The Model S was the first four-seat passenger

car A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

produced by

Oldsmobile Oldsmobile (formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors) was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produc ...

in 1906, offered as a larger alternative to the Model R Curved Dash runabout that appeared in 1901. The advertised price was $2,250 ($ in dollars ). It was Oldsmobile's first four cylinder car and took the top level marketing position above the Model L and the entry-level Model R. It was one of the last independently developed products before they joined General Motors in 1908, and competed against Buick, Ford and other automakers at the time. It was built at the Oldsmobile factory in Detroit and developed by Frederick and Angus Smith, whose father Samuel L. Smith was the primary investor, and R. E. Olds had left the company due to an argument with Oldsmobile Board of Directors.

History

The Model S was equipped with a side-valve, in-line

four-cylinder engine The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized. Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engines are often categoriz ...

developing 28 bhp. The engine was installed in the front, driving the rear wheels through a transmission shaft. The

gearbox A transmission (also called a gearbox) is a mechanical device invented by Louis Renault (who founded Renault) which uses a gear set—two or more gears working together—to change the speed, direction of rotation, or torque multiplication/r ...

had three forward gears, with the gearshift lever positioned to the right of the driver. The brake pedal came into contact with the

drum brake A drum brake is a brake that uses friction caused by a set of Brake shoe, shoes or Brake pad, pads that press outward against a rotating bowl-shaped part called a brake drum. The term ''drum brake'' usually means a brake in which shoes press o ...

on the rear wheels. The Model S had a wheelbase of and came in three body styles, to include a 2- or 3-passenger "Gentleman's Roadster" with a

rumble seat A rumble seat (American English), dicky (dickie/dickey) seat (British English), also called a mother-in-law seat, is an upholstered exterior front-facing seat which is folded into the rear of a coach, carriage, or early motorcar. Depending on it ...

and the 5 passenger "Palace Touring" car. Uniquely, one retail price of US$2,250 was charged for each body style, while the Buick Four was US$900 ($ in dollars ). 1,400 Model S were manufactured in 1906, and it was replaced by the Model A in 1907.

References

Model S Cars introduced in 1906 Brass Era vehicles Cars discontinued in 1906 {{Brass-auto-stub