Over the years, Oldsmobile has had little success with its smaller cars. This division of General Motors, which made its venerable reputation building some of America's best large luxury cars, has struggled to produce a small/medium car to compete with the Japanese cars and attract a younger buyer. Oldsmobile's first attempt, the Starfire, was based on the badly flawed Chevrolet Vega and went nowhere. Then came the Omega, the Firenza, the Calais, and the Achieva. None even raised an eyebrow in the Honda, Toyota, or Nissan boardrooms. The Japanese continued producing superior smooth, quiet, sporty, well-made, reliable, long-life automobiles.
    Well, something has changed at Oldsmobile, because its replacement for the Achieva, and perhaps the Cutlass, is a deadly serious and reasonably successful attempt to challenge the best from Japan. The new car is called the Alero.

Oldsmobile's Alero may be the winning small car this manufacturer has tried to build.

    The Alero is a good-looking automobile, a departure from the "jelly bean" look that seems to have descended upon almost all new cars from Japan. The interior has a practical and luxurious feel. More important, you feel like you’re getting into a nicely finished Japanese car. The Alero sports crisp, sharp-looking instruments, steering column stalk controls, steering wheel cruise controls and good supportive front seats.
    On the road, this car is a revelation. It is tight, quiet and easy to drive. It corners remarkably flat and rides better than most cars in its class. Although quiet overall, an objectionable tire rumble is audible when driving on some surfaces. The four-wheel, antilock disc brakes are superb, much better than I would expect for a U.S. car in this price range. The selectable traction control really works when you need it.
    The Alero accelerates well with the standard 2.4 liter, 150 hp, double overhead camshaft, 4-valve per cylinder, 4-cylinder engine (Quad 4). This engine is no sweet purring Japanese motor. Nevertheless, it does a pretty good job, is quiet and smooth on the freeway, but just a little rough and noisy when delivering rapid acceleration during freeway passing. (Someday U.S. auto manufacturers, and GM in particular, will build a nice, smooth, quiet, torquey, powerful, small 4-cylinder engine that will compete with Asian and European engines.)
    The Alero's optional 3.4 liter, 170 hp, V-6, pushrod engine is derived from a series of GM V-6 engines first introduced in 1980. The engine is a little smoother and more powerful than the 4-cylinder, and its fuel consumption is almost the same as the 4-cylinder. So, although the 4-cylinder works well, the 6-cylinder seems a good buy for an extra $735. With the bigger power plant, the Alero out-accelerates the best-selling cars in its class, — the 1999 Honda Accord, Ford Taurus and Toyota Camry. The four-speed automatic transmission is exceptionally smooth-shifting and responsive.
    The car comes in six configurations, three as a coupe, and three as a four-door sedan. The bottom of the line, the GX coupe and sedan both are priced at $16,325. These cars include air, four-wheel antilock disc brakes, tilt steering wheel, power door locks, traction control, power trunk release, dual power outlets, and the 4-cylinder engine. Upgrading the stereo with a cassette and CD player and adding cruise control adds $485 to the cost.
    The GL coupe is priced at $18,355, the sedan at $17,975. In addition to the GX standard equipment, these cars come with cruise control, power driver seat (height adjustment), power windows, dual power mirrors and tire inflation monitoring system. An option package with keyless remote entry, six-way driver's seat and the V-6 engine is offered at $1,350; leather-wrapped steering wheel and fog lights at $235, a wheel package with touring tires and bright aluminum wheels at $450, a moonroof at $650, a full six-way power driver's seat at $305, leather seats at $900, upgraded premium sound system at $150 and a rear spoiler at $200.
    The top-of-the-line GLS coupe and sedan are priced at $20,875 and include, in addition to the equipment standard on the GL, a V-6 engine, keyless remote entry system, 6-way power driver's seat, leather seats, polished alloy wheels and an upgraded stereo system. The only options available are a moonroof at $650, a premium stereo system at $150 and a rear spoiler at $200.
    The Environmental Protection Agency fuel consumption figures are 22 mpg city, 30 mpg highway for the 4-cylinder engine; 20 mpg city, and 28 mpg highway for the V-6 engine.
    A sophisticated-looking, great-driving medium-sized car for between $16,000 and $21,000, the Alero is one of the bargains on the automobile market. The only unanswered question is: Does the long-term life and reliability of this car match those of its Japanese competition? Only time will tell. Overall, the Alero is a very pleasant car, one this writer likes a lot.

Motoring since 1952, Austin Lynas has owned 54 cars and at one time raced mini-sedans in England. An aerospace engineer, he was instrumental in developing the anti-skid systems used in British military aircraft that preceded today’s ABS systems. Lynas can be reached by e-mail at osten@aol.com.