Most car shows are open to all makes and models, although some require that entries be older than a certain year. It’s the rare show that’s devoted solely to one brand. That made last Sunday’s All Oldsmobile Car Show at the Southington Drive-In in Plantsville a standout among the more than 325 shows being held across Connecticut this year.
Staged by the Wallingford-based New England Oldsmobile Club, the show pays homage to the auto brand started by Ransom E. Olds in Lansing, Mich. in 1897.
Oldsmobile lasted until 2004 when owner General Motors shut down the division; making it 20 years since its demise. A variety of Olds models were displayed, including many examples of the Cutlass and 442. The latter started as a high-performance version of the Cutlass in 1964, and was a standalone model from 1968 through 1971.
Perhaps the oldest Olds at the show was a luxurious 1953 Ninety-Eight convertible belonging to Don Jack of Stratford. The most basic was a 1974 Omega owned by Jim Savage of Wallingford. Sal Barberi of Brewster, N.
Y. brought the 1977 Cutlass Supreme Brougham that he’s owned since new. He’s immediate past president of the Oldsmobile Club of America and he recalled the end of Oldsmobile.
“The city of Lansing where most of these were made suffered terrific losses. (For) the entire Oldsmobile society for enthusiasts, it was kind of a bummer. And there were many reasons why G.
M. decided to close Oldsmobile, mostly financial,” he said. Barberi grew up in a Chev.