The Oldsmobile O4 was a

front-wheel drive Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longitu ...

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...

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 pro ...

in 2001. The O4 was a 4-door

convertible A convertible or cabriolet () is a passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary among eras and manufacturers. A convertible car's design allows an open-air driving expe ...

that was aimed at a younger demographic. The O4 displayed features that would have been included on the next generation Oldsmobile Alero, had it not been cancelled.

Overview

Many of the O4's mechanical components originated from the

Opel Astra The Opel Astra is a compact car/small family car (C-segment) developed and produced by the German automaker Opel since 1991, currently at its sixth generation. It was first launched in September 1991 as a direct replacement to the Opel Kadett. ...

, a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

small family car The C-segment is the 3rd category of the European segments for passenger cars and is described as "medium cars". It is equivalent to the Euro NCAP "small family car" size class, and the compact car category in the United States. In 2011, the C ...

. The O4 had a 4-cylinder engine that produced , along with a manual transmission. The roof featured twin

targa top Targa top, or targa for short, is a semi-convertible car body style with a removable roof section and a full width roll bar behind the seats. The term was first used on the 1966 Porsche 911 Targa, and it remains a registered trademark of Porsc ...

s made of carbon fiber that could be stowed behind the rear passenger seats. In addition, the rear window retracted into a compartment located behind the rear passenger seats. The Oldsmobile O4's doors have a manner of front conventional doors and rear small

suicide door A suicide door is an automobile door hinged at its rear rather than the front. Such doors were originally used on horse-drawn carriages, but are rarely found on modern vehicles, primarily because they are perceived as being less safe than a fro ...

s. The O4 was also noted for its "info ring" which replaced the traditional instrument cluster. The info ring was inspired by the

Palm Pilot The PalmPilot Personal and PalmPilot Professional are the second generation of Palm PDA devices produced by Palm Inc (then a subsidiary of U.S. Robotics, later 3Com). These devices were launched on March 10, 1997. Accessories and pricing Pa ...

and similar devices. The "info ring" had 10 switches that operated all of its functions. Media and other information such as movies, maps, and telephone numbers were able to be stored and displayed via Sony memory stick. The O4 was also equipped with General Motors'

OnStar OnStar Corporation is a subsidiary of General Motors that provides subscription-based communications, in-vehicle security, emergency services, turn-by-turn navigation, and remote diagnostics systems throughout the United States, Canada, China, ...

service.

Namesake

The "O" in O4 stood for "Oxygen" while the "4" represented the car's seating capacity.

Doors

The Oldsmobile O4's doors open in a manner of front conventional doors and rear small

s. The Oldsmobile O4 has 2 silver

door handle A door handle or doorknob is a handle used to open or close a door. Door handles can be found on all types of doors including exterior doors of residential and commercial buildings, internal doors, cupboard doors and vehicle doors. There are man ...

s on the front doors while it does not have

s for the rear doors.

Cancellation

Just weeks before the O4's unveiling, General Motors announced its phasing out of the

brand. By the time of the O4's unveiling, the O4 was called the GM O4, with the "

" marque removed.

References

{{Oldsmobile O4 Cars introduced in 2001 Front-wheel-drive sports cars Sport compact cars Convertibles