"The Rocket 88", probably Oldsmobile's greatest symbol and trademark. First used to describe Oldsmobile's new overhead valve V-8 engine in the late forties, "Rocket Engine Oldsmobile" became an often used phrase to describle Oldsmobiles in brochures and magazine ads of the late forties and early fifties. At that time, it was Oldsmobile, not Pontiac that was GM's performance car. "Rocket Engine Oldsmobiles" were the dominate force in early NASCAR history and won NASCAR's first stock car championship. The Rocket symbol stayed with Oldsmobile in some form or fashion up until the very end of production in 2004, when it appeared as a very stylized and abstract form on cars like the Aurora and Alero. Oldsmobile, one of the greatest marques of all time.....gone, but not forgotten.
