1949 Oldsmobile Futuramic 98 Convertible
The bigger news for 1949 wasn’t the styling (though the division adopted GM’s new lower, wider postwar bodies) but what sat under the hood.
Oldsmobile’s new 303 CI Rocket V-8, introduced alongside a similar unit from Cadillac, represented the first of General Motors’ postwar high-compression overhead-valve V-8 engines. With hydraulic valve lifters and a 7.25:1 compression ratio, it produced 135 horsepower and gave the full-size 98 Series a meaningful performance advantage over its contemporaries.
The body carrying that engine reflected GM’s new “Futuramic” design theme, applied across the 98 line on a 125-inch wheelbase chassis. The convertible is the most expressive of the group (long, low, and flush-fendered in a way that genuinely pointed toward the decade to come).
Oldsmobile had pioneered the Hydra-Matic automatic transmission back in 1940, and by 1949 it was standard on all 98 Series models. Power windows and the power-operated convertible top were standard on the 98 convertible, along with fender skirts and a day-night rearview mirror.
Oldsmobile produced 12,602 98 convertibles for 1949.
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