Olds Futuramic 98 and Pointy Car Showrooms

Panama City had not one but two pointy car dealerships. There was Studebaker at the point of Fourth Street and Oak Avenue and there was Harrison Oldsmobile at the pointy intersection of Fifth Street and W. Beach Drive, in one direction across from the Paul Brent Gallery and in another direction across from the new Paul W. Airey American Legion Post. 

The showroom was at the end of the point, windows all round. That was long years before the point was cut off and palm trees added and the building restyled into a castle with its very own turret, who knows where the trendy turrets came from, no offense.

Oldsmobile, named after Ransom E. Olds (also of Reo automobile fame) was produced from 1897 to 2004 and was a prime General Motors brand for many years. It was one of America’s oldest makes -- along with Studebaker, Packard, Ford -- automobiles whose history dated back to the end of the nineteenth century. 

1898 Olds electric car.

1901 Curved Dash Oldsmobile, that may be R. E. Olds at the tiller (no steering wheel), not sure though.

And a 1911 Oldsmobile Limited touring car.

Olds was in the middle of the GM pack: Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, Cadillac.

In those days each GM car was different not only in style but significantly under the hood. Chevrolet has its OHV straight six, Pontiac had flat head sixes and eights, as did Olds with their own line, Buick was the OHV straight eight, and Cadillac had a flat head V8. For 1949 Cadillac changed to OHV V8 and Olds changed from the flat head straight eight in the 98 series to an OHV V8 also. Buick didn’t change to OHV V8 until the 1953 model year, and Chevy and Pontiac didn’t add a V8 until the 1955 model year.

The Olds Super 88 was a hot car, and our Bay High band director Orin Whitley drove one of the first Olds Rocket 88 sedans in town.

GM cars had distinctive transmissions too, with Chevy’s Powerglide and Buick’s Dynaflow. The GM Hydramatic transmission lived in the Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Cadillac. 

It was significant, too, that the 1948 Olds 98 and the 1948 Cadillac got basically identical brand new post-war body styles, which Olds called the “Oldsmobile Futuramic 98.” 

Buick was left in the wings and didn’t get the new body until the 1949 model year. This isn’t car trivia, these are important facts that for some reason weren’t on the History final; but they’re stored away in my head in case St. Peter asks questions at the Pearly Gates.

Linda and I owned two Oldsmobiles at the same time, a 1971 Cutlass Supreme two door hardtop and a 1973 Custom Cruiser station wagon. Car shopping in Columbus, Ohio at the end of 1972, I had wanted a Buick station wagon; but the Buick wagons were finished plainly as the bottom line LeSabre while the Oldsmobile wagons were finished elegantly as the top of the line Olds 98, so I ordered the Olds. 

It was an enormous car in terms of huge and tremendous in terms of wonderful. We drove it nearly a dozen years and in 1984 donated it to the Goodwill store in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on moving to Apalachicola, F-L-A. 

Oldsmobiles were great cars with an unmatchable pedigree. 

The photo was right after church yesterday, T.S. Lee hovering threateningly overhead. 

Tom