Oldsmobile Model R
The Oldsmobile Model R, built from 1901 to 1904, is better known as the legendary Curved Dash Oldsmobile—the world’s first mass-produced automobile. The Model R was marketed as a practical “horseless carriage” for the everyday buyer, making personal motoring accessible to a wide audience. Its success established Oldsmobile as a pioneer of automotive mass production and helped shift the automobile from a novelty of the wealthy to a practical machine for middle-class America.
1901 – 1904
1904 Curved Dash Oldsmobile Runabout
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Body style: 2-passenger runabout only.
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Price: Around $650.
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Standard equipment: Basic curved dash, wooden chassis, leather seat, tiller steering.
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Options: Very few—paint striping or upholstery could sometimes be specified, but otherwise it was standardized for affordability.
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Notes: These earliest cars were hand-built in small numbers (~400 produced).
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Body style: Still primarily the 2-passenger runabout.
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Standard features: More consistent build quality as production scaled up.
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Options: Lamps, horn, and top could be added. Some paint variation was possible, but black/red trim remained common.
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Notes: About 2,500 produced—this was the year Olds really proved the car could be built in volume.
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Body styles:
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Runabout (standard) – 2 passengers.
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Tonneau add-on – Detachable rear seat, converting it to a 4-passenger car.
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Options: Lamps, tops, upholstery upgrades, additional trim.
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Notes: The Tonneau became the first real “variant” of the Model R. Production boomed (about 4,000 built).
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Body styles:
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Runabout (still the base).
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Tonneau (remained optional).
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Options: By now, lamps, tops, and horns were more common, and some trim upgrades became standardized.
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Notes: This was the last year before Oldsmobile moved on to larger, front-engined models (the “French front” cars). The Model R had cemented its place in history with nearly 19,000 built across four years.
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