Toyota buys 'Oldsmobile' name

[Ed Mahmoud]

Oldsmobile Brand Returns to Market

Details are scarce, but it seems GM's copyright on the Oldsmobile name ran out sometime in 2006. At that point Oldsmobile was apparently out of sight and out of the GM legal department's mind so the brand was not re-registered. Someone in the U.S. Copyright Office was paying attention, however, and reportedly alerted a relative (who also happened to be a Toyota executive) of GM's oversight. The paperwork was filed, the nominal fees paid, and Toyota had a new old brand.

When we first heard of the acquisition, we imagined Toyota would ransom Olds and attempt to sell the rights back to GM for a profit, much like an Internet domain squatter. Instead, it appears Toyota plans to create a fourth brand for the U.S. market.




Toyota will reportedly position the heretofore American brand between Toyota and Lexus to create more of a divide between the consumer and ultra-luxury marques. For now, no new vehicles will be engineered for Oldsmobile but instead current Toyota models without Lexus counterparts will be rebranded. Toyota will continue the Oldsmobile tradition of building American performance luxury vehicles and these days that means SUVs.

Toyota has chosen to use names from the storied brand's recent past to ease American customers into the revival. A luxurious RAV4 will be called Bravada while Intrigue will be applied to leather-lined 4Runners. One nod to the past will come in the form of the Super 88, a rebadged Sequoia. Patterned after the 442 name, Super 88 refers to Toyota's largest SUV's eight-cylinder engine which will be mated to the eight-speed transmission currently found in the Lexus LS.

[Ed Mahmoud]

Twas an 4/1 joke

[coriolis]

Everybody must be april fooled out. I didn't get any replies to mine either. (shrugs)

[Squarethecircle]

Who the heck would buy Oldsmobile?

[lurkey]

I will admit I had a 'WTF' moment seeing the thread title . . . then I clicked through to story and further to the discussion board . ..

[Brent]

The news said today it's NOT a joke. Weird.

[Tstormwatcher]

Toyota would never do something that stupid.

[coriolis]

It'll be interesting to see how this develops.

"Toyota - it's not your father's oldsmobile"

[willhelm]

It least a reputable company now has the rights to the name. General Motors is a sinking ship and should sell of its assets now. Problem is, everything they own is junk or paperwork. The names are all that is left.

[Ed Mahmoud]

Except for an improperly mounted tire that came off the rim on I-10 while I was in the fast lane going 75 mph (and I kept control, got off and put on the donut) a week after I purchased it, my 2007 Chevrolet Impala, which I got for under $19,000, has gone almost a year and a half and over 20,000 miles with no problems, and just regular oil changes.

I don't know who mounted the tire (the dealership gave me a new tire and rim for free), but other than that, I can't complain about GM workmanship.



BTW, Chesapeake Energy is now drilling a well in the employee parking lot at the big General Motors Plant in Arlington, TX, near Six Flags and the baseball stadium.

I drove by it two weeks ago, and was awesome to look at.

Approved drilling permits for wells on 'GM' lease in Arlington.

Average Barnett gas well makes 3 MMCfd, declining to about 1 MMCFd after a year, so, 5 wells, 15 MMCfd to start, 25% gross royalty is almost 4 MMcfpd, at about $10 per MMBtu, that is $40,000 per day that plant will make GM in additional revenue, declining down to a little over $10,000 per day in about a year, and the good news, the average Barnett well declines very slowly over the remainder of its life, with an expected average economic life of 17 years. (Hyperbolic decline)

[Ed Mahmoud]

BTW, for a tire coming off the rim at speed, I'm impressed I didn't lose control, could get over 5 lanes without being wrecked, and didn't damage the front quarter panel.