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| Curved Dash Runnabout Oldsmobile 1904 |
As
you can see, Henry Ford wasn’t the only innovator of the manufacture of cars in
the early 19th Century. He just happened to be one of the most well-known and touted.
Ransom Eli Olds
I
got a bit acquainted with Ransom Eli Olds (1864-1950), American inventor
 |
| Ransom Eli Olds |
This
car was the first commercially successful American-made automobile. It was also
the first to use a progressive assembly system and foreshadowed modern
mass-production methods.
The
original Oldsmobiles appeared in 1901 in Lansing, Michigan and the early models
reached their peak of sales in 1904 with 5,000 owners. Later, he also developed
the REO brand of cars.
When
his cars steadily lost ground to competitors, after 1915 Mr. Olds turned most
of his attention from the automobile business to activities such as marketing a
lawn mower he invented and land speculation in Florida. An all-around talented
man, as are most inventors and innovators.
My Merry Oldsmobile
 |
| "Come away with me, Lucille, in my merry Oldsmobile" |
“Come
away with me, Lucille, in my merry Oldsmobile,” were lyrics to a popular waltz song
(1905) with music by Gus Edwards and lyrics by Vincent Bryan. Wikipedia states
the song’s chorus “is one of the most enduring automobile-oriented songs.”
The song was often used in older cartoons, especially in a car scene. The song has been played on Main Street USA at Disneyland. Bill Murray revived the old song for a "follow the bouncing ball" cartoon in the 1930s.
Some of the verses were slightly suggestive by standards at the time. General Motors altered the lyrics and used the song as a marketing jingle for several decades. I'm sure R.E. Olds appreciated all of these marketing ploys.
Some of the verses were slightly suggestive by standards at the time. General Motors altered the lyrics and used the song as a marketing jingle for several decades. I'm sure R.E. Olds appreciated all of these marketing ploys.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What was the oldest
Oldsmobile you’ve ever ridden or driven? Was there a particular memory attached to this event? What did you like most or dislike
about this car brand? Did you figure out how Mr. Olds came up with the naming of the REO models?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About Author & Giveaway Offer…
 |
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I never had an Oldsmobile, nor did my parents, but my mother in law has a 1990s-era model she loves.
ReplyDeleteRebecca: Your m-i-l could do a commercial! :-)
DeleteI would assume that REO is because that is his initials!
ReplyDeleteI really don't remember having/driving Oldsmobiles growing up, always FORD or something foreign as I remember.
pattymh2000(at)yahoo(dot)com
Patty: "FORD or something foreign" seems an anomaly! :-)
DeleteInteresting article! I don't believe we ever owned an Oldsmobile, so I have no memories of them.
ReplyDeleteWe never have either. Please leave your email to be entered in the giveaway drawing...and thanks!
DeleteVery interesting. I knew there were others than Ford that invented vehicles, but did not realize there were so many. I don't recall every riding in an Oldsmobile at least I have no memory of such.
ReplyDeletebettimace at gmail dot com
Betti: Oh, boy, howdy. There sure were a lot of different car models. Not all of them survived, but still a huge number that did!
DeleteLove that song and love the car. We've had several Oldsmobiles through the years. I loved them and am sorry they quit making them. We had a Cutlass and three 88's. When we were young marrieds in 1964 with 2 boys under the age of 4, my mother-in-law was very ill at Christmas. My dad didn't want us to drive our little economy Ford Falcon from Houston to Arkansas with our boys, so he loaned us his big new Oldsmoblie 98 Sedan. It was blue and white and drove like a dream. I was forever grateful to him for helping us make that last trip. My mother-in-law passed away the day after we came back to Houston.
ReplyDeleteMartha: Thanks so much for sharing your memory. You certainly take the experience prize so far with actual knowledge of driving & owning an Olds!
DeleteWhen we had to trade in our last Olds, they were no longer made, so we got a Cadillac. Now we have Toyota because our son works for Southwest Toyota Distributors.
DeleteMy grandfather (dad's dad) always had Oldsmobiles, and my parents had them until they were no longer made. The oldest one I rode in was a 1928 sedan that my dad purchased when he collected antique cars when I was growing up. He wanted this particular year because that was the car his family had when he was born. It was one of his old cars that actually fit our family of 5, so my brothers and I had more room and we didn't squabble so much.
ReplyDeletelindajhutchins@gmail.com
Linda: Fascinating. Thanks so much for sharing your family experience with these cars!
DeleteI bet it's sure to be a great book!
ReplyDeletesusanlulu@yahoo.com
Thanks!
DeleteI don't know that I ever rode in an Olds. We're Chevy folks.
ReplyDeleteVickie: So are we! :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you for your interesting post! We went from being Ford folks to Chevy.
ReplyDeleteMelanie: I'll bet there's a story about why...
DeleteI rode in some Olds in the 50s and 60's Don't remember much about them tho. Would love to win Janet's new book. I owned a yellow and black Hudson in the 70s. Sure loved the looks of that car and it got a lot of likes.. I loved the old Model T also. Thanks for this giveaway. > mac262(at)me(dot)com <
ReplyDeleteA yellow and black Hudson! Wow, there's an oldie but goodie!
DeleteI have no memories of Oldsmobiles. Seems my dad was a Chevy man, or whatever was cheap that he could find. Thanks for the giveaway. bcrug(at)myfairpoint(dot)net
ReplyDeleteHey, everyone: Will announce a winner of the giveaway either late this evening or tomorrow morning ... thanks so much for all your comments! Still time for more ....
DeleteCongratulations to SusanLulu: You were drawn to be the winner to receive my novel, Wind In The Wires!
ReplyDelete