Are Oldsmobiles Just Chevys? The Brands' Relationship, Explained

Oldsmobile and Chevy are often discussed in the same breath, with both carmakers owned by General Motors and selling similar models in the past. However, despite some engine-swapping mishaps in the 1970s, Oldsmobiles and Chevys are not the same vehicles. 

Oldsmobile and Buick became the first operating divisions under the newly formed GM in 1908, with Chevy joining a few years later in 1918. While both brands grew under GM as the decades went on, they remained entirely separate operations — both even produced their own distinct V8 engines. By the 1970s, the Oldsmobile Cutlass was America's best-selling car and Chevrolet was dominating the market with a wide range of iconic cars. Both brands fought to deliver powerful muscle cars for the average American despite emissions standards setting back the horsepower race in the early '70s. They both had their own models to take on this challenge – until an engine scandal threatened it all in 1977. 

By the 1960s, many major automakers had started creating V8s that could be found in all their brands' cars, but GM was still boasting a unique V8 for each division. In Oldsmobile's brochure for its 1977 Delta 88, it mentioned the 350 V8 as an option, which most drivers assumed was the Oldsmobile 350. However, the Delta 88 could have either been the Oldsmobile 350 or the Chevrolet 350, depending where the car was being sold. This was not advertised anywhere except for a very easy-to-miss ordering code — even the engines were hard to tell apart since all GM divisions had started painting their engines blue by 1977. 

A quick glance at the Delta 88's brochure also didn't mention the two possible engine choices — in fact, it didn't include a lot of details or specifics at all. But car buyers would soon learn why that was when news stations reported that more than half of the 1977 Delta 88 models had the Chevrolet 350 V8 instead. A man from Chicago, Illinois, had realized his Delta 88 had the Chevrolet 350 when he got the car serviced. He then filed a lawsuit against GM for false advertising due to the brochure's failure to mention this possibility. The court ordered GM to disclose this information, ruling in favor of the customer.

As a result of so many incoming lawsuits, GM ultimately had to give $200 cash to 75,000 car owners to make up for the difference in value of the two engines. GM also had to give each of these car owners a 36,000-mile warranty. The case continued into the 1980s, with a federal judge ruling that anyone who purchased an Oldsmobile with a Chevrolet engine before April 1977 would get $550. In the end, GM's total settlement cost was $8.2 million. However, GM insisted at the time that it did nothing wrong — a 350 cubic inch, 170 hp engine is a 350 cubic inch, 170 hp engine, right? That's not how owners felt, however, especially when car repairs were delayed due to engines not fitting as intended. 

While Oldsmobile is no longer with us as of 2004, it produced a lot of amazing engines for its vehicles throughout the years. Today, GM generally has one V8 engine that it uses for all its divisions as a way to cut costs. It's not that drivers really wanted special engines for each brand, it's moreso that they wanted the engine details disclosed beforehand.