The Oldsmobile Light Eight was an automobile produced by the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors in roadster , two-door coupe , four-door sedan from between 1916 and 1923. It was powered by a sidevalve V8 engine, the maker's first, and shared with the 1916 Oakland Model 50 .
16-666: The Light Eight was an all new platform, and was produced at the Lansing Car Assembly , with its engine sourced from Northway Engine Works. and coachwork supplied by Fisher Body . It shared wheelbases with the Buick Six , and was more expensive than the market favorite Ford Model T , but offered the durability of a V8 and a wider range of bodystyles. The Light Eight was replaced by the General Motors Companion Make Program Viking introduced in 1929 and
32-552: A factory for Durant Motor Works. After the demise of Durant in 1931, the plant remained closed until GM purchased it in 1935. It restarted production for GM's Fisher Body division, later becoming the Buick – Oldsmobile – Cadillac factory. Its final name was Lansing Car Assembly – Body Plant. The last cars that Lansing Car Assembly produced were the Chevrolet Malibu / Chevrolet Classic , Oldsmobile Alero , and Pontiac Grand Am , which
48-765: The Grand River . It sat on the original site of the Michigan State Fairgrounds. The plant also included the unique "Lansing GM Building 150" which sat in between Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard bridges. It featured two separate assembly lines. Partially completed vehicles were transported by truck from the Body Plant to either the North Line "M" or the South Line "C" for completion. Upon completion, cars were driven off
64-498: The Oldsmobile L-Series . The 1916 Model 44 was equipped with a Northway designed side-valve , 246 cu in (4,031 cc) V8 developing 40 bhp. The engine had a bore and stroke of 2.875 in (73.0 mm) x 4.75 in (120.7 mm) displacing 246 cu in (4.0 L). Horsepower was rated at 40 @2000 RPM using two main bearings. This generation had a wheelbase of 120 in (3,048 mm) and
80-531: The 1990s it was producing compact cars for several GM divisions. Lansing Car Assembly (LCA) began in 1901 when Ransom E. Olds moved his Olds Motor Works company to the city. He set up his plant on the site of the fairgrounds next to the Grand River . This plant in downtown Lansing would later be known as Lansing Car Assembly – Chassis Plant. Engine block and cylinder heads were cast at Saginaw Metal Casting Operations . The plant along Verlinden Avenue, on Lansing's border with Lansing Township , opened in 1920 as
96-431: The assembly line and under northbound Martin Luther King, Jr.Boulevard bridge. After final inspection, the cars were placed in staging yards to either be shipped by truck or by rail. The first factory on site opened in 1902 as part of Olds Motor Works, and became part of General Motors when they bought that company out in 1908. The complex was closed in 2005, finally being demolished in 2007. Harbour Consulting rated it as
112-562: The closed body 4-door sedan that could seat 5-7 passengers, and identified as the Thorobred Series. The Model 46 appeared in 1921 and 1922 with minor changes but mechanically unchanged. The Hillbillies truck, featured in almost every episode of The Beverly Hillbillies , was a cut-down 1921 Oldsmobile Model 46 Roadster. The 1921-23 Model 47 was offered with a short wheelbase of 115 in (2,921 mm) with an Oldsmobile designed side-valve , 233 cu in (3,818 cc) V8 and
128-465: The doors. The 1917 Model 45 saw an improvement to the engine that developed 58 bhp, while the 1918 Model 45A added 7 seat capacity to the touring sedan. In 1919, only the open sided roadster and touring sedan were offered. Sales were a success, having sold 35,203 in four years. Retail price for a 4-door sedan was US$ 1,595($ 44,660 in 2023 dollars ), while the Oldsmobile Six Model 37 sedan
144-455: The plant in the spring of 2006, and demolition was completed in 2007. A new plant at nearby Lansing Grand River Assembly , which began production in 2001, as well as the Delta Township called Lansing Delta Township Assembly assumed some operations when it began production in 2006. From the 1940s through the 1980s, it was the main producer of full-size Oldsmobiles ( 88 and 98 ), but by
160-675: The sixth most efficient auto plant in North America in 2006. Lansing Grand River Assembly Lansing Grand River Assembly ( LGR ) is a General Motors owned and operated automobile assembly facility located in Lansing, Michigan , United States. Lansing Grand River Assembly produces vehicles built upon the GM Alpha platform including the Cadillac CT4 , Cadillac CT5 , and Chevrolet Camaro . The Lansing Grand River Assembly facility includes
176-593: Was a General Motors automobile factory in Lansing, Michigan . It contained two elements, a 1901 automobile plant in downtown Lansing, and the 1920 Durant Motors factory on Lansing's Far Westside. The Lansing plant was the home factory for Oldsmobile, and the longest-operating automobile factory in the United States when it closed on May 6, 2005, and one of General Motors last assembly plants where vehicle bodies were made at one plant, and then trucked to another plant to be finished. General Motors began demolition of
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#1732851109463192-399: Was changed to an aluminum block with a bore and stroke of 2.875 in (73.0 mm) x 4.5 in (114.3 mm). Horsepower was rated at 63 @2000 RPM using two main bearings, along with the longer wheelbase version. For 1922, the roadster bodystyle returned along with the popular touring sedan and closed body sedan. The 1923 model saw the cancellation of the long wheelbase. The sidevalve V8
208-489: Was listed at retail price of US$ 1,850 ($ 56,274 in 2023 dollars ). The 1919 Model 45B was offered with a longer wheelbase of 122 in (3,099 mm) as a longer version of the 45A with the same side-valve , 246 cu in (4,031 cc) V8 and was introduced as the Pacemaker Series. For 1920, the shorter wheelbase model was discontinued, and the longer 45B was available only as either open sided touring sedan or
224-464: Was offered as a closed body sedan, roadster, coupe and convertible on a chassis it shared with the Oldsmobile Model 43 . Mechanical brakes were installed on the rear wheels using hickory wooden spoked wheels. The touring car and roadster didn't have side windows, while the convertible and sedan were offered as closed body options built by Fisher Body and side windows installed that retracted into
240-503: Was replaced by the Oldsmobile Straight-8 engine and the division wouldn't offer another V8 until 1949. Source: Slauson, H. W.; Howard Greene (1926). " "Leading American Motor Cars" ". Everyman's Guide to Motor Efficiency . New York: Leslie-Judge Company. Lansing Car Assembly 42°43′26″N 84°34′57″W / 42.723887°N 84.582539°W / 42.723887; -84.582539 Lansing Car Assembly
256-536: Was the final vehicle built there. The plant built the very last Oldsmobile , a 2004 Alero. LCA was regularly ranked among the most productive automobile assembly plants in North America . In 2002, it was ranked the number one most productive assembly plant in North America by The Harbour Report, the auto industry's leading measurement of plant efficiency. The main plant was located in downtown Lansing, Michigan , located along Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard at
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