1928 OAKLAND Entrant number 52 Driver Geoff Harrington Navigator Barbara Harrington
Jeff bought this All American Six in late 1978 (see photo left) a nd was promptly told by a few of his friends to “take it to the dump”
It took two years to restore. Jeoff did the body, including the paintwork, himself; the upholstery was done elsewhere. Photo above
photo left – Oakland on its way to attend the Oakland Rally in Tasmania
The Oakland Motor Car Company of Pontiac, Michigan, was an American automobile manufacturer and division of General Motors. Purchased by General Motors in 1909, the company continued to produce modestly priced automobiles until 1931, when the brand was dropped in favour of the division’s Pontiac make. [1]
The company was created by Edward Murphy, who owned the Pontiac Buggy Company, and Alanson Brush, a consultant in Detroit, after leaving Cadillac Motor Company. Oakland Motor Company was named after Oakland County, Michigan. The first Oakland used a design created by Brush and presented it to Murphy, who decided to go into business. The vertical two-cylinder engine that rotated counterclockwise was initially offered to Cadillac but was ignored. [2] This design by Alanson Partridge Brush, who created the single-cylinder Cadillac and the Brush Runabout, also featured a planetary transmission. The 1908 Oakland came in five body styles, designated Model A–E, varying from a runabout to a landaulet. [3] The first year of Oakland production, 1908, had 278 vehicles roll off the line. [3]
After one year of production, Oakland’s principal founder, Edward Murphy, sold half of the company to William C. Durant‘s General Motors Corporation in early 1909. [3] When Murphy died in the summer of 1909, GM acquired the remaining rights to Oakland. Within General Motors, Oakland was later slotted as their entry-level brand below the more expensive Oldsmobile, Buick, and Cadillac cars. Conventional four-cylinder engined models were introduced shortly after the GM takeover. GM didn’t acquire the volume-priced Chevrolet until 1917. Oakland found itself competing with the Ford Model T introduced in October 1908. [2] Once GM assumed operations of Oakland, production was moved to the factory that manufactured Cartercar in Pontiac, Michigan, another Durant acquisition that was cancelled while the resources were newly utilized, and the Oakland Model 40 was introduced. [1] Starting with 1910 Oakland was exclusively offering 4-cylinder flathead engines with five different wheelbases and their advertising slogan was “The Car with a I can help you rephrase the passage to avoid plagiarism. Here’s a rephrased version of the passage you provided:
The Oakland Motor Car Company, based in Pontiac, Michigan, was an American automobile manufacturer and a division of General Motors. Edward Murphy and Alanson Brush established it. The first Oakland model used a design created by Brush and a vertical two-cylinder engine. General Motors acquired half of the company in 1909 and the remaining rights after Murphy’s death that same year. Oakland produced modestly priced automobiles until 1931, when they were discontinued in favour of the Pontiac brand.
The company initially offered a range of body styles, and after being acquired by General Motors, it became the entry-level brand below Oldsmobile, Buick, and Cadillac. The production of Oakland cars was moved to the Pontiac, Michigan factory, and the brand exclusively offered four-cylinder flathead engines. By 1920, production and quality control issues arose, but improvements were made, and Oakland vehicles shared the GM A platform used by Chevrolet.
In 1913, the Oakland Six was introduced, followed by the Model 50, which had a 365 cu in (6.0 L) flathead V8 engine from Northway Motor and Manufacturing Company in 1916. The production of these models increased significantly. Oakland reintroduced the Model 101 V8 in 1930 using a flathead architecture and shared with the Viking V8, but 1931 marked the end of the Oakland V8 models as Pontiac took over.
As General Motors expanded in the 1920s, a significant price and product gap existed between Chevrolet and Oakland, leading to additional brands to address consumer preferences. I can help you rephrase the passage to avoid plagiarism. Here’s a rephrased version of the passage you provided:
The Oakland Motor Car Company, based in Pontiac, Michigan, was an American automobile manufacturer and a division of General Motors. Edward Murphy and Alanson Brush established it. The first Oakland model used a design created by Brush and a vertical two-cylinder engine. General Motors acquired half of the company in 1909 and the remaining rights after Murphy’s death that same year. Oakland produced modestly priced automobiles until 1931, when they were discontinued in favour of the Pontiac brand.
The company initially offered a range of body styles, and after being acquired by General Motors, it became the entry-level brand below Oldsmobile, Buick, and Cadillac. The production of Oakland cars was moved to the Pontiac, Michigan factory, and the brand exclusively offered four-cylinder flathead engines. By 1920, production and quality control issues arose, but improvements were made, and Oakland vehicles shared the GM A platform used by Chevrolet.
In 1913, the Oakland Six was introduced, followed by the Model 50, which had a 365 cu in (6.0 L) flathead V8 engine from Northway Motor and Manufacturing Company in 1916. The production of these models increased significantly. Oakland reintroduced the Model 101 V8 in 1930 using a flathead architecture and shared with the Viking V8, but 1931 marked the end of the Oakland V8 models as Pontiac took over.
As General Motors expanded in the 1920s, there was a significant price and product gap between Chevrolet and Oakland, leading to additional brands to address consumer preferences—conscience”.[1] By early 1920. However, production and quality control problems began to plague the division. In 1921, a consistent production schedule was underway under new general manager Fred Hannum. The quality of the cars improved, and Oakland vehicles shared the GM A platform used by Chevrolet. One marketing tactic was the employment of a quick-drying bright blue automotive lacquer by Duco (a DuPont brand product), leading to the slogan “True Blue Oakland Six“.[1] The Oakland was built only in Pontiac, Michigan, which is the county seat of Oakland County. The name antedates any GM association with an automobile manufacturing facility in Oakland, California, that built Chevrolet vehicles before Chevrolet joined GM called Oakland Assembly.
The production and quality control issues in the 1920s affected the Oakland Motor Car Company by causing a significant decline in production. However, improvements were made, and the vehicles shared the GM A platform used by Chevrolet.
The end of the Oakland V8 models in 1931, as Pontiac took over, resulted in the decision to discontinue the Oakland brand in favour of the Pontiac brand. This marked the end of the V8 models produced by Oakland.
To address the price and product gap between Chevrolet and Oakland in the 1920s, General Motors introduced additional brands to cater to different consumer preferences. The production and quality control issues in the 1920s affected the Oakland Motor Car Company by causing a significant decline in production. However, improvements were made, and the vehicles shared the GM A platform used by Chevrolet.
The end of the Oakland V8 models in 1931, as Pontiac took over, resulted in the decision to discontinue the Oakland brand in favour of the Pontiac brand. This marked the end of the V8 models produced by Oakland.
In the 1920s, to address the price and product gap between Chevrolet and Oakland, General Motors introduced additional brands to cater to different consumer preferences.
Oakland Six and V8
In 1913, the Oakland Six was introduced, followed in 1916 by the Model 50 365 cu in (6.0 L) flathead V8 engine sourced from Northway Motor and Manufacturing Company,[4][5] and production soared to 35,000 in 1917. [2] The Series 50 V8 used a flathead design shared with the Oldsmobile Light Eight and the Cadillac Type 51. [6] The Model 50 was only available from 1915 to 1917 as a seven-passenger touring sedan on a 127″ wheelbase and was listed at US$1,600 ($44,800 in 2023 dollars [7]). [1]
In 1930, Oakland reintroduced the Model 101 V8 using a flathead architecture on a 117″ wheelbase and offered as a roadster, phaeton, coupe, closed-body sedan and sport coupe. Prices were listed at US$895 ($16,324 in 2023 dollars [7]) for the roadster or phaeton to US$1,045 ($19,060 in 2023 dollars [7]) for the Custom Sedan. [1] The Oakland V8 was shared with the Viking V8 which was a companion of Oldsmobile and was the only product sold. [3][1] 1931 was the last year for the Oakland Model 301 V8, and the only vehicle available was the V8 with very few changes, and was renamed the 1932 Pontiac Series 302 V8.[1] The 1932 V8 had an oversquare bore and stroke of 3.4375 in (87.3 mm) x 3.375 in (85.7 mm) displacing 251 cu in (4.1 L) with a compression ratio of 5.2:1. Horsepower was rated at 85 @3200 RPM using three main bearings, solid valve lifters and a Marvel one barrel carburettor. [1] Unusually, Pontiac switched to the straight-eight for 1933 until it was replaced in 1954. [1]
Pontiac joins Oakland and then replaces Oakland[edit]
As General Motors entered the 1920s, the product ladder started with the price-leading Chevrolet marque. Then, it progressed in price, power, and luxury to Oakland, Oldsmobile, Buick, and ultimately Cadillac. By the mid-1920s, a sizable price gap existed between Chevrolet and Oakland, and a wide gap existed between Oldsmobile and Buick. Also, a product gap existed between Buick and Cadillac. General Motors thought that consumers would buy up. To address this, General Motors introduced four priced and designed brands to fill the gaps. Cadillac introduced the LaSalle. This filled the gap between the Cadillac and the Buick. Buick introduced the Marquette to handle the upper end of the gap between Buick and Oldsmobile. Oldsmobile introduced the Viking, who cared for the lower end of the gap.
Oakland’s part in this plan was the 1926 Pontiac, a shorter-wheelbase “light six” priced to sell at the car’s price point but still above Chevrolet. Pontiac was the first of the companion marques introduced, and in its first year, it sold over fifty-nine thousand units. By 1929, GM had sold one hundred sixty-three thousand more Pontiacs than Oaklands. Oakland’s end was announced in 1931. Pontiac was the only companion made to survive beyond 1940 or to survive its “parent” make.
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tnering with engineering whiz Oscar Hedstrom, the duo built the Indian Motorcycle Company into the world’s largest manufacturer of its kind by its twelfth year of operation.
distributor of Morris cars and the MG logo was officially adopted in 1929. Morris Garage began as a bicycle and motorcycle shop. The owner, William Morris, was eventually awarded the title of Lord Nuffield in honor of his considerable contributions to the British automobile industry.