Indian Summer was an unusual choice of theme for this Earl J. Lance used car ad that ran in the Lorain Journal back on October 12, 1953.
"Enjoy Mother Nature's most beautiful display in one of these guaranteed used cars," reads the ad copy. At least it provided an opportunity to use some Indian clip art.
We all know that Indian summer is loosely defined as an unusual warm spell in the fall that occurs after the first frost. But what is the Indian aspect of it?
There's some theories in this Wiki entry. It notes, "Although the exact origins of the term are uncertain, it was perhaps so-called because it was first noted in regions inhabited by Native Americans, or because the natives first described it to Europeans, or it had been based on the warm and hazy conditions in autumn when Native Americans hunted.
"John James Audubon wrote about "The Indian Summer that extraordinary Phenomenon of North America" in his journal on November 20, 1820. He mentions the "constant Smoky atmosphere" and how the smoke irritates his eyes. Audubon suspects that the condition of the air was caused by "Indians, firing the Prairies of the West." Audubon also mentions in many other places in his writings the reliance Native Americans had on fire. At no point does Audubon relate an Indian Summer to warm temperatures during the cold seasons."
Yessir, Mr. Bird Man. Blame your irritated eyes on the Indians.
Anyway, the ad is interesting for a few reasons. Earl J. Lance is indicated as a Kaiser and Henry J. Dealer. Kaiser Motors was an automobile manufacturer in Michigan, and the Henry J was a compact car it produced. The idea behind it was that it was built inexpensively, and priced low so that the average American could afford it. (I could go for one of them right now.)
The ad also includes an assortment of other brands, including Chevrolet, Ford, Nash, Pontiac, DeSoto, and Oldsmobile.
Alas, Chrysler discontinued DeSoto in 1960. Olds and Pontiac were both discontinued by General Motors during the period in which the auto maker was in government-assisted bankruptcy in the early 2000s. And as noted back on this post, the Nash brand was phased out in the late 1950s by AMC.
That "Indian Summer Bonus" doesn't seem all that great to me. Wouldn't you expect that a dealer selling you a used car would change the oil and grease it?
ReplyDeleteI see an ad for a '51 DeSoto Convertible.
ReplyDeleteMy last book, one of the characters drove that same car, in yellow.
And he traded it for a new one in August of '53.
I wonder if the one for sale is his...
The Henry J was a cut rate auto. Had poor sales and I believe was used by sears as the Allstate car. Btw Lance was a good dealership bought an Electra from them in 72...
ReplyDeleteProbably the most exotic car in this ad is the 1952 Packard.Within a year of this ad in "54 Packard would merge with Studebaker and then that only lasted a few years before Packard was phased out altogether and then by the late "50's Studebaker started letting Mercedes-Benz sell their vehicles in America in Studebaker dealerships,as Studebaker could never really compete with the Big 3.It's ironic that they actually did beat them in the end by letting a foreign nameplate gain traction in the USA which led up to the Big 3 troubles of bankruptcy and government bailout back in 2008-2009.
ReplyDelete