The Oldsmobile Series 70 is a full-size midrange automobile produced by Oldsmobile between the 1939 and 1950 model years. Oldsmobiles of this time period were in an unusual "middle" position in GM's hierarchy of automobile brands. Chevrolet and Pontiac were the budget priced models, while Buick and Cadillac were the luxury brands. GM would share their "A" body platforms between Chevrolet, Pontiac, and "B" body on Oldsmobile and Buick, while leaving Cadillac on the senior "C" platform. Oldsmobiles were then branded as "luxury level" Chevrolet's and Pontiac's, while Oldsmobiles using the "B" platform were "budget priced" Buicks and Cadillacs. Competitors from Ford's Mercury and Chrysler's DeSoto brands would give customers a choice to have Oldsmobile levels of luxury, while not paying as much for a comparable Oldsmobile. GM in later years would discontinue the Series 70 and the budget Oldsmobile Series 60, and introduce the Oldsmobile 88 to push Oldsmobile upmarket, giving Chevrolet and Pontiac a better market position for a lower price. It was with this generation that all GM vehicles experienced increased width dimensions to accommodate three passengers on the front bench seat and an additional three passengers on rear bench seat installed vehicles. This was accomplished with the deletion of running board thereby adding additional room inside the passenger compartment and upgrading the floor mounted gearshift to a steering column installed transmission gear selector for the Hydramatic automatic transmission. 1939–1940 Naming standards were in flux at Oldsmobile during the late 1930s and 1940s. From 1932 through 1938 Oldsmobile had two series: "F" and "L". Series F came with a straight-6 engine and Series L came with a larger body and a straight-8 engine. Series F was renamed Series 60 in 1939 and Series L was replaced with the Series 70, with the Series 70 being powered by the straight-6 and the straight-8 respectively. The Series 60 used the GM A-body and the Series 70 used the B-body. In 1940 the even larger C-body was introduced to Oldsmobile and it alone was powered by the straight-8. In order to differentiate it as Oldsmobiles senior level vehicle it was named the Series 90 while remaining below the Buick Special. The series were also given names for the first time that year with the Series 60, 70, and 90 being called the Special, Dynamic, and Custom Cruiser respectively. The Hydramatic transmission, a fully clutchless automatic, debuted in the 1940 model