The

Oldsmobile Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produ ...

L-Series, or the Oldsmobile 8, was built from the 1932 through 1938. Oldsmobile hadn't offered a full-sized luxury flagship since the cancellation of the

Oldsmobile Light Eight The Oldsmobile Light Eight was an automobile produced by the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors in roadster, two-door coupe, four-door sedan from between 1916 and 1923. It was powered by a sidevalve V8 engine, the maker's first, and shar ...

in 1923, and the

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

upscale companion brand to Oldsmobile didn't sell very well, being cancelled after two years. The 1933 model introduced a completely new body style influenced by the "streamlined" appearance, and it was shared with all GM brands due to GM's Art and Color Studio headed by

Harley Earl Harley Jarvis Earl (November 22, 1893 – April 10, 1969) was an American automotive designer and business executive. He was the initial designated head of design at General Motors, later becoming vice president, the first top executive ever ...

. The appearance showed influences of Chrysler and

Lincoln-Zephyr The Lincoln-Zephyr is a line of luxury cars that was produced by the Lincoln division of Ford from 1936 until 1942. Bridging the gap between the Ford V8 DeLuxe and the Lincoln Model K (in both size and price), it expanded Lincoln to a second ...

vehicles, and all Oldsmobiles were manufactured in

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, making ...

. Due to the popularity of the Oldsmobile F-Series, Oldsmobile recognized an opportunity to sell a similar sized alternative to the

Buick Super The Buick Super is a full-sized automobile produced by Buick from 1940 through the 1958 model years, with a brief hiatus from 1943 through 1945. The first generation shared the longer wheelbase with the top level Roadmaster while offering the sma ...

, the

Cadillac Series 355 The Cadillac V8 Series 355 was manufactured by Cadillac from 1931 until 1935. They were V8-cylinder cars, sold in several models: a 2-door coupe, club coupe, a 2-door convertible (car), convertible, 4-door convertible (car), convertible, a 4-door ...

, and the "junior" companion brand LaSalle a platform the L-Series shared on the

GM C platform The C Platform, or C-body, name has been used twice by General Motors for its full-size car platform. * 1925-1984 GM C platform (RWD) * 1985-1996 GM C platform (FWD) The C-body was used for the Pontiac Series 24/29 Torpedo, Oldsmobile 90, th ...

. It was replaced by the Oldsmobile Series 90 introduced in 1938, and it was exported to Japan as a knock down kit and assembled at Osaka Assembly in

Osaka, Japan is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third most populous city in Ja ...

L-32 through L-38

The L-Series was equipped with a side-valve, in-line eight-cylinder engine developing 87 bhp. This generation had a wheelbase of and was offered as a closed body sedan, coupe and convertible. All four wheels now offered as standard equipment hydraulic drum brakes, and in 1933 wooden spoked wheels were permanently discontinued with pressed steel discs instead. With the modern appearance of streamlined gaining widely accepted public approval, all bodystyles across GM's vehicles adopted the appearance, with an overall length of . The retail price listed for a 1938 L-38 4-door Trunked Sedan was US$1,107 ($ in dollars ). 1933 was the first year all GM vehicles were installed with optional vent windows which were initially called “No Draft Individually Controlled Ventilation” later renamed "Ventiplanes" which the patent application was filed on Nov. 28, 1932. It was assigned to the Ternstedt Manufacturing Company, a GM subsidiary that manufactured components for

Fisher Body Fisher Body was an automobile coachbuilder founded by the Fisher brothers in 1908 in Detroit, Michigan. A division of General Motors for many years, in 1984 it was dissolved to form other General Motors divisions. Fisher & Company (originally Allo ...

File:Oldsmobile (20506043249).jpg, 1933 Oldsmobile Eight L-Series Model L-33 Touring Sedan File:1936 Oldsmobile L-36 Touring Sedan IMG 1377 - Flickr - nemor2.jpg, 1936 Oldsmobile Eight L-Series Model L-36 2-door Trunked Sedan

References

{{Oldsmobile L-Series 1930s cars

L-32 through L-38

See also

References