The Aurora Rolls On

                It was March 28, 2003 when the last Oldsmobile Aurora rolled off the Assembly line at Orion Assembly.  During the years from 1994 until 2003 over 208,000 Aurora’s were handcrafted by UAW Local 5960 members and left the facility on their way to customers around the world.  The Aurora, with its Cadillac 4.6L Northstar V8, was the official pace car at the 97 and 2000 Indianapolis 500.  In 1997, the pace car was driven by three-time Indy 500 winner Johnny Rutherford.
            The Aurora was noted for its engine, build quality, ride, and structural integrity. During normal crush-to-failure tests to evaluate body torsional rigidity, the Aurora's unibody construction broke GM's testing machine.   A frame-crusher otherwise used to test stronger truck frames had to be used, with the car twice exceeding federal standards for passenger cars.  Many of these well-built vehicles are still on the road today.  I recently spotted this one in Clarkston, MI. Best of luck to Orion Assembly and UAW Local 5960!