Oldsmobile Series 70

Oldsmobile Series 70
Oldsmobile Series 70 "Dynamic" sedan
Overview
Manufacturer	Oldsmobile (General Motors)
Production	1938–1950
Body and chassis
Class	Full-size
Layout	FR layout
Chronology
Predecessor	Oldsmobile G-Series 70[1]
Successor	Oldsmobile Cutlass

The Oldsmobile Series 70 is a full-size midrange automobile produced by Oldsmobile between the 1939 and 1950 model years.^[2][1] Oldsmobiles of this time period were in an unusual "middle" position in GM's hierarchy of automobile brands. Chevrolet and Pontiac were the budget priced models, while Buick and Cadillac were the luxury brands. GM would share their "A" body platforms between Chevrolet, Pontiac, and "B" body on Oldsmobile and Buick, while leaving Cadillac on the senior "C" platform. Oldsmobiles were then branded as "luxury level" Chevrolets and Pontiacs, while Oldsmobiles using the "B" platform were "budget priced" Buicks and Cadillacs.

Competitors from Ford's Mercury and Chrysler's DeSoto brands would give customers a choice to have Oldsmobile levels of luxury, while not paying as much for a comparable Oldsmobile. GM in later years would discontinue the Series 70 and the budget Oldsmobile Series 60, and introduce the Oldsmobile 88 to push Oldsmobile upmarket, giving Chevrolet and Pontiac a better market position for a lower price. It was with this generation that all GM vehicles experienced increased width dimensions to accommodate three passengers on the front bench seat and an additional three passengers on rear bench seat installed vehicles. This was accomplished with the deletion of running board thereby adding additional room inside the passenger compartment and upgrading the floor mounted gearshift to a steering column installed transmission gear selector for the Hydramatic automatic transmission.^[1]