The Aurora was and still is a rare car, even in the United States. In its time, it was the flagship of Oldsmobile and it came out at a difficult time for the automaker. Thus, if in the 85th was released 1 066,122 Oldsmobile, in 1993 already 402 936 cars of this brand were produced. Aurora was to increase sales. And despite the success of the first year of sales of the first and second generation, the total sales were not great. Perhaps this was due to the announcement by GM in December 2000 that the Oldsmobile brand will be discontinued in the coming years. But today, such – a small series plays the role of exclusivity of the car. Some owners like it.
Thus, at the plant in Orion, Michigan, 71,722 second-generation cars were produced. And the greatest number of cars were sold in the first year of sales – 53,640 were sold in 2001. Already in 2002, only 10865 vehicles were sold. In general, the Aurora was and remains an excellent car. Even today’s owners note, that this car does not bring them any serious troubles. And I can not understand why these cars did not sell too well. Especially since Oldsmobile separated the Aurora from the rest of the brand’s cheaper models.
The 2003 Oldsmobile Aurora was supposed to be a competitor for Infiniti and Lexus. It was essentially meant to appeal to Americans who were already scrambling for expensive, imported sedans. It was an expensive car, built on the Buick Riviera platform, and in some ways became a replacement for the Toronado. Although the latter was produced in a coupe body, but the second generation Aurora can also be called a personal, luxury car, because in comparison with the first generation, the car became much shorter.
Now I would like to focus on the second generation, produced from ’99 to ’03. This is the time when Mercedes produced the executive W220 and Toyota just launched the Camry V30.
Sale and price of 2003 Oldsmobile Aurora.
Today, you can buy an Aurora with about 100,000 miles on it for $6,000. We are talking about a car with no significant faults. For that money, you can even find one with 70,000 miles on it. Some copies are sold for less than $1,000. Such a low price is due only to the not too good condition of the car.
Exterior and photos.
Even from the photo you can notice that there are no Oldsmobile logos on the body of the Aurora. Only the trunk lid to the right of the license plate has the brand name inscription. The hood lid has an emblem with the letter A. In such a way GM wanted to show that the Aurora is not just Oldsmobile, but a separate, separate car.
2003 second-generation Oldsmobile Aurora is easy to recognize by several signs. Thus, the front bumper of the second generation has round fog lights, and the taillights are separate, not one-piece – as it was in the first generation of the car.
The second Aurora became shorter than the first by 6 inches. So with a body length of 5062mm (199.3d), the wheelbase is 2850mm (112.2d). Curb weight is 1645kg. And although the body of this car is long enough, but the wheelbase is comparable to the European business sedans, but not representative. Aurora was shod in 235/55 R17 tires. The drag coefficient is 0.32 and ground clearance is 142mm.
The last 500 cars were painted in a special maroon color. These cars were equipped with special chrome-plated rims and Final 500 badges. The more powerful trucks with V8 engines can be easily recognized by the Aurora 4.0 inscription under the license plate.
In general, the appearance of the first and second generation Aurora is made in biodesign style. Somebody will tell that he likes the car of the first generation more. Such preferences are possible simply because the car of ’94 was much more, and not only in sizes, but also in wheelbase it is completely comparable with the big, European executive-class sedans. The one-piece, rear light, which was popular in the ’90s and used by other automakers, may also seem more appealing to many. At the same time, many noted that despite the reduction in size, the new Aurora is better all around.
Interior and equipment.
The driver’s seat of the Aurora is equipped with an electric drive, and as an option both front seats could be equipped with memory. The car was equipped with keyless entry and already in the base was a CD player for one disc. The basic music system was equipped with 6 speakers. The optional Bose music system had an amplifier and eight speakers. You can see the A logo on the steering wheel – it’s a reminder that this is firstly Aurora, and only then Oldsmobile.
The steering wheel has radio and climate control buttons. The ignition switch is not on the steering column, but on the front panel. The interior of this Oldsmobile is trimmed with wood and there is especially a lot of it in the area of the automatic transmission lever. In 2002, a navigation system with voice control became available for the Aurora. In the back, there is an armrest with integrated cupholders. As for such a big body, the trunk space is not big at all – 421 liters. Obviously, luggage capacity was sacrificed for overall style.
In general, Aurora had a rich for its time equipment. Even by today’s standards this car is very well equipped. It has options which are not present on many new, but on the budget cars. At one time this car was not inferior to European business sedans in terms of equipment, and the volume of interior space it surpassed most of them.
Engine and specs of the 2003 Oldsmobile Aurora.
It’s a big, front-wheel drive car in which the engine is peppered. I’ve even seen reviews where people have written that it’s the best, front-wheel drive sedan they’ve ever had the pleasure of driving.
The Aurora originally came with a 4.0 liter V8 gasoline engine. This Northstar engine had four valves per cylinder. The engine had 87mm diagonal cylinders with a stroke of 84mm. Maximum power of 250 hp is achieved at 5600 rpm, and torque of 353 Nm is available at 4400 rpm.
In 2001, the 3.5 liter V6 was introduced. This engine was produced until mid 2002. The engine called Shortstar has a power of 215 hp and 317Nm. Remarkably, its maximum performance is reached at the same rpm as the older 244 V8.
Inspecting the engine of this car you can notice the inscription Aurora V8 on the plastic, decorative engine cover. Despite the transverse layout of the engine, removing some of the components manages to get enough interior space to easily service this car.
This car has full disc brakes, which sets this Oldsmobile apart from earlier, American cars. For its time, this was a completely modern, technically speaking car. Yes, – it was equipped with a four-speed automatic, but then it was the norm for Japanese sedans from Toyota, or Nissan. Five-speed boxes were found on premium models from BMW, or Mercedes.
Oldsmobile produced a rare, beautiful and very comfortable car. Today it’s hard to call it fast, but owning such a car can make you a unique person in your neighborhood. It is a pity that the history of Oldsmobile was cut short, because the example of the Aurora shows – how good cars they produced.
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