Oldsmobile endured considerable ribbing for--and endless parodies of--the "It's notyour father's Oldsmobile" campaign of a few years back. But that was in the B.A.
(Before Aurora) era. Rolling out a Eurostyle vehicle like the Aurora--and positioning
it to compete with the higher-priced imports--was critical to remaking Oldsmobile's
image for the '90s.
With the Aurora, Oldsmobile designers not only demonstrated that the division
still had a lot of life in it. They also proved that virtues like performance,
sportiness, style and luxury-level amenities could be had for a lot less than the
$45,000-plus pricetags affixed to the fancy imports. When the Aurora is matched up
against those big-ticket competitors--and value for the dollar is factored in--the
Aurora wins, hands-down.