The Oldsmobile Alero was a compact car produced by the Oldsmobile

Oldsmobile

Oldsmobile was a brand of American automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory...

 division of General Motors

General Motors

General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...

 from 1999 to 2004.

The Alero was introduced in spring 1998 as a 1999 model to replace the Achieva

Oldsmobile Achieva

The Oldsmobile Achieva was introduced for the 1992 model year and was a front-wheel drive, compact car based on the GM N-body platform which it also shared with its siblings the Pontiac Grand Am and Buick Skylark...

 and Cutlass

Oldsmobile Cutlass

The Oldsmobile Cutlass is a line of automobiles made by the Oldsmobile division of General Motors. The Cutlass began as a unibody compact car, but saw its greatest success as a body-on-frame intermediate car....

. The Alero went into production on April 6, 1998. All Aleros were built in Lansing, Michigan

Lansing, Michigan

Lansing is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located mostly in Ingham County, although small portions of the city extend into Eaton County. The 2010 Census places the city's population at 114,297, making it the fifth largest city in Michigan...

. The Alero was Oldsmobile's last compact car as well as the last vehicle sold under the brand. Production ended on April 29, 2004.
The design of the Alero was originally previewed in 1997 with the Alero Alpha

Oldsmobile Alero Alpha

The Oldsmobile Alero Alpha was a 1997 concept car. The Alero Alpha was a 2-door coupe and its design was inspired by the earlier Tube Car and Antares concepts, as well as the Aurora production car. Many of its design elements were seen in the 1999 production version, which was simply called...

concept car

Concept car

A concept vehicle or show vehicle is a car made to showcase new styling and or new technology. They are often shown at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not have a chance of being produced....

, a V6-powered sport coupe that featured many design elements seen in the production Alero as well as some that were never meant for production.

The Alero was sold either as a 4-door sedan or as a 2-door coupé

Coupé

A coupé or coupe is a closed car body style , the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time...

.