Oakland Four

The Oakland Model A was the first four-cylinder engine offered by the Oakland Motor Company in 1907 which became a division of General Motors in 1909. The Model A was developed and manufactured from former Oakland Motor Company sources while the engine was provided by Northway Motor and Manufacturing Division of GM of Detroit. The Model A was available in several body styles and prices ranged from US$1,300 ($ in dollars ) to US$2,150 ($ in dollars ). Once Oakland became a division of GM, Oldsmobile and Buick shared bodywork and chassis of their four-cylinder models with Oakland. Manufacture of the Oakland was completed in Pontiac, Michigan. Oakland (Pontiac) wouldn't use another 4-cylinder engine until 1961 with the Pontiac Trophy 4 engine.

History

The following year the Model A was renamed the Model 40 with a wheelbase while the coachwork choices remained, and by 1910 the four-cylinder was installed in two different body styles with a choice of four different wheelbases with individual model names. The Model 24 roadster has a wheelbase while the longer Model M roadster has a wheelbase. The Touring Sedan came as Model 25 with a 100" wheelbase, the Model K had a 102" and the Model 33 with a 106" wheelbase.

For model years 1912 the choice of wheelbases offered were reduced to three and the naming conventions were standardized. The Model 30 used a 96" and was roadster or touring sedan. The Model 40 added a closed body coupe using a 112" and the Model 45 used 120" and offered only a four or seven passenger touring sedan or closed body limousine. Prices for the limousine were listed at US$3,000 ($ in dollars ) which placed it as a competitor with Oldsmobile and Cadillac of the same year.

Model year 1913 saw a fourth choice wheelbase added. The choices were the Model 35 with a 112", the Model 42 with a 116", the Model 45 with a 120" and the Model 40 with a 214". The Model 45 Limousine was still listed at US$3,000 while the longest wheelbase was the Model 40 and was a touring sedan only.

1914 saw an elimination of a wheelbase choice with the Model 43 using a 116" and two closed body choices of a coupe or sedan or a touring sedan, the Model 35 and Model 36 both using a 112" and coachwork choices of roadster, cabriolet or touring sedan.

The last year a four-cylinder engine was offered was for 1915 and 1916 using a 112" wheelbase as the company switched to a straight-six, while the first Oakland V8 was offered in 1915, sourced from the Northway Engine Division of GM. As Oakland began to positioned as the entry-level GM product, prices for the Model 37 and Model 38 using a 112" wheelbase were documented at US$1,050 ($ in dollars ) and offered a choice of touring sedan, roadster or speedster for the same price.

File:Oakland Model 24 1910 Runabout LFront Lake Mirror Cassic 16Oct2010 (14874740644).jpg, 1910 Oakland Model 24 roadster
File:Oakland model 25 sportstourer 1910.jpg, 1910 Oakland Model 25 touring sedan
File:1915 Oakland Model 37 Speedster 3.0 Front.jpg, 1915 Oakland Model 37 speedster

References

See also

*Buick Model 10
*Cadillac Model Thirty
*Oldsmobile Series 22

1900s cars
First car made by manufacturer

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Brass Era vehicles
1910s cars