Ads for George May Ford have been featured on this blog before, because they usually have some interesting angle or design. This one's no exception. There's a lot going on, with bold clip art and lettering, stock photography and a listing of the area high schools and their team names, which is nice touch. (I almost missed the giant pencil going down the left hand side of the ad.)
George May ads sometimes had a gimmick to generate some traffic to the dealership and this one does as well. A 'Twist' party was promoted for the upcoming Friday night, with music by The Wanderers. (This was not the Wanderers out of Michigan; instead, it was a local group who had a regular "Twist Nite" gig at Lincoln Park, as well as performing at St. Mary's dances and Lorain Rainbow Girls events.)
And as usual, vintage car ads are always interesting. I like the line art illustrations of the various models, and I'm not even a Ford guy.
Don't you miss the days when cars had a distinctive look? I can't tell a car's manufacturer or model these days nohow. To my eye, they're interchangeable. Worst of all are the SUVs, especially the Cadillac or Mercedes (with its way-too-big logo.) I guess that's why I'm not too emotionally involved with my cars any more. The last ones I really liked were my Olds Achieva and my Olds Cutlass. After that, they've been largely forgettable (but cheap).
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Before anybody goes too gaa-gaa over the prices...
A dollar in 1963 was worth $9.99 in today's money, so multiply those prices by 10 to get today's price. But, y'know, 12- to 13-k for a couple-year-old used car is *still* a pretty good deal. I see where a similarly-age car in today market is around 30-k.
Funny, Dan, you should mention being able to recognize cars...
When watching old movies, my dad would sit and I.D. cars, one after the other. "'48 DeSoto, '32 Ford, '51 Studebaker." He used to lament that all of that stopped in the 1970s when Detroit merged their models and stopped with large, yearly style changes.
"When it's just the front end and the taillights," the old man asked, "what's the fun in that?"
My first car was a 1960 Ford Falcon and I can tell you that it surely was the worst car I have ever owned. Today, cars all have power brakes with dual cylinders. Not only did that Falcon not have power brakes, it didn't have hydraulic brakes, at least in the front. Mechanical. Good old foot power. It was like the Fred Flintstone method. The rear springs sagged so much I had to put wood blocks in them to support them. The engine had a hole in one cylinder so the car would not go over 35 mph. And the rust! Small parts of my steed littered the streets of Cleveland's East Side.
Of course my father bought the car for a bottle of gin from a friend of his, so one's expectations had to be low. Better he should have given me the booze.
Today's cars have it all over yesterday's counterparts.
Buster: You got it, pal.
When I describe to my kids how each car had its own starting sequence depending on the weather and the weather, they couldn't believe it: Push the pedal twice, hold it half-way down, turn the key. Unless it's cold out and the engine's cold: Pull the choke, push the pedal three times, slowly, so you don't flood the engine, count to ten, then crank it. Unless the engine's hot: Don't touch the pedal, unless you flood it, then hold it all the way to the floor and crank it 'til it starts.
And each car was different under each set of circumstances. And they wouldn't start if it rained. And they'd stall out if you went thru a deep puddle. And they rotted out in 3 years. And there was no air conditioning. And if an exhaust system lasted more than a year you were doing good.
The last "old car" I owned was 20-years-old and that was bad enough. I sometimes fantasize about owning something from the past. Then, I come to my senses. They're cool to look at, and all, but they're like boats - best if the other guy owns it!
I can assure you that a 1960 Ford Falcon DID NOT have mechanical brakes anywhere on the car.1938 was the last year that Ford had mechanical brakes.Ford held out longer than other makes as old Henry Ford was a tightwad and was slow to adapt.The 1960 Falcon had juice drum brakes all around.And power brakes were finally offered as an option in 1964 when Ford did the model refresh.Now if you want real honest to God mechanical drum brakes,then come and take a ride in my 1930 Ford Model A 5 window coupe.You'll find out what mechanical brakes are mighty quick.But they aren't as bad as people lead on.You just have to make sure you have good brake rods.
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