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Marketing Analysis of Oldsmobile

Marketing Analysis of Oldsmobile

INTRODUCTION/PRODUCT BACKGROUND

The automobile’s humble beginnings stemmed from a need for a more practical, safer, and economical device than the horse and carriage. The horse and carriage of yesterday was as common as any family car would be today. The horse and carriage was beginning to lose its usefulness. Another device was required and a “revolution” which affects each one of us ensued. The inventors of the day created many devices including steam and gasoline powered “horseless carriages.” The oldest American car company was created by one of these visionaries. Ransom Eli Olds created one of the most well known American car companies, Oldsmobile, over a hundred years ago.

Ransom Eli Olds was born in Ohio on June 3, 1864. Olds is often considered the “Father of the American auto industry” (Rothenberg, 2001). He built and sold his first steam-propelled horseless carriage in 1893 and had constructed his first gas-propelled vehicle in 1896; Ransom Olds sold his first Oldsmobile in 1897.

The Olds Motor Works was built in Lansing Michigan and incorporated in 1899. The facility was home to the first assembly line, producing the Curved Dash and allowing Oldsmobile to become the first mass producer of gasoline cars (http://oldsmobile.com, 2001). “In 1900 Olds built 4 units; by 1905 it had made more than 10, 000 cars (McGuire, 2000).” The Curved Dash model was a landmark design in automotive history. The auto weighed only 700 pounds and was more dependable than any of its high priced competition.

During the early years, Oldsmobile’s only major competitor was the horse and carriage. “Early ads boasted that the $600 Curved Dash ran 40 miles on 1 gallon of gasoline (http://oldsmobile.com, 2001).” Olds sought to convince people that the Curved Dash was thriftier, safer, faster, more comfortable and more modern than a horse.

The Olds Motor Company was a prosperous business; however, Ransom E. Olds resigned from the company in 1904 due to disagreements with his investors. Ransom formed another company named REO (Ransom Eli Olds) which has continued to thrive in modern times as Diamond-REO, building extreme-duty trucks.

In 1908 General Motors purchased the Olds Motor Company. Oldsmobile had been a successful subsidiary of General Motors since its purchase. Oldsmobile’s long success stemmed from their ability to create new enhancements for the automobile. For...

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