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Oldsmobile Aurora sedan cast in new format for sporty action
Bob Plunkett
Date Posted: 5/10/2005
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PASO ROBLES, Calif. -- Two-lane back roads strung over golden hills through the Santa Lucia Range, part of California's coastal mountains stretching southward from Monterey to Morro Bay, became our track to sample the spirit of prototypes for a new flagship sedan coming out of the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors.
This latest Olds, bearing a 2001 model designation and rolling into the market early in year 2000 as the first car cast for the next millennium, still carries the badge of Aurora from its six-year-old namesake yet it's a different animal: Resized and restyled around a rigid new structure, then outfitted with new powertrains and taut mechanical equipment to create a lively new personality, it seems more akin to sophisticated European touring sedans than anything ever before out of General Motors.
Aurora in this new form feels tight and precise like the imports, and in test runs around hard-wrapped canyon curves it revealed an uncommon linear agility far removed from the lumbering attitude of its full-size predecessor.
Yet that first Aurora performed an important function to rejuvenate the Oldsmobile brand: Emerging as a 1995 model, it became the vanguard for a wave of modern products which in the brief span of five years would replace stodgy Oldsmobile nameplates with innovative new concepts as expressed by a mid-size Intrigue sedan and compact Alero coupe.
Aurora in initial form looked dramatic and stylish, and it carried a sophisticated V8 engine derived from the Cadillac Northstar plant which would also be used to fire champion IRL racers. In the comfort department, it fit and felt like some imported luxo-liner.
Ultimately, though, Aurora's full-size dimensions limited its market appeal, particularly to women as well as men of affluence and education in the age bracket below fifty. These buyers, attracted to mid-size performance sedans in a category of cars called "Entry Luxury," look to Germany and Japan for labels with active personalities and luxurious interior fittings.
As a brand, Oldsmobile wants to capture a share of this market, and it has recast the Aurora in a mid-size structure imbued with the qualities of an import in order to attract the desired youthful clientele.
Structure for the new Aurora was rescaled using stronger and lighter materials to create a rigid platform designed to resist tendencies to twist and bend when set in motion. Wheelbase decreases by 1.6 inches, with more than six inches pared from the overall length and 1.5 inches in width, yet the new form adds more than an inch in height.
Weight drops too -- by 164 pounds with the V8 engine aboard, or as much as 282 pounds with a new V6.
As a result, a condensed structure with less mass yet more rigidity becomes more agile and responsive in motion, and it's easier to maneuver in tight quarters, such as a parking lot.
Despite the downscaled proportions, however, Aurora's passenger compartment actually provides more room for heads and limbs than the previous design, particularly in the rear where legroom increases by more than an inch.
And although the trunk loses about a cubic foot in capacity through downsizing, the revamped configuration with a flat floor actually provides more usable cargo space.
Exterior styling for Aurora in this new format appears refined and subdued with the sheetmetal skin stretched tightly across the framework like a muscular athlete. Lines with flat sheetmetal shoulders and hints of hard creases in transitions between sculpted planes vaguely resemble Oldsmobile's Intrigue sedan and suggest a family of conforming designs, with superfluous decorations like a chrome grille supplanted instead with monochromatic effects in the manner of pricy Euro cars.
At the nose, Aurora shows twin headlamp clusters with composite halogen high beams and projector low beams. Foglamps mount below in body-colored fascia beside two bold air ports.
The hood slopes up to meet the windshield, canted aggressively rearward and supported by A pillars trimmed in girth to improve driver visibility. Lines sweep across the arched roof above blackened B pillars but follow graceful C pillar curves down to a brief back deck.
Inside, a single layout works for Aurora, with five-person seating featuring twin front buckets and room for three on a rear bench.
Front buckets, firm and supportive like seats in German sedans, are covered in fine leather and move in multiple ways to adapt to body contours.
The driver's seat looks more like a high-tech airline cockpit with wrap-around front panels containing instruments and controls. A center console rises at the front and cants decidedly toward the driver for easy reach to controls for air and audio systems. White-on-black analog instruments ringed by bright chrome bezels include a tachometer and speedometer flanked by fuel and oil gauges.
It's definitely a luxurious compartment, with trimmings of soft-touch materials and accents in wood on console, dash and doors.
It's also a quiet space, reflecting considerable efforts to subdue noise and vibration within the structure through the use of rubber mounts and sound-damping insulation surrounding the passenger compartment.
Aurora's safety cage ensures a strong passenger cell protected by energy-absorbing front and rear crumple zones and side door beams. Frontal air bags are in place for bucket seats, along with new side-impact air bags.
Active safety controls range from quick-to-respond rack and pinion steering to four-wheel disc brakes tied to computerized anti-lock controls.
In addition, a traction controller and vehicle stability system score as standard equipment with the V8 engine but are available optionally with the V6.
Essence of Aurora comes from its engine applications.
Aurora 4.0 inherits the successor 4.0-liter V8 from the original Aurora, although this one with twin cams and four valves per cylinder has been redesigned for clean, quiet and efficient operation. Output runs to 250 hp and torque peaks low and holds through a broad band.
Aurora 3.5 contains a 3.5-liter aluminum V6 derived from the V8 that produces high-end power but low-end torque. It generates 215 hp.
Each engine links to a four-speed electronic automatic transmission from the efficient GM Hydra-matic family.
Aurora comes to market with base price points for both editions pitched below $35,000.
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| Vehicle Specifications: |
| 2001 OLDSMOBILE AURORA Specs |
| Description: |
Mid-size luxury sedan
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| Model Options: |
Mid-size luxury sedan
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| Wheelbase: |
112.2 inches
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| Overall Length: |
199.3 inches
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| Engine Size: |
DOHC 3.5-L V6
DOHC 4.0-L V8
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| Transmission: |
Auto/4
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| Drive: |
Front
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| Braking: |
Power 4-disc/ABS
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| Airbags: |
2 (front) + 2 (side)
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| Gas Mileage: |
V6: 19/28 mpg
V8: 17/25 mpg
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| Price: |
$ 31,000 to $ 37,000 |
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