Oldsmobile O4
Encyclopedia
The Oldsmobile O4 was a front-wheel drive
Front-wheel drive
Front-wheel drive is a form of engine/transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longitudinal engine arrangement generally found in rear-wheel drive and...

 concept car designed 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...

 in 2001. The O4 was a roadster
Roadster
A roadster is a two-seat open car with emphasis on sporty handling and without a fixed roof or side weather protection. Strictly speaking a roadster with wind-up windows is a convertible but as true roadsters are no longer made the distinction is now irrelevant...

 that was aimed at a younger demographic. The O4 displayed features that would have been included on the next generation Oldsmobile Alero
Oldsmobile Alero
The Oldsmobile Alero was a compact car produced by the Oldsmobile division of General Motors from 1999 to 2004.The Alero was introduced in spring 1998 as a 1999 model to replace the Achieva and Cutlass. The Alero went into production on April 6, 1998. All Aleros were built in Lansing, Michigan...

, had it not been cancelled.

Overview

Many of the O4's mechanical components originated from the Opel Astra
Opel Astra
The Opel Astra is a small family car engineered and manufactured by the German automaker Opel since 1991.It is branded as Vauxhall Astra in the United Kingdom, the Buick Excelle XT in China and the Chevrolet Astra/Vectra in Latin America...

, a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 automobile. The O4 had a 4-cylinder engine that produced 190 hp, along with a manual transmission. The roof featured twin targa tops made of carbon fiber that could be stowed behind the rear passenger seats. In addition, the rear window retracted into a compartment located behind the rear passenger seats.

The O4 was also noted for its "info ring" which replaced the traditional instrument cluster. The info ring was inspired by the Palm Pilot
Palm (PDA)
Palm handhelds were Personal Digital Assistants which ran the Palm OS. Palm devices have evolved from handhelds to smartphones which run Palm OS, WebOS, and Windows Mobile...

 and similar devices. The "info ring" had 10 switches that operated all of its functions. Media and other information such as movies, maps, and telephone numbers were able to be stored and displayed via Sony memory stick
Memory Stick
Memory Stick is a removable flash memory card format, launched by Sony in October 1998, and is also used in general to describe the whole family of Memory Sticks...

. The O4 was also equipped with General Motors' OnStar
OnStar
OnStar Corporation is a subsidiary of General Motors that provides subscription-based communications, in-vehicle security, hands free calling, turn-by-turn navigation, and remote diagnostics systems throughout the United States, Canada and China. A similar service is known as ChevyStar in Latin...

service.

Cancellation

Just weeks before the O4's unveiling, General Motors announced its phasing out of the Oldsmobile brand. By the time of the O4's unveiling, the O4 was called the GM O4, with the "Oldsmobile" marque removed.
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