On August 21, 1897, Ransom Eli Olds founded the Olds Motor Vehicle Company in Lansing, Michigan, launching a brand that would manufacture vehicles until 2004.
Olds’s venture established the foundational blueprint for modern automotive manufacturing. While contemporaries like Henry Ford were still hand‑crafting prototypes, Olds engineered a stationary assembly line to mass‑produce his Curved Dash Oldsmobile.
By using standardized parts and specialized labor teams, he slashed production costs and transformed the automobile from a luxury toy into a mass‑market commodity. Oldsmobile’s 107‑year run stands as a defining chapter in American industrial ingenuity.
Image: Ransom E. Olds c. 1901 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
