Posted on 04/01/2008 1:14:27 PM PDT by em2vn
Nearly four years to the day that the final Oldsmobile rolled off the assembly line in Lansing, Michigan, comes word that Oldsmobile is back. More startling than the announcement itself is its origin -- not from Lansing, not from Detroit, not from Michigan, not even from anywhere in North America.
A statement from Tokyo, of all places, reports that Toyota has secured rights to the Oldsmobile name. Asked for comment, GM is remaining extremely tight-lipped on the issue at the moment while presumably trying to sort out internally what oversight allowed this to happen -- and who to can for it.
Oldsmobile Intrigue Oldsmobile Intrigue A Most Egregious Oversight
Toyota officials have stated that GM's copyright on the Oldsmobile brand name expired midway through 2006. In the midst of the constant corporate shuffling underway in the domestic automotive juggernaut, somehow responsibility for renewal slipped through the cracks and the name floated around untethered for almost a year before someone at Toyota noticed. The unsubstantiated -- at this point -- story is that the alert came from the astute nephew of a still-confidential executive, who works as a clerk in the U.S. Copyright Office.
April 1st
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.