Oldsmobile Limited

Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile Limited vs. 20th Century Limited train. Painting "Setting the Pace" by William Harnden Foster (1909)
Limited
Production period:	1910-1912
Class :	Upper class
Body versions :	Touring cars , roadsters
Engines:	Petrol engines : 8.3-11.6 liters (44 kW)
Length:
Width:
Height:
Wheelbase :	3302-3556 mm
Empty weight :
Previous model	Model Z

The Oldsmobile Limited was a full-size passenger car released by Oldsmobile , a General Motors brand , as the successor to the Model Z from 1909 for the 1910 model year . The Limited was the top model of the brand, the name of which was explained by the "limited" production in which such a luxury car would be created.

The cars had a six-cylinder in-line engine in T-head design (inlet and outlet valves on the opposite side of the engine block) with cylinder blocks cast in pairs. The displacement was 8,275 cm³ (505 ci), the power at 60 HP according to the calculation method at that time (probably NACC, North American Chamber of Commerce). It was transmitted to the rear wheels via a leather cone clutch, a four-speed gearbox with a gearshift lever on the outside right and a cardan shaft. All four wheels were provided with wooden spokes and the rear wheels were braked mechanically with drums and outer bands.

The cars were available as 4-7 seat touring with rear doors, Close Coupled Touring (similar, but with a narrower passenger compartment), sedans ( Series 23 ), or as 2-door Roadsters ( Series 24 ). The prices were US $ 4,600 each for the three open versions and US $ 5,800 for the sedan.

Significant and welcome publicity found a "Race" with an Oldsmobile Limited against the famous train of the United States at this time, the 20th Century Limited from New York City , Grand Central Terminal to Chicago , LaSalle Street Station was discharged, with the Car turned out to be faster than the train.

In 1911 the vehicles got a bigger engine. The 11,569 cm³ unit also made 60 bhp. The leather cone clutch was replaced by a metal cone clutch and the wheelbase grew from 3302 mm to 3505 mm. 2- and 4-door models were offered as Series 27 .

The huge car was still manufactured in 1912, but without major changes. The wheelbase increased again to 3556 mm. The vehicles were sold this year as the 33 series .

325 vehicles of this type were built in 1910, 250 in 1911 and also in 1912. In the following year the Limited was discontinued without a successor.

Market position

The Limited was one of the most expensive production cars in the USA at the time. Competition came mainly from import brands such as Lorraine-Dietrich , Brasier , Delaunay-Belleville , the big Panhard & Levassor or Daimler (Mercedes), Benz and of course Rolls-Royce and Napier (the latter also with US production). In Germany there were numerous small and local suppliers with one or more models in a similar price range. There were also established manufacturers such as Pierce-Arrow , Packard , S & M Simplex , Stearns-Knight , Stoddard-Dayton or Welch (the latter also a GM brand, which soon disappeared). Even more expensive were ALCo , Peerless Peerless or Thomas , where prices only began where the Limited was located.

That was also the problem with the Limited: From a company that had previously attracted attention with inexpensive small cars such as the Curved Dash , you did not expect a car in this price range.

After the Limited, an Oldsmobile was never offered again in this upper price range.

literature

• Beverly R. Kimes, Henry A. Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 . Krause Publications, Iola 1985, ISBN 0-87341-045-9 .