Car Brands That Start With "O"?

IndianAuto has run a series of articles about the car brands that start with different letters of the alphabet. Among these, the list of car brands that begin with O must be one of the shortest. Here are some brand names that start with the letter “O”

Oldsmobile

Oldsmobile was an American car brand found by Ransom E Olds in 1897. It was acquired by General Motors in 1901 and had been operating under the ownership of General Motors for the majority of its existence before shutting down in 2004. At the time of its closedown, Oldsmobile was the oldest surviving American car brand and among the oldest in the world.

Oldsmobile was one of the oldest American car brands

Oldsmobile was the first car manufacturer to produce a full automatic transmission unit which was employed on the 1940 Hydra-Matic. In 1976, Oldmobile’s Cutlass series was the best-selling model in America. However, the glorious past could not last. General Motors decided to shut down the Oldsmobile in 2014 due to declining sales. During its existence, the car brand manufactured 35.2 million cars.

Opel

Opel is a German car manufacturer which is headquartered in Russelsheim, Hesse, German. It was established in 1862 by Adam Opel. Originally, Opel majored in manufacturing sewing machines. The company started making automobile from 1899. In 1931, American car brand General Motors acquired a majority of stakes in Opel. In the next decades, the German car brand was operated under the control of General Motors. In 2017, Groupe PSA has bought Opel from General Motors. Vehicles designed by Opel are now sold under different brands in different countries. In the US, Canada, Mexico and China, the Opel cars are sold under Buick brand while in Australia and New Zealand, they are retailed by Holden. In the UK market, Opel cars are sold via Vauxhall brand.

German car brand Opel is now under the ownership of Groupe PSA

Oltcit

Originally, Oltcit was founded as a joint venture between the Romania government and French car brand Citroen in 1976. In the beginning, the Romania government hold a majority of stakes (64%). However, in 1991, Citroen withdrew from the joint venture. Afterwards, the company was renamed to Automotive Craiova.

Oltcit began as a joint venture between Citroen and the Romanian government

The car company underwent another change in ownership in 1994 when the South Korean car manufacturer Daewoo purchased the Romanian car brand. After General Motors acquired Daewoo, Oltcit returned to the Romanian government's control. In 2007, the manufacturing factory was bought by Ford and became the facility of Ford Romania.

OSCA

OSCA or Officine Specializzate Costruzione Automobili—Fratelli Maserati S.p.A refers to the short-lived Italian car brand that existed from 1947 to 1967. The car brand specialized in making racing and sports car. It was established in San Lazzaro di Savena, Bologna by Maserati brothers, Ettore, Ernesto and Bindo Maserati after they left Maserati to the Orsi family.

OSCA was founded by the Maserati brothers