It's a shame that such an historic automobile had to go, but it is just one more example why product planners should be kept on a short leash. Any company that could not make money selling 300,000 cars a year needs to do some serious thinking about why this happened.

Like so many others, I have an Oldsmobile in my background, a '56 four door 88 hardtop. It was a very nice car, well made and reliable when not suffering from the ineptitude of a 17-year old. I put a '57 J2 engine in it, installed a Dempsey Wilson 707 cam (there's a name you won't hear very often), Mallory ignition, & lotsa other good stuff, beefed the hydro ala B&M, lowered the front 3", and painted it yellow, actually '59 GMC Inca Gold, a true pure yellow that still looks good today. I called it the 5,000 pound canary. It was fast, for the time, but something of a maintenance headache, mostly because my interest in cars and engines was far greater than my skill. But I had a lot of fun in that car and still pause to admire the few I see at car shows.

Adios, Olds.

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