Where Are They Now?: Oldsmobile Aurora

Every now and then, a car company will create a car with incredible styling and make it so perfect that it boggles the mind of car enthusiasts when it doesn’t do well. One such car, in my opinion, is the Oldsmobile Aurora. The Aurora was a full-size, front-wheel drive, sports sedan made by Oldsmobile in the mid-1990’s and early 2000’s. It is without a doubt one of my favorite cars because of how unique it was. From the spaceship-esque look, to the relatively exclusive version of the Northstar V8, the Aurora was truly something special. I say relatively exclusive because the only other car to use this variant of the Northstar V8 was the Shelby Series 1, except in the Shelby, it was twin-turbocharged, so the Aurora’s engine, and the entire car for the most part was unique, in the ever vast portfolio of generic General Motors cars and parts.

The first generation Aurora went into production on January 24, 1994, being released for the 1995 model year. The Aurora looked exactly like the concept car did and it came out swinging, selling 45,000 units in it’s first model year. The Aurora didn’t actually feature the Oldsmobile badge, instead, like the Buick Riviera, it featured a unique badge. The badge closely resembled the rocket ship badge that most Oldsmobiles in the mid-90’s featured, but instead the rocket ship with a scripted capital A. Sales dropped by 50 percent for 1996, and slowly declined until 2001 when the second generation Aurora arrived.

The Aurora was sold in one trim, and stickered at $33,065 ($55,347 in today’s money) without options. The Aurora also came with a 4.0L DOHC V8 producing 250 horsepower and 260 lb-ft. This gave the Aurora a 0-60 of 8.1 seconds. As mentioned earlier, this 4.0L V8 was exclusive to the Aurora. Although the Northstar name was used in several Cadillac models, the Aurora is the only vehicle in Oldsmobile’s history to feature a Northstar engine. The cockpit was also turned toward the driver, like in a Toyota Supra. The Aurora also featured power seat controls on the door, like the Mercedes-Benz’s of the time. I had the opportunity to sit in one of these while I was car shopping, and it truly felt special. Were it not for a falling head liner, I’m sure I would have chosen that over the laundry list of other vehicles I looked at.

The second generation Aurora arrived for 2001 and brought a more aggressive front end featuring new lower grilles and new fog lights. The rear end lost it’s futuristic tail light arrangement in favor of a more conventional set up. A new 3.5L DOHC V6 was also offered. This V6 was also based on the Northstar V8, and was called the Shortstar, because of it’s shorter block. The V6 produced 215 horsepower and 234 lb-ft. The Shortstar was also featured in the Oldsmobile Intrigue. Sales for the second generation Aurora started off at 28,000 sales and dwindled from there until 2003 when the “Final 500 Edition” production ended. The last 500 Auroras received special badging and a Dark Cherry Metallic finish and were all V8 powered.

It’s interesting to see that the Aurora didn’t necessarily do well in the market, though with GM producing the Bonneville, the Park Avenue, the Seville, and the Deville, it makes sense that one of those cars was bound to not sell as well. Which is a shame, because the Oldsmobile just seemed more special, and more exclusive. I personally think that the Aurora suffered from the same syndrome that has been slowly but surely killing Kia K900 owners, and Hyundai Genesis/Equus owners, and that’s brand recognition.

Even with all the good press and Hollywood appearances in The X-Files and in Matrix Reloaded, even though it was an Indy 500 Pace Car for 1997 and 2000, it was still an Oldsmobile. It was still related to the Achieva, and the ancient Delta 88’s that were still roaming the streets at the time. That’s most likely what killed the Aurora, of course there was also a lot of financial issues with Oldsmobile at the time, and a halo car worth nearly $60,000 in today’s money probably didn’t help bolster the bottom line.

So where are they now? Well, if you’ve got a keen eye, you can find some of these still cruising the highways, with even better kept examples like this incredible 1996 Aurora or this 2003 Final 500 Edition for sale. With low miles, they have really held their value, and they are exceptional vehicles. Though it should be said, that with all of these exclusive parts, if something breaks, you’re gonna have to go hunting. With a little under 200,000 of them made, split between two generations, and knowing that some of these cars are even older than me, means that part hunting might even be in vain.

That being said, I think this is one of the best vehicles GM has ever made. It was a beautiful vehicle, with an even more beautiful name. It’s a shame that it didn’t catch on, or maybe it’s a shame that Oldsmobile made it. The Buick Aurora, or Cadillac Aurora have a nice ring to them, and maybe if either one of those brands picked up the project, then maybe we’d even have a third-generation of Aurora’s cruising our streets, one can dream though.

What’re your thoughts? Could Buick or Cadillac have saved this incredible sports sedan, or was it destined to go to the great big scrapyard in the sky? Got a cool Oldsmobile story of your own? Let me hear about it!