Oldsmobile Aurora

The Oldsmobile Aurora is a luxury automobile made by the Oldsmobile division of General Motors and launched in 1995. It was a luxurious 4-door sedan riding on the same Cadillac-derived "G-body" platform as the 2-door Buick Riviera. It was introduced to bring new life to Oldsmobile, but the first few years of Aurora did not even feature the Oldsmobile name. There was even a rumor at the time that the name of the whole Oldsmobile marque would be changed to simply, "Aurora."

1995

The 1995 Aurora introduced Oldsmobile's "Aurora" L47 V8, a DOHC engine based on Cadillac's Northstar 4.6L V8. The Aurora was highly regarded at the time for its refined engine, excellent build quality, and well-balanced ride. As a symbol of its clean break from other cars in the lineup, the Aurora bore no Oldsmobile badging or script, except on the cassette deck and engine cover. Oldsmobile quickly launched other new models with the Aurora "look," including the all-new Intrigue and Alero and redesigned Eighty-Eight, and even updated the division's "Rocket" logo to be more visually in-line with the Aurora's emblem.

The first-generation Aurora went into production on January 31, 1994. All Auroras were built in Orion, Michigan, along with the Buick LeSabre (2000–2005), Buick Park Avenue (1997–2005), Buick Riviera (1995–1998), Oldsmobile 88, Oldsmobile 98 and Pontiac Bonneville. Production of the first-generation Aurora ended on June 25, 1999.

Engines:

• 1995-1999 L47 4.0L (244in³) V8, 250 horsepower @ 5600 rpm, 260 ft·lbf torque @ 4400 rpm.

2001

Oldsmobile's original intention for the second generation was to move the Aurora further upmarket, retaining its V8-only drivetrain and sharing a platform with the new Buick Riviera, as the original Aurora had done. This would have created more room within the Oldsmobile lineup for a four-door Eighty-Eight successor known as Antares. However, Buick dropped its Riviera development plans and fiscal trouble found Oldsmobile, so Olds was forced to re-engineer the Antares into an acceptable Aurora in short time. The 2001 Aurora is the product of that re-engineering.