive maintenance. Mine went like that too.
The Riviera was a Real Dud...with a supercharged engine with Real Problems...I almost bought one in a moment of weakness.
@@curtknight1021 The Northstar V8 was the motor with fundamental design problems. The Riviera's supercharged V6 is one of the all-time great motors. Very reliable with an excellent performance aftermarket. I've owned a 97 SC for 16 years and been on a forum for 8th gen Rivs for about as long. An 8th gen Riviera that hasn't been trashed is a solid car. Of course, trashy people can trash any car and most 8th gen Rivs have been trashed at this point.
@@jrcars7017 Agree, the 3800 SC was a great engine. Too bad the 4T65E-HD transmission couldn't handle the torque.
If GM had just mated this engine to the 4T80E found on the Northstar powered cars, it would've been the best overall combo for reliability.
But we all know at this point, GM being GM....
@@luisinhoens90 I've been on the Riviera Performance forum since the beginning. When it was active we must have had a couple dozen members modding their cars. I only know of one car that had a transmission fail, forum owner AA's that can be seen making this dyno pull - ua-cam.com/video/jHQKuJhU5l0/v-deo.html. He drove it hard for a long time on the stock transmission, then had it rebuilt stock.
The transmission can be modded for big power - Codith running 11's here @2:45 does not have a stock transmission - ua-cam.com/video/8M6XsKzQuZA/v-deo.html. IIRC he's making over 500hp at the wheels.
AFAIK I'm on the original transmission, with 96,000 miles. I don't go as hard as these guys though! If not beaten on I'd say it's at least a 100,000 mile transmission and probably more.
I bought a 96 back in September 2018 and still own it today. One of best cars GM ever made, if you wanted a car with power, reliability and luxury this is where it was at.
💯💯
My weekend doesn’t start until I hear “back in nineteen…….”
My grandparents bought the very first 1995 Oldsmobile Aurora in the Portland, Oregon metro area. They always said that when they first got it that teenagers would give them the thumbs up and people would ask what it was. They used it as a highway car--and the original brake pads lasted to almost 100,000 miles! Theirs was super reliable and nothing ever broke. Their neighbor down the street had the same car in green (theirs was gold / tan), but his was a total lemon and everything broke. The dual climate control on the door and the steering wheel buttons for climate control are two notable features I thought were neat as a kid.
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I still to this day absolutely love the first generation Aurora and it’s Buick sister. Especially the Aurora as at least in my eyes it still could damn near pass for a new car. The only thing about the looks of it that I wasn’t fond of was the outside mirrors, but that’s nitpicking.
Drove a few of them as I I worked at a Buick/Olds dealer part time after high school, and when I did it made me fall in love with them even more! (If I close my eyes I swear I can smell the leather and hear that 4.0 sing! Lol)
Of course I couldn’t even come close to affording one at the time, and after a few years they were hard to find.
Fast forward to 2008, and a gorgeous black on black ‘97 comes up for sale. 1 owner, under 80k miles. Went to look at it on my lunch break and other than a small ding on the hood and bit or wear on the drivers seat she was immaculate! (Well could have used a clay bar and a touch with the buffer to get some swirl marks out, but big deal lol)
And was asking $2500
So I told him I will be back after work to look it over one more time and maybe make a deal
Well some high school kid came and bought it that afternoon, and literally totaled it less than an hour later... went too fast into a corner and down the embankment right into a tree :(
Sad
It can't pass for a new car because it doesn't have a gigantic fugly grille on the front
@@ImDelphox haha good point!
First generation Olds Aurora - Innovative car that really showed what Oldsmobile and GM were really capable of.
Second generation Olds Aurora - Showed the corner cutting that GM did again and again.
At one point my uncle owned a used and dented Toronado. He used it to pull stumps as well as transportation. Even in its less than ideal shape that was a cool car. It was my father's (brother's) Oldsmobile and it was better than anything 80s and 90s Olds was putting out until the Aurora.
When I was 19 I worked as a porter at an Oldsmobile dealership. I remember driving the Aurora in the lot or to the bays. It was so smooth and punchy. It seemed so futuristic and out of this world.
Aurora really was a stunner back in 1995. And the interior looked like it belonged in a car costing thousands more. Passed on a first gen in favor of a Bonneville SSEi and then a few years later on a 2nd gen in favor of a Lincoln LS V8 Sport. First choice probably a bad one (cost driven), 2nd probably the wiser. It should have had 30-50 more hp, but the whole GM implosion from 95-05 is just a sad, sad story.
Thank Ron Zarrella and Rick Wagoner. Lost leadership had no clue that efficiency in manufacturing didn’t have to mean poorly designed cheap feeling vehicles. Buick Rendezvous a huge squandered opportunity. As one example of many.
Good to hear, I think the first generation looked better it aged backwards with the redesign
I have a 06 LS currently. Had it for 6 years now. 127k miles on it. Drives like no other.
my 2003 impala was great til the transmission failed
One of my favorite cars I ever owned was a '99 Aurora. Your video greatly undersold how spectacular the engineering of this car was. For instance, it was the quietest car on the road outside of Mercedes. Not only that but the engineers tuned the natural frequency of the car body to prevent the most annoying road noises from entering the cabin. I was the first car I could drive on the highway for hours and not be fatigued. There was so much engineering in that car that was better than anything made today, my list could go on and on. I loved that car so much that I literally kept the car for 3+ years after my son totaled it because I emotionally couldn't bear to see such a great car end up in to the scrap yard. Thank you for the video about my old car!
There was a lady up the street from me that owned a 97’ Aurora. Super cool to see such a clean older car running and driving in 2021
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one thing that always threw me off about the 2nd generation Aurora is how similar it is to the Olds Intrigue. Until I saw the logo on the back I always assumed the 2nd gen Aurora was the Intrigue
Same with the Alero.
@@fuglyJEW I forgot about the Alero, GM really lost their way for a while.
That's...intriguing. bad-dum-pissh! But seriously, folks, the second-gen Aurora was just too plain. It took everything that made the first gen great and threw it out the window. The Alero was a lot better looking than the second-gen. Aurora, imo.
I own a 2001 Aurora 4.0. I bought it new in 12/2000. It turned out to be much faster than I had expected. I think that the HP rating should be more like 350 than 250 when running on 93 octane!!! Unfortunately, GM didn't know a good thing when it saw it!!!!!!
Exactly mate
I totally agree, i own an 03 and I truly believe that they severely underrated the HP on the 4.0!!!!!!
They were damn nice cars. I worked at an Olds dealership during the entire run of both Auroras. These cars had almost the least amount of problems per 100 cars compared to anything on the market at that time. And people that bought them absolutely loved the cars. As one car magazine at the time stated, "we can't imagine anyone buying a Chevrolet or Pontiac instead of this car." They said that about the Intrigue too, that only an idiot would have chosen to buy the ovoid Taurus over the Oldsmobile. We bought Oldsmobile vehicles from the 80s through a 1998 Intrigue. Absolutely zero problems ever.
I had a Olds 1989 Ninety Eight, that was such a good car. 3800 v6, air ride suspension, soft close trunk, power seats, ect... such a great car.
Ive got a 1990 Olds Eighty Eighty with that same engine. I love that car. Smoothest riding car ive ever driven. Ill never get rid if it.
I had one as well. Super ugly but super great ride
The racecar version they used in imsa was so cool looking. Like what a 2door version would look like
The closest thing was the Rivera which came stock with a supercharger, they were really cool
A 2 door version version of this car with a super or turbo charged V8 would have amazing! Hell, they could renamed that the new Cutlass.
@@Chris_Troxler Or better yet, Toronado
@@malcolmborne
😳🤤🤤🤤
Yesssssss!
I have a 2001 Oldsmobile Aurora given to me by my grandfather. I love that car. To me it looks so nice in person. It’s very clean and garage kept. I use to drive it daily before I bought my Astro so I didn’t have to rack up miles on it and get it dirty from work.
Fog lamps are not just commonplace in Europe, at least one is mandatory in the EU and UK.
Yes, a single one so they aren't confused with brake lamps.
Volvos come with them even in the US market, or at least they did in the 1990s. And yes, they had one single rear fog lamp and it was integrated into the taillight.
I think this video was more advertising for the Oldsmobile of the era then GM ever did. These were beautiful wonderful cars but they were front wheel drive in a world that wanted real luxury cars with rear wheel drive
I had a 2003 Olds Aurora 4.0 V8; what a stealthy fast car, especially if you put 93 octane in it.
same, I had the 03, most comfortable car ive ever owned
I currently own a gold 03, and besides the roofline being too short inside for my taste, this car still competes with a good chunk of the cars on the road currently, i think they underrated the 4.0 and Caddy 4.6 like they did 20 years prior on the Grand National engines. (I also own an 04 Deville)
One of my friends had the same 2003 Aurora with the V8 and I had a 2003 Lincoln LS V8. We used to get on long stretches of highway and race the HELL out of them 😂😂😂😂😂 fun times man
@@mattcat231 agreed, this car had gobs of power
Nice job with this story. The demise of Olds, Pontiac, Saturn car
brands, as well as the very large market share losses of the surviving Chevrolet, Buick, and Cadillac brands came from inability to compete effectively with the Japanese, German, and later Korean car companies. GM never figured out how to combat them. Your Aurora story is a good example of them at least trying things. Today GM is divested from Europe and survives on sales and production in China and strong US pickup truck sales coupled with semi competitive SUV products. They are chasing Tesla from behind in the EV market, but with everybody else trying to do the same thing, it seems unlikely
they will be able to dominate that either in the future.
Pulling out of Europe was a bad idea. They gave Groupe PSA way too much power and now it's Stellantis. What a dumb name it sounds like some prescription medicine that will end up being the subject of a lawsuit.
That was one of my favorite cars Olds ever made. And they have made a lot of cars that I’ve liked
I always thought the Aurora looked like a catfish, yet had one of the nicest interiors available.
I loved that first gen Aurora. I think it was the best looking car GM produced since 1980.
I currently own a 2001 Aurora that I bought used in 2007 with 51,000 miles on it. It was my wifes daily driver, she had a parking garage at work so the car stayed nice. In 2017, with over 160,000 miles on it, decided to get the wife a newer car, a 2012 Equinox, and keep my Olds nice. The wife loves her Chevy and I get to keep the Olds looking like new. It's been retired now for 5 years, still looks beautiful and has 174,000 miles on it. We'll take it on some road trips during the year putting about 2,000 miles a year on it.
It's so easy to look at this car forget about it. You kinda have to remember it in all of it glory for it to make sense. The tail lights were amazing when they came out, there was almost nothing like it they way the entire trunk lit up.
The Chrysler concorde had similar rear tail light design but the whole trunk didn't light up. I think Chrysler should've made it light up though
The center panel didn't light up, just the outer clusters in the body. The center panel was just a reflector. Some owners did modify the panel to light up years later using LEDs.
I have a beautiful 1995 Aurora in Lt. Antelope paint/leather and was purchased new. It has 59,000 miles. It is basically a $5,000 car, as that is the limit the collector's car insurance will give me for it. The engine has been out twice for severe oil leaks - very expensive repairs. It is a looker, and as the car becomes rarer, I am getting more comments when I drive it. Actually, I think that the Buick Riviera with the supercharged 3.8 6-cylinder engine would be a wonderful classic car to own too. The seats in the Buick were exceptionally plush. The Olds engine is problematic with leaking heads as the head bolts loosen from the block. An engine out repair that is very expensive. My first Olds was a Cutlass Ciera Holiday Coupe with wire hubcaps and velour seats. It was a nice car too. I miss Olds and my friend's dealership that is now closed. My father worked for GM and I was able to purchase these vehicles through his employee purchase plan. The Aurora used aluminum for the hood and trunk to save weight.
That engine was a smaller version of the Cadillac Northstar engine, and Cadillac had nothing but trouble with it. They made it TOO High-Tech.
@@michaelbenardo5695 Actually, Olds developed the engine technology and Caddy borrowed it. Olds was a 4.0 liter and Caddy had a 4.6 liter version. 10 pounds of poop in a 5 pound bag. So many people were soured on Cadillac because of this bad engine. NorthStar Performance Parts makes a head stud kit to redo the engine if the head bolts pull loose. The head bolts are removed, redrilled, retaped, and head studs are placed. This is a very expensive and permanent repair.
@@brucesheehe6305 So somebody finally figured out that nuts and studs are stronger than bolts, especially fine-thread bolts.
@@michaelbenardo5695 Exactly! Coarse threads taped for the new head studs.
My mom leased a 2001 Aurora with the V6 in 2000 as the very first car she ever bought herself. My dad had just retired, and with my sister and I both in our careers, the 1988 Chrysler New Yorker was put out to pasture.
She absolutely loved that car. When I’d come home to visit,my dad was bitter that I’d rather drive her Aurora than his XJ6. The Aurora just went, it was so comfortable to drive and not as heavy as the Jag and way roomier. When the lease was up, she bought a 2003 Aurora with the V8 and had it until she died.
Last summer, my dad wanted to make room for his new car and asked if I wanted it. I was thrilled, but didn’t know what kind of shape it was in, but thought “hey, she’d want me to have it.” I booked a one way trip, made sure my AAA account was up to date and went home to pick it up Father’s Day weekend 2021. Drove it around that weekend and nearly booked a flight back and had the car shipped, but thought I’d just go for it.
Filled up with gas in Flint, Michigan, and drove it all the way to Beloit, Wisconsin on a single tank of gas without a single hiccup. Even with 113k miles on it, it hauled … . Kept up with Chicago traffic with no issues whatsoever. Even caught a couple of left lane squatters off guard as I passed them.
Got it home to Minnesota and it’s been just a peach (and a garage queen) ever since. I try to take it our once a week or so to stretch its legs, and have made good friends with my local mechanic who loves the car as much as I do. It’s a fun cruiser that still turns heads and gets the older guys chatting a bit.
Love it. I sold mine two years ago. I miss it. It had 220k miles. Hated the electrical gremlins.
I was 14 at the inception of the 1st gen Aurora and fell in love with it, had fresh brochures, and cut out every magazine article and ad on it. At 40, I still love seeing them in the rare times I see one along with the subsequent LSS that had the same wheels. I couldn’t stand its replacement, which seemed to be nothing more than a fancy Intrigue in the late 90s.
Although I loved riding in my grandparents’ Delta 88 & Regency 98 as a youngster, the Aurora - in its innovation & way ahead of its time - will forever be peak Olds for me.
I too was 14 and we have the same exact taste 4sho. Both the 1st gen Aurora and LSS I used to love. I tried to buy and LSS in college but wind up buying a 94 Olds Cutlass loaded with only 64k miles moonroof, 3.4dohc, heads up display etc.
Sure about that? 2022-40+14=1996, not 1994. Probably getting your years mixed up OP.
I owned a ‘99 Aurora, the last year of the first gen body style. I loved that car….quiet, powerful, and really great looks that still (IMHO) look modern today. The only downside were the internal transmission solenoids that always went out on these cars. Repairing costs often exceeded the value of the car after a few years and many ended up in the junkyard far too soon.
My favorite Oldsmobile is definitely the 1970 Oldsmobile 442 with the torquey Olds 455 in it and a Hurst short throw shifter.
I just bought a 1999 with 68k miles on it for my 16 year old daughter. Put new calipers and rotors on all four corners as they were seized and she runs fine. Slight overheating to 215 deg or so on occasion and a gremlin with the corner marker and dash lights but I am working on that. If anyone has some experience with those issues I'd love to connect. AC not working either.
After seeing this video I'm thinking I might keep it for myself! It's quite a barn find by the looks of it and what a comfortable ride she is! She rides about as smooth as my 2021 Tesla Model S!
Many thanks for the video!
How's the car been so far?
I said this before on this channel that I worked for Enterprise from 97-98. The Aurora and Riviera were in our fleet. I really liked them both
I'm surprised that you didn't mention the major engine flaws with the 4.0. Overheating was a huge issue and, yep, any North Star engine, just look up the design flaws. And gm fixed it with, well, by not fixing it ha ha, used aluminum pellets in the cooling system to help seal the leaks. Anyway, that's one of the main issues it had. I personally loved mine and had to replace an engine, then, on the second engine, use the recommended pellets. Too funny. But, it worked. And pretty and damn powerful. Great exhaust too.
In 2004, GM fixed the issue with the head bolts when they changed to a different thread pitch and more threads to grab in the block. Dexcool is what killed a majority of Northstar engines, people just didn't change it enough or flush it out and go green. My 03 Aurora 4.0 currently has 133k miles trouble free, was my mom's car until she passed away last year, and my 04 Deville 4.6 has 241k miles (i bought it almost new in 05 with 2100 miles on it). The trick is to change coolant every 30k miles and they last forever.
I remember being just awestruck by how beautiful this design was when it came out. Still such a shame that Olds was allowed to wither on the vine and die by GM.
No... you should DEFINITELY do the Riviera next!!! Lol those were way different when they came out!
A 1996 in Silver Teal Metallic with Medium Blue leather was my first car. I still have it. There was nothing like Aurora before, and nothing like it since. One of Chuck Jordan's finest designs. The follow-on Antares was a nice car, but not a true Aurora.
I love the mk1 Aurora, one of my favorite GM sedans due to its sleek looks, A80 Supra-like interior, and great features and refinement!
My grandparents in Houston had a 95 Aurora. I thought it looked awesome. It had a powerful and reliable Northstar V8. Fun fact: the Northstar V8 was used in the Cadillac LMP from 2000-2002.
Owned a 96, metallic blue with blue leather interior. 1st gen chassis was way ahead of its time, beautiful car and the interior styling was also beautiful, it looked like something Lexus would design in that era. It drove absolutely wonderfully but the major problem with that car is that all the parts and accessories were unique to that car if I recall, so you better have had deep wallets when even routine repairs needed to be made if you bought the car used.
Really love watching your videos for the commercials I haven’t thought of for decades but then can suddenly recall. Great work as always!
That car really was a sensation when it came out and looked like nothing else from any other carmaker that I'm aware of. But I don't think it was particularly well-engineered or reliable. And, at least for me, I always think a high-end luxury car should be rear-wheel drive. RIP Olds. And Pontiac.
I know brother GM should've never gotten rid of Pontiac, it could've been GM's Mopar and America's BMW.
@@CJColvin GM seems to have better luck with rear-wheel drive cars than front-drive. And bigger, high end cars, for the most part, should be rear-wheel drive. They blew it with Cadillac in the mid-80's by going FWD.
@@arevee9429 Exactly mate, they should've kept the V8 powered rear wheel drive muscle cars for enthusiasts to have (just like they did back in the 50s, 60s, and early 70s) instead of killing off the cool V8 rear drive cars (like the Elcamino) for this stupid front wheel drive crap.
Great memories, thanks for filling my request for an Aurora video. Well done as usual!
I owned one of the 1st gen Auroras and loved it. I bought it used...the depreciation was close to $1 per mile from the first owner! It was a stylish car with good space utilization. Great highway car.
Buick and Oldsmobile were my favorite brands, grow up being GM lover the first generation Aurora was nice it was really a beautiful car. Still remember when was 9 years old saw a Purple one in junkyard this was in late 1998 always thought what was wrong with it the car was leaning on the left side like was wrecked every time passed by the area always bothered me because loved myself a Oldsmobile Aurora. The Riviera and Aurora were some good looking cars, first generation looked like a car of today, not too long ago saw a gold one that looked in good shape actually seen three two gold ones and one purple all looked mint. I miss Buick cars and Olds brand also saw a (gold Delta 88) that was mint, Oldsmobile made some nice cars throughout the years.
Think the reason Oldsmobiles didn't do so well in the 1980's & 1990's was because they probably made some poor choices on how to get the Customer's attention or what cars that they wanted since the imports like Lexus or Mercedes Benz and many other import brands were very popular at the time and still are today.
Olds was the best selling car in the world in the 80s. They lost their way in the 90s, dropping the 88 and 98 and replacing them with compacts that in no way were real Oldsmobiles.
@@michaelbenardo5695 If you looked at the imports like Toyota or Honda they were popular in the 1980's and got even more bigger as a best sellers in the 1990's & 2000's and if GM did some better research in marketing or found out what the buyer wanted they would avoid the recession in 2008 and by then Olds was already gone due to GM making bad choices when it came to competing against imports like Toyota or Honda.
@@nathancook1404 They DID research what motorists wanted, but by the time new economy models were ready, the market went back to big cars. Plus, no matter what Detroit does, no matter how good the cars are, Japanese car buyers are not going to buy it, and because it is not like American cars are supposed to be, ie nice, big, roomy, comfortable, quiet, smooth-riding - American-car buyers are not going to buy it. Detroit should have just continued making traditional American cars and accepted the fact that sales are not going to be as high as they used to be. Better to sell a smaller number of cars than it is to make cars without a market and not sell any at all.
I have never worked out if brands that become fixated in the younger buyer start to act in a way that pushes away their established business rather than the established business actually ebbing away as is often stated - sort of which comes first - after all the older generation is always there and is in fact expanding - while maybe we reach a point where we wish to have a vehicle designed for comfort rather than outright sportiness. In the UK we have seen a few brands struggle as they sort a different market and seemed to treat their legacy customer base as an embarrassment, perhaps they should have embraced it more?
TRUTH! They don't seem to realize that when they try to become a different kind of company, they run the huge risk of producing a car without a market, ie, nobody who wants a Japanese car will buy one with an American nameplate on it that was manufactured by Detroit. They want a REAL one, and nobody who loves American cars will buy one that is "Just like a Japanese car".
Exactly. And deleting the Oldsmobile badge (just as Buick is doing right now) from these cars actually comes across as being ashamed of your own brand. I would have respected Olds more if they had taken pride in the long history of innovation and uniqueness that defined the brand for decades.
Man I love your videos. I always tell my son about all these old cars I remember seeing as a kid his age and we often watch your channel together. You're helping create some new great memories man. Keep it up!
The first gen Aurora was a legitimately excellent car (I had two - a 95, and a 99); never had a single issue with either - and they were built like tanks. They went to great lengths to give it that “Mercedes” like tuned structure, that was nothing like most American cars of the time: no creaks, very little structural flex, no longitudinal shudder over potholes. This is no big deal today, because most unibody vehicles have very rigid and nvh tuned structures, but in 1994, outside of the Mercedes E class, BMW 7, the Lexus LS400 and the Infiniti Q45, most large sedans tended to feel comparatively sloppy. The ones that didn’t, cost a lot more money than the Aurora. My fathers W126 S-class (granted, a much older platform) felt floppy in comparison to my Aurora.
Sadly, GM was heading into the Ron Zarrella “brand-management” era (where he paradoxically proceeded to break GM’s brand and product management process in the name of brand and product management process). GM NA, under Zarrella and Wagner, had no idea how to position the Aurora or Oldsmobile. Reality is Oldsmobile and Pontiac were already redundant by 1994, and the Aurora should have been the start of a complete brand replacement and merger of both dealer networks.
The mini-Aurora lookalikes (Intrigue, Alero) were comparatively crap and not worthy of the Aurora’s “tube” design language; and the second-gen Aurora was a downgrade in virtually every sense. Gone was the vault-like feel, replaced with standard (for the time) GM build quality, with awful panel gap alignment problems. The interior kept the real wood, and textures were better than most GM, but the door panels felt hollow and the digital DIC had problems with its matrix display (in both examples I drove). It felt cheapened, wasn’t as planted, and completely lacked the dramatic design of its predecessor.
In the end, the Aurora is an example of an ambitious, well-thought-out product, that was the right car at the right time, but at the wrong company. Proof of what GM’s designers and engineers could do, but what moribund management was unable to capitalize on.
I heard someone say of Oldsmobile, “It’s not my grandfather’s bucket of bolts “! 🤣
I rented a 1997 Aurora for business and thought it drove great. More Germanic than American and very solid. At the time, I had a 1994 Mercedes E420 and believed General Motors had made a competitive car with the Europeans. Of course GM had to change the style of the original and made it look more generic.
I think some of the Aurora's down fall had a bunch to do with its engine being related to the Northstar V8.. which by this time had well known leaks. and overheating troubles..I always thought that engine had so much potential to be great if GM could have only figured it out.. any of the Northstar engines would make a great start for a hot rod.
By 95' ? The Northstar had only been out for a few years. At that time it was considered a marvel and even won awards. Just sayin.
Gms cover up on failing head studs I think led to the northstars/aurora demise. It's really too bad I think this engine had great potential. Shame on gm for not properly fixing the problem.
Awards?? from which paid endorsement.. I question that. As per the other comment.
My grandma had a 2001 model that was supposed to be my first car. I loved that thing to death. And then after my grandma passed away we tried to get the Aurora started and brought back to my parents house but the oil went bad in it (which we didn’t know) and then we started it up only for the engine to seize up on us. Still mad about that to this day.
That's a shame. Your grandma may have never had the oil changed, causing the oil pump screen to get plugged up, starving the internals for oil.
One of my female guests use to drive one of the first generation Aurora’s and that car left a huge impression on her. She always referred to it as her missile. (In a good way)
I had a customer, a rather wealthy older gal, who bought the Aurora from my dealership because she thought it was a Jaguar! I was always there for her when I saw her driving around. Any questions about the switches and gadgets I was always glad to help. Service after the Sale!
The design was ahead of its time for GM in general. Maybe if their entire line up kept up with the Aurora, it could of done better as a different brand (Chevy, Cadillac, or maybe a top trim Pontiac)
I've always thought Aurora and Intrigue and Alero should have been given to Chevy, instead of the awful Lumina and other Chevies of the time.
I really like the styling of the aurora right up till the end.Would love to drive one. I am an olds guy for sure. I own 3 Cutlass Supremes 1985-1988 and the 1988 Cutlass Supreme is called a classic and is titled as such.This car is dear to my heart as it was my dads car which I inherited.Further more I worked at G-Car assy where these cars were made right up to the closing of the plant.These olds were classy, sporty altogether.Little did I realize that when I walked out of the doors of that plant in December 1987 that I had become part of that history and own some of it today!
I don't know why but you putting in the commercial for Manscaped, talking about Oldsmobile being for old people plus Christopher Plummer is pure comedy gold! Thank you, the laughter is providing me with a lot of pain relief for my head.
Nice to see you got sponsors! I love the content, keep up the amazing videos!
How can you honestly sound so serious during that ad read?!?! The editing is hilarious! 🤣😂😅
My first car was an '01 Oldsmobile Aurora V6 in the iconic tan color. Purchased it in 2007 after saving for two years and man did I love that car. I've always been a sucker for big American sedans so I really was happy with the purchase. I was 22 years old and didn't take care of the car as I should have. Coolant leaks were very common for me (I would buy a big jug of coolant and have it in the trunk just in case) and I busted the wheel bearings pretty badly but it was such a pleasure to drive. Pretty sure I was the only 22-year-old in college driving one of those things at the time. Thanks for showcasing this vehicle.
Thanks for not having all the constant "pop" sounds in the intro, really appreciate that and you always do really good work.
I remember being in my teens when I saw this and the Antares concept car. I really wanted the Antares and always thought that had become the Intrigue. The Aurora was such a stunning car.
I have a black 97 Aurora in the garage with 56 thousand original miles it’s real good on gasoline on the highway smooth and quiet ride it’s what I drive to Las Vegas
I loved the Aurora and thought it was a tremendous effort by GM. It drove at least a class above its price and seemed like it wasn't a GM product - clean, well engineered, well built, gimmick free, etc. What really killed Olds was that every other vehicle its lineup was a clone of other GM offerings, which were rather mediocre. It never ceased to amaze me how differently the Americans and the foreigners did business. The American model seemed to be build a lot of mediocre cars and one incredible halo car to bring them into the showroom. The Japanese built great cars and their halo cars seemed to fall flat. All one had to do is simply open and close the door on any mainstream domestic product vs any Japanese product. Flip the turn signal stalk, etc. Granted the Americans have made tremendous strides in quality and workmanship to where we are on par with the best in the world but look at the carnage along the way. Please spare me if your domestic x made it to y miles. Just idle a Cavalier or Shadow or x next to a multivalve Civic, Corolla, Sentra, or...
There's my Legend at 5:03! Great video - I always enjoy your attention to detail!
The 2nd gen Aurora was similar enough to the Buick LeSabre and Pontiac Bonneville that IIHS applied the LeSabre crash test results to all three of those cars. When it comes to GM, their badge engineered models mostly look far different from each other.
Ahh man the 2nd gen Acura Legend Coupe was and still is a BEAUTIFUL car. It was my dream car growing up and I got one when I turned 17 with the Type 2 engine and a 6 speed manual. The back quarter windows even rolled down. Man I miss that car, would love to see you do an episode on both generations of the Legend
You made my Saturday. Thanks!
Great Video Patrick as usual ! What an awesome looking car the first Gen was !
Yet again another great video always look forward to seeing a release from your Channel.
Would love to see an episode on the Honda CRX
The Aurora replaced the toronado as olds' luxury sports car.. but was only available as a sedan and didn't even have half of the luxury features that the toroando did. Wow gm, great job you did there
They tried to appeal to the lovers of foreign cars, which were not very luxurious in the American sense. Bad decision.
This was the first time I didn't slip through the paid advert portion of the video and it was funny I liked the way you did it and great video as always keep up the good work.
Do a video on the 1998 turbo charged eagle talon tsi? I had one it was awesome
ua-cam.com/video/2x2APopLuEw/v-deo.html
I really liked the look of the Aurora,made me think about another Oldsmobile,the Aerocoupe that had the same engine but radically different styling.
I can remember moving to florida as a child, my first friend was a cuban kid whose mother drove one of these. They were so proud of this car.
My aunt had a first and second gen and loved them. My family were suckers for Oldsmobile's since we're from Lansing, MI, the birthplace of the company.
The model year hack in 2000 was a huge deal when appraising these things back in the day. Somehow they got away with essentially selling 2001 models for 2 years, starting in early 2000. So you had to look at the build date, because in say 2003, a "2001" Aurora could be either 2 or 3 years old... a big difference in value. It was totally bizarre and I still don't understand how it happened.
Did a month long road trip worthy of Hunter s. Thomson in a 2gen 3.5. Excellent car. You just drive it and not worry about the mechanical bit. Not a hitch the whole time.
I had the autobahn edition. Loved it. I modded her a little. 147mph and a 0-60 of 6.7 seconds was amazing for such a big car.
In 2020, I bought a used ‘99 Aurora that had 88k, champagne with beige leather interior. While I found the cockpit interior really cool, the plastics used reminded me of the overblown switches and plastics found in Pontiacs at the time. They always seemed to sound and feel as though they were about to break. Also, the driver’s leather seat cushion was totally flattened out and was a sea of creases. Leaks were prevalent throughout the engine. I will give it credit for being a comfortable ride and I always felt safe driving it.
My dream Oldsmobile. They should've kept making this beauty.
Well presented!👍
My parents bought both generations of Auroras, primarily because Aurora is my mom’s name. In terms of comfort, quality and features it was pretty top notch. And its V8 was used in the Shelby Series 1 roadster.
I remember seeing one of these cars in a parking lot and I thought “what is that thing?” Because the grill that wasn’t there and the rear end I thought was so ugly looking for my taste. Also keep the videos coming! 😎
I lusted after the Aurora and Riviera back in the day. I did test drive a used Aurora in 2002 but decided against purchase as there was a lot of rust on the underbody. Nice and unique car, though.
I saw one at a park about a years ago, and it's sleek! Probably one of the best Oldsmobiles out there.
Great work Sir thank you
Ill be patiently waiting on that Riviera episode, im in love with mine so far
I have an 02 Aurora fully loaded with the navigation
And also have a 1998 Oldsmobile Intrigue with the 3800 and 290k still going strong
My economics teacher in high school said he bought one new in 1997 when he graduated high school and it’s still to this day the best car he ever owned
I love this channel so much
First generation aurora was sweet! I love mine. Most all electrical issues were thin wiring through the door jamb. Fuel pressure regulator was another common issue and an easy fix.
Good content, I remember the nonfunctional Aurora prototype. I've heard various stories about infighting among various Olds departments, finance, marketing, engineering, etc. lending to Olds demise. Great handling highway cruiser. Hope to have found a low mileage one for my kids. Simply safe vehicle.
Love them, always wanted one, still do. Great video.
After now owning a 1990 model 88, i sure do wish they still made Oldsmobile.
A friend of mine had one of these in high school. Loved riding around in it, this video brought back memories :D
Do the 1994-1997 Mazda 626 next please! That was my first car!
My first car-payment car was a 96 in the deep green that I loved with a tan interior. I was only 20 and didn't want a car everyone else had and this thing could move and rode so smooth. Road trips, concerts, commuting in it were awesome. Foolish purchase though, because as someone else has said, I wasnt in a high maintenance mindset - or budget. I moved in with a girl, was in college and had a full time 3rd shift job...there wasn't alot left in the budget. I smiled everytime I got in it. Unfortunately, breaking down on the interstate in Virginia and past the warranty, I had to shell out big bucks to tow it back to Binghamton, NY. Once there, I couldnt find anyone to work on it, once I did it was a $950 bill and 2 weeks in the shop. You had to remove a wheel just to service the battery. It was an awesome car but a stupid purchase and I had to get out of it months later because it was burying me little by little. I wish I had the means to keep it. It was a really unique car and loaded with features...if I ever find another well maintained one I'd buy it in a heartbeat...but they're always wrecked or driven by cracky people anymore.
The battery was under the rear seat. No wheel to remove for servicing. Hey, today's Jeep Grand Cherokee has the battery bolted below the right front passenger seat!
Batteries are under the back seat, not in the wheel wells, and are you sure you're not confusing the Aurora with a Chrysler product? You know, since us "cracky" people only drive Auroras....
Yes I was scratching my head on that comment remove wheels to service battery WTF🤦🤦🤦🤦🤷🤷🤷🤷. It's clearly underneath the back seat.