The Oldsmobile Alero is a compact car that was manufactured by General Motors in the late '90s. GM revealed the car at an event in 1998 and eventually sold the Oldsmobile Alero in '99. The company decided to discontinue two of the models, which were the Achieva and Cutlass, and replace them with the Alero. The Alero was the last model that Oldsmobile built and sold. All the Alero’s were built in the United States, Lansing, Michigan. The car was sold in some other countries like Europe and Australia under the brand of Chevrolet Alero.

The Alero was pit up against its Japanese rivals, yet it stood as a common starting ground for the burgeoning gearhead of America. Here's The Coolest Feature Of The Oldsmobile Alero.

History of behind the Alero

Via: Bing

Oldsmobile displayed the model of Alero in the year 1997 as a concept car with a V6 powered engine and during the production, a lot of the things were taken from the concept, but a lot of design elements were seen that were never decided to be added in the process of production. In the '60s and '70s, the most popular design for the cars was “Coke Bottle Styling”, where the car would have a narrow center and flaring fender similar to that of a classic coke bottle. The Oldsmobile Alero was an amelioration of the style. The car was sold in the market for 5 years, and it didn’t see many changes in terms of looks and design, the only change offered were types of engines in different models. In the United States, the model was available in a 4-door sedan or 2-door coupe.

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Design: Interior and Exterior

via Motors Town

The Oldsmobile's most popular model was the Alero, as mentioned before it was available in both sedan and both models were offered with a 4-cylinder or 3.4-L V-6 Engine with an option of manual or four-speed automatic transmission. The exterior of Alero was distinctive from the other competitors, the theme design of the Alero can be comparable to the Oldsmobile Aurora, which was discontinued. The front of the vehicle was very low and the rear back was in a higher deck position. The tires had a wheelbase of 107-inch and was overall 186.7 inch long, the option were available in 15-inch and 16-inch tire size, although the coupe had spoilers while the sedan did not. The car did not capture the mind of a lot of the consumers, but it was one of the most successful cars of Oldsmobile.

The car had a two-toned interior and everything felt spacious because of the design and the function were easy to use because of the large knobs and buttons even the handling was great, brakes were strong, but the refinement wasn't the best if you compare it with its peers. The exterior design had classic tail lights, big wheel wells, and the fluted side panels which gave it a very sporty look. The Alero was very easy to drive the car and the functions were very user-friendly. The seats were very comfortable, but the quality of the material wasn't the best, even the top of the line model GLS had a leather treatment, but it felt like vinyl.

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Performance, Trims, and Pricing

via ZombieDrive

The Oldsmobile Alero was produced in three different trim levels, the GX which was the entry level, the midgrade was GL and both of these models offered a 4 cylinder 2.4L engine that offered 150 HP with a torque of 155 lb-ft. The top of the line model was the GLS that gave a V6 engine with 3.4L engine displacing a total of 170 HP and a torque of 200 lb-ft. The Oldsmobile never offered a big design or engine changes, the changes were very incremental and during the 5-year period of its sales the company decided to add a suspension package for the GL model. By the year 2001, the company decided to allow users to choose a 5-gear manual transmission on the 4-cylinder models. As the car was not all sport and people used it for daily commute purposes as well, the company replace the 4-cylinder engine from 2.4L to 2.2L which was quieter and more fuel efficient and displaced a 140 HP and toque of 150 lb-ft, in the year 2002. 

Although the car was used for daily commute, the company offered a very magnanimous boot of 14.6 cubic feet, and it was available on both the sedan and the coupe. The pricing of the Alero GX was $17210, Alero GL cost $18620 and the Alero GLS cost $21965 and the coupe price is nearly the same.

The Alero was a very practical car, the design, and looks made it appealing to every consumer. The engine attracted a lot of enthusiasts, although the engines were very noisy where the 4-cylinder provided adequate power for daily purposes and the V-6 gave it more spirited power. The car had pretty good suspension and breaking mechanics, although it wasn't as refined as one would expect. The Oldsmobile made the car practical even further when the 2002 model launched with better fuel economy. The Oldsmobile went down with glory with the Alero model.

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