Oldsmobile Aurora (1st gen) Catalog

[Variance]

http://storm.tocmp.com/oldsmobileaurora.htm

[Northstar]

The first thing that made me think of was the new Infiniti ads where they just have a couple lines of the car, interesting.

[VenSeattle]

It really was a ground breaking vehicle. It's amazing how poor market positioning and bad advertising can ruin a wonderful product.

The 1st gen Aurora was the car that made me look at GM again. I grew up in Buicks but I didn't have a preference. I had the Aurora as a rental for 3 weeks while my car was getting repaired from an accident. I became amazingly impressed. After reconsidering GM, I began listening to my mother's opinion on her Park Avenues and checked them out. In the end, Buick's formality and history won me over compared to Oldsmobile's sporty intentions.

I'll never forget the Aurora though.

[red]

The Aurora was a great design...really revolutionary for its time. I'm not sure why it failed, as I've never driven one nor do I remember the ads. Sad GM could not follow up this design properly...

[Flybrian]

I guess you know what I have to say about this certain vehicle. :) Only about 100,000 Classic Auroras built from 1995-1999 model years. Simply the very best in design, powertrain, and technology GM had to offer in the mid-90s. Truly a special automobile.

[VenSeattle]

I'm not sure why it failed

[post="39537"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

This ad is a perfect example to why the Aurora/new Oldsmobile failed to catch on.

By reading this ad, do you know:
1) What brand makes the Aurora?
2) What Company makes the Aurora?
3) Where to find the Aurora to test drive or even purchase?

Remember, this is 1994/1995; before the PC and internet had really caught on in the average American household. Google didn't exist. MSN didn't exist. AOL only had around 1 million customers. Even if you saw an Aurora in the parking lot at a mall, you wouldn't see the name Oldsmobile, GM, or the familiar rocket logo on the car.

So, how did you find an Aurora dealership? By luck or not at all. :( :angry: :rolleyes:

The brochure has Oldsmobile in some places through it... but Aurora advertising, in general, did not mention Oldsmobile or GM because of "negative" association.

[Delta Force79]

This ad is a perfect example to why the Aurora/new Oldsmobile failed to catch on.

By reading this ad, do you know:
1) What brand makes the Aurora?
2) What Company makes the Aurora?
3) Where to find the Aurora to test drive or even purchase?

Remember, this is 1994/1995; before the PC and internet had really caught on in the average American household. Google didn't exist. MSN didn't exist. AOL only had around 1 million customers. Even if you saw an Aurora in the parking lot at a mall, you wouldn't see the name Oldsmobile, GM, or the familiar rocket logo on the car.

So, how did you find an Aurora dealership? By luck or not at all.  :(  :angry:  :rolleyes:

The brochure has Oldsmobile in some places through it... but Aurora advertising, in general, did not mention Oldsmobile or GM because of "negative" association.

[post="39620"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Agreed...it saddens me, after all the work they put into the Aurora, I would wear my name with pride AURORA by OLDSMOBILE

[Croc]

When Olds was phased out, the Aurora should have just been sold at Buick dealerships. That car died prematurely.

[z28luvr01]

Agreed. It would have made a fine PA replacement and could have soldiered on for a coupe of more years until the Lucerne was ready. They went through all that trouble to save the Bravada and convert it to the Rainier, and gave the Alero doors to the Grand Am...why not save a far superior automobile?

[Croc]

The Grand AM doors were the same as the Alero's all along, GM just decontented the plastic cladding. Honestly, I think the Bravada turned into the SAAB 9-7X more than Rainier. The Bravada's face is much more similar to the SAAB's than the Buick's. Buick got the Bravada's interior though. Park Avenue replacement? Nah...too small. Aurora would have just been "Aurora" and sold next to a mechanically identical LeSabre. Buick of all divisions could get away with it, look at Regal and Century. At least Aurora and LeSabre looked different.

[Paolino]

The Grand AM doors were the same as the Alero's all along, GM just decontented the plastic cladding.  Honestly, I think the Bravada turned into the SAAB 9-7X more than Rainier.  The Bravada's face is much more similar to the SAAB's than the Buick's.  Buick got the Bravada's interior though.

Park Avenue replacement?  Nah...too small.  Aurora would have just been "Aurora" and sold next to a mechanically identical LeSabre.  Buick of all divisions could get away with it, look at Regal and Century.  At least Aurora and LeSabre looked different.

[post="39817"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Well, Aurora offered an 8... it would have been nice if any Buick sedans offered an 8 in the past several years.

Then again, that is now going to be a moot point! :)

[mrmonte]

I hate to say this and I really like these cars great looking lots of nice features. But I know of two people that bought them new owned them for a period of time and both were so trouble prone and expensive to fix that it wasnt worth it and one guy still has his but it dosent run well most of the time and is unreliable and now a station car the other is long gone replaced by a Caddy. You can buy these real cheap though if you want to deal with them. To bad nice car.

[PurdueGuy]

This is the same thing I have heard. In fact, I'm currently wandering around this website looking to learn more about the 1st gen Aurora & reliability issues. They're beautiful wonderful cars, but I've heard so much of problems with them. My best friend's aunt had one and had to take it in to the dealer for MAJOR repairs seven times during the warranty period.