Oldsmobile 98By the beginning of the 1950s the Oldsmobile 98 was already well established. Save for a three-year period, when the American car manufacturers concentrated on war work, the car had been produced throughout the 1940s. In 1949 the Oldsmobile 98 was fitted with the Rocket V8 engine capable of producing 135 hp. Entering the 50s the range included two-door coupes, two-door hardtops, four-door sedans and two-door convertibles. The engine for this second generation of 98s was a 5l V8. By the middle of the decade the 98 had been given a facelift. The body was given a new two-tone-colouring scheme and during 1955 a hardtop sedan was added to the range. The range was also given panoramic wraparound windscreens, and the wheelbase was extended from 122 to 126 inches. And more power was added with the introduction of the 5.3l V8.
Photo by Brett Weinstein and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. During 1957 the Oldsmobile Starfire was added to the 98 range, but was dropped the following year to re-emerge as a model in its own right in 1961. The engines powering the 98s became even more powerful, with 6.01 and 6.5l versions joining the 5.3l. By the end of the decade the 98 had become Oldsmobile’s flagship. The wheelbase had been expanded to fractionally over 123 inches. The range included extras such as power steering, electric clock and Jetaway Hydra-Matic transmission system. Related Articles
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