In 1949, some bright engineer at Oldsmobile dropped the new Kettering overhead valve V-8 into the small, model 76 body and created the first ever Muscle Car". The Kettering power plant was originally intended to be used only in the top-of-the-line Oldsmobile 98, but the idea of a powerful engine in a small, light body was appealing to those in the executive suites in Detroit.
Dubbed the "Rocket 88" by Olds, the car was immediately popular with recently returned WW II veterans who wanted to "rocket" down the highway in a V-8 powered coupe, two-door or four-door sedan or convertible. The light, powerful car was also a hit with stock car racers, too. Olds 88s dominated NASCAR racing for a number of years, until overtaken by low-slung, powerful Hudson Hornets.
A two-door... View more hardtop, a coupe minus the "B" pillar, was introduced in 1950 and in 1951 the Super 88 designation was given to a more luxuriously trimmed 88. The "Super" designation also indicated a large four-barrel carburetor was installed on the engine, adding fifteen horsepower.
A 1953 Olds Super 88 was the fastest USA production car, being driven by race driver, Bill Vukovich, at Daytona Beach to a two-way run of 112+ miles per hour, an amazing speed for the time.
A four-door hardtop was added to the line in 1954. Oldsmobile was becoming the flagship brand for General Motors, combining high performance with sportiness and luxury. The numerical moniker was changed to "Eighty-Eight" as Olds went upscale. The 98, or Ninety-Eight, had always been the top of the line model, but the difference was blurring in the Sixties.
A true, high-performance muscle car was added to the line in the Seventies and this "442" knocked the Eighty-Eight from its pinnacle as the performance model of the Oldsmobile line. The Eighty-Eight soldiered on in various iterations until General Motors closed the Oldsmobile Division in January 1999.
To young people growing up in the United States in the forties and fifties, the Oldsmobile 88 was the ultimate in "cool" rides. The hardtop and convertible models were sporty, and the engines were powerful. Songs were written about "Rocket 88s" and the car was popular with anyone not so staid as to drive a Buick or Cadillac.
Then there was the image created by NASCAR racing actual production cars with Olds 88s as the ones to beat. "Race on Sunday, Sell on Monday", became the buzz-word at General Motors' Oldsmobile Division. It was the end of an era, much of it great, on that January day in 1999. View less
