The Oldsmobile 88 (a.k.a. Eighty-Eight) was a full-size car sold by the Oldsmobile division of General Motors and produced from 1949 until 1999. From 1950 to 1974 the 88 was the division's top-selling line, particularly the entry-level models such as the 88 and Dynamic 88.
The 88 series was also an image leader for Oldsmobile, particularly in the early years (1949–51) when it was one of the best performing automobiles thanks to its relatively small size, light weight and advanced overhead-valve high-compression V8 engine originally designed for the larger and more luxurious 98 series but dropped into the smaller six-cylinder Oldsmobile 76 body, creating what was considered the granddaddy of the musclecars of the 1960s.
A large number of variations in nomenclature were seen over this long model run—Delmont, Delta, Dynamic, Jetstar, Starfire, Super, Holiday, L/S, LSS, Celebrity, and Royale were used at various times with the 88 badge, and Fiesta appeared on some station wagons in the 1950s and 1960s. The name was more commonly shown as numbers in the earlier years and was usually spelled out in the later.
The Oldsmobile Eighty Eight was produced in Wentzville, Missouri; Flint, Michigan; and Lake Orion, Michigan.
1949
Oldsmobile introduced the 88 badge in 1949. It was named to complement the already-existing 76 and 98. The new car used the 76's platform with a powerful new Rocket V8 engine. This combination of a relatively small light body and large, powerful engine made it a precursor to the muscle car. This combination performed well in various racing classes, which led directly to increased sales to the public. There was a pent up demand for new cars in the fast-expanding post WWII economy, and the 88 appealed to many ex-military personnel who were young and had operated powerful military equipment.
The 88 enjoyed a great success, inspiring a popular 1950s slogan, "Make a Date with a Rocket 88", and also a song, "Rocket 88", often considered the first rock and roll record. Starting with the trunk-lid emblem of the 1950 model, Oldsmobile would adopt the rocket as its logo, and the 88 name would remain in the Olds lineup until the late 1990s, virtually until the end of Oldsmobile itself.
1950
Styling changes include the replacement of a two-piece windshield with a one-piece unit and the addition of the Holiday hardtop coupe to the line. Also a three-speed manual transmission with column shift became available as a "delete for credit" option to the Hydra-Matic automatic transmission. The 88 now outsold the six-cylinder 76 lineup, which was dropped entirely after the 1950 model year.
1951
The new Super 88 model was introduced in 1951 as a more luxurious version of the basic 88 and produced until 1964. The base 88 was now the entry-level Olds as the six-cylinder 76 line was dropped.
1957
For this year only, the basic 88 was officially named Golden Rocket 88, taken from Olds' 1956 Motorama two-passenger show car. However, the only badging was an "88" underneath each taillight. Also for 1957 the "J2" option was offered, with three 2-barrel carburetors, similar to the Pontiac Tri-Power.
1958
1958 is best known in Oldsmobile as the year of the "Chromesmobile" thanks to tremendous splatterings of chrome trim on the body, particularly on the higher-priced Super 88 and Ninety-Eight models. The styling was advertised by Olds as the "Mobile Look."
The Dynamic 88 debuted in 1958 and lasted through 1966 positioned as the entry level model below the Super 88. This model featured a more economical Rocket V8 than its more expensive linemates – a detuned 265 horsepower (198 kW) version of the 371 cubic-inch Rocket V8 with two-barrel carburetion. Super 88 and Ninety-Eight models were powered by a four-barrel 300 horsepower (220 kW) version of that engine as standard equipment with a J-2 option featuring three two-barrel carburetors and 310 horsepower (231 kW).
New option for 1958 was a "Sportable" radio that could be removed from the instrument panel through the glove compartment and used as a portable radio for beaches, picnics, etc. thanks to portable batteries.
A revised instrument panel was highlighted by a new deep-dish steering wheel with "horn bars" replacing the long-standing horn ring still common during that period.
Despite an economic recession that cut into new car sales industrywide, and especially affected the medium-priced car market that Olds competed in, Oldsmobile saw only a slight decline in sales for 1958 and even rose in industry standings to fourth-place behind the "Low-Priced Three" of Chevrolet, Ford and Plymouth, while surpassing a now-floundering sister division Buick on the sales charts for the first time in many years. Oldsmobile was also way ahead of other middle-priced competitors such as sister division Pontiac, Mercury, Dodge and Chrysler, along with Ford Motor Company's all-new and ill-fated Edsel, and Chrysler Corporation's DeSoto – the latter two nameplates of which would fade into oblivion within the next three years.
1959
All Oldsmobiles were completely restyled for 1959 with a longer, lower and wider body on the basic GM B-body, which for the first time was used on all of General Motors' standard-sized cars from the lowest-priced Chevrolet to the most-expensive Cadillac. Styling highlights for the new models, promoted as the "Linear Look," included six-window styling on four-door pillared sedans, glassy semi-fastback rooflines on Holiday coupes and flat-blade rooflines with thin windshield and C-pillars on Holiday sedans which created a "fishbowl"-like effect. While many 1959 model cars featured bigger and sharper fins, Olds featured more subdued "oval" fins and far less chrome than the '58 model for a much cleaner look. Wheelbases on 88 models increased by one inch to 123 inches (3,124 mm) while Ninety-Eights stayed at 126 inches (3,200 mm).
A larger 394 cubic-inch Rocket V8 with four-barrel carburetion and rated at 315 horsepower (235 kW) was standard equipment on Super 88 and Ninety-Eight models. The lower-priced Dynamic 88 series was powered by 371 cubic-inch Rocket V8 carried over from 1957-58 rated at 265 horsepower (198 kW) with two-barrel carburetion, or optional four-barrel version rated at 300 horsepower (220 kW).