Oldsmobile News and Notes

There's a lot of news out there, but not all of it matters.

We try to boil down it to the most important bits and pieces -- the recalls, service bulletins, and lawsuits that can help you solve you car problems. Interested in getting these quick story bits as an email? Signup over at CarComplaints.com.

  1. Olds

    obile brought the Cutlass nameplate back for one last hurrah after a divergence into the Calais/Ciera/Supreme era. There was hope that the [6th generation](/models/cutlass/generations/6.md %}) could compete with the Accords and Camrys of the world, but after a mind-numbingly boring three-year run the Cutlass was retired.

    Or was it? I honestly don't know. If a new Cutlass was released I doubt anyone would notice anyway. As Jason Torchinsky explains, the car really was the dullest of blades:

    The styling of the car is timeless, in the sense that it was eye-injuringly boring back in the 1990s and is still as bad now, and no amount of time will ever, ever change that.

    Even owners couldn't muster up the energy to complain about the darn thing, there are only a few dozen complaints about the entire generation. I'm guessing owners had more problems than that but simply ran out of the energy to care.

    keep reading

  2. combined

    population of New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Montana, Delaware, South Dakota, Alaska, North Dakota, Vermont (Yes, there are people -- not just cows -- in VT) and Wyoming.

  3. The number of calories my Uncle Hank ate over the holiday weekend. Seriously, that man is a bottomless pit.

    4. According to GM, this latest round of problems involves mostly ignition switch related issues that are responsible for at least 7 crashes, 8 injuries and 3 deaths. The full list and details can be found here.

    Unintended Key Rotation ∞

    The largest part of the recall involves 7.6 million vehicles that suffer from, what GM is calling, "unintended ignition key rotation." Of course, there's another name for that too -- "unintended holy %$#! my car just shut itself off on the highway." This is dangerous and affects a wide range of cars:

    • 1997-2005 Chevrolet Malibu
    • 1998-2002 Oldsmobile Intrigue
    • 1999-2004 Oldsmobile Alero
    • 1999-2005 Pontiac Grand Am
    • 2000-2005 Chevrolet Impala
    • 2000-2005 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
    • 2004-2008 Pontiac Grand Prix

    What To Do Next ∞

    1. GM has not announced when the recall will begin
      It should be in the next couple months but it's probably hard to gauge when you have 29 million vehicles in your repair queue.
    2. Keep an eye on your mailbox for an official recall notice with more details
      Not literally, though. Putting your eye on the mailbox sounds painful and will probably worry the neighbors.
    3. GM is stressing the importance of removing all items from your key ring, leaving only the vehicle key
      At least until your ignition is fixed. Sorry bowling league keychain -- you have to go.
    keep reading

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