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Oldsmobile was the oldest surviving American car brand when General Motors decided to shut it down, and the last thing it built was supposed to be the beginning of a comeback. A 50,000-mile 2003 Oldsmobile Aurora Final 500 Edition is live right now on Bring a Trailer, and with the auction ending Friday, October 30 at 1:53 p.m. ET, it is a good excuse to remember a luxury sedan most people have completely forgotten.
The Oldsmobile That Wasn't Supposed to Look Like an Oldsmobile
By the early 1990s, Oldsmobile had a problem. The brand that gave us the Rocket 88, the Toronado and the 442 was selling cars to people who were getting older every year, and "This is not your father's Oldsmobile" was an ad slogan the products had not yet earned. The Aurora, launched for the 1995 model year, was the answer: a sleek, V8-powered, front-drive luxury sedan with a Northstar-family engine, a cockpit-style interior and, tellingly, almost no Oldsmobile branding. The Aurora wore its own "OA" badge instead of the rocket emblem, as if the division were trying to sneak the car past buyers who had already made up their minds.
It nearly worked. The Aurora was a legitimately good car, and it was never really given the chance to change the brand's fate. Oldsmobile had been going through decades of badge engineering and shrinking sales, and in December 2000 GM announced it would phase the division out. The last Oldsmobile, an Alero, rolled off the line in 2004, ending a run that began in 1897.
Why This Final 500 Aurora Is Worth a Look
The second-generation Aurora arrived for 2001 under a cloud: a smaller, more conventional-looking sedan launched after the company had already announced the brand's end. Buyers could choose a V6 or the 4.0-liter V8, and by the final model year GM marked the occasion with the Final 500 Edition. According to the listing, this one is number 254 of those cars.
It is finished in Dark Cherry Metallic over Neutral leather with burled wood trim, and it carries the 4.0-liter V8 rated at 250 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque, paired with a four-speed automatic and front-wheel drive. Options include a sunroof, heated power front seats, dual-zone climate control, 17-inch chrome wheels and the optional All-Weather Package with traction control. The original window sticker shows a $38,995 price when new. The odometer reads about 50,000 miles, and the listing includes a clean Carfax report, the owner's manual, the window sticker and two key fobs.
Things to Know Before You Bid
The seller notes paintwork on the right-front fender and door and a refinished section of the rear bumper cover, and the radio knobs are not the push-to-power type, so the stereo cannot be turned fully off. The car is titled in Montana but located in California, where it has not passed a smog test, which matters if you plan to register it there. The seller bought it on BaT in May for $13,850, and the current bid sits at just $2,500 with no reserve, so the result is entirely up to the crowd. Read the full listing and photo gallery on Bring a Trailer before you place a bid.
The Last of a Different Kind of Oldsmobile
What makes the Aurora interesting is not that it was a great sports sedan; it is that Oldsmobile was still building distinct, ambitious cars until the very end. If you want more of the brand's story, we have covered the 1957 Starfire 98 with its robotic headlight-dimming eye, a low-mileage 1986 Oldsmobile 442 survivor and a 503-mile 1993 Cutlass Supreme Convertible. And if you enjoy cars that vanished without much fanfare, you will like our look at the Avanti that was still being built in 1989 and Chrysler's forgotten AMG-built Crossfire SRT-6.
The Aurora Final 500 is one of the last cars to wear a badge that once stood for innovation, and at today's price it is one of the cheapest ways to own a piece of that history. The auction ends Friday, October 30.
