Posts from ‘Plymouth’
1941 Chevrolet
You can’t exactly say that Plymouth created a market segment, but the new-for-1928 Chrysler division went to great lengths to define one. Plymouth was founded specifically to tackle the “low-cost” competition, which at the time was primarily Chevrolet and Ford.
Classic Car Ads: Cars of 1974
1974 AMC Matador
It was a bad year to sell cars, especially large American cars. For those not yet alive, 1974 arrived towards the end of the OPEC Oil Embargo—and the related record-high gas prices—and at the beginning of a mild recession.
Mopar Ugly Holiday Sweater
The holiday season is upon us, which means it’s time for decorations, carols, egg nog, and ugly sweaters. Stellantis’ Mopar parts and service division wants to get automotive enthusiasts into the spirit by offering its own line of ugly wearables.
What was the Chrysler Volaré?
1985 Chrysler Volaré
Odds are you’ll never see never see one of these cars, but know this: Chrysler indulged in some very confusing rebadging back in the Eighties, especially in Mexico.
Classic Car Ads: Safety
JJD Twin Tyres
I haven’t heard much about how “safety sells” in recent years. Automotively, we’ve moved on from safety—in general terms—to Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). ADAS systems include things like blind-spot alert, rear cross-traffic alert, pedestrian detection, and lane-keep assist. Really, stuff we should all be pretty good at by now—without help.
1963 Ford Country Squire wagon
So much has changed in American culture over the past decade or so, but there’s at least one time-honored tradition that appears to be holding on just fine: the classic car show. From low-key summertime cruise nights to high-profile concours gatherings, people young and old love to get together and enjoy special-interest vehicles of all stripes. And some car shows, such as those produced by the Goodguys Rod and Custom Association, get big—really big. Goodguys bills itself as “America’s Favorite Car Show,” and every year the company produces an ambitious nationwide schedule of large-scale car shows that take over fairgrounds-sized venues. The events are two- or three-day extravaganzas that typically attract 3500 to 6500 vehicles and 35,000 to 100,000 spectators per show. Put on your walking shoes!
Classic Car Ads: Cheap Cars of 1983
Cheap Cars of 1983
Affordability is a relative thing. But odds are, if a manufacturer is sharing the price of a product in advertising, the thing being sold is probably a good deal. Of course, in the case of automobiles, the listed base price is subject to any number of asterisks and fine-print notations—especially back in the Eighties, before regulators were paying especially close attention to auto ads.
Classic Car Ads: Coupes of 1981
1981 Ford Granada
My dad was a coupe man, though I cannot say he owned coupes on purpose. He was a bargain hunter, and a car’s door count was less important than its price. Nonetheless, my sister, mother and I never complained about having to squeeze into the back seat. For the most part, my dad’s Chevrolet Nova 2-door, and multiple Oldsmobile Cutlass and Pontiac Ventura coupes, offered sufficient rear-seat space, provided you didn’t mind negotiating the path past the folded front seat—and for the most part, we didn’t mind.
Forgotten Concept: Plymouth Pronto
Plymouth Pronto
This is an installment in a series of posts looking back on show cars that we feel deserved a little more attention than they got. If you have a suggestion for a Forgotten Concept topic, please shoot us a line or leave a comment below.
1983 Cadillac Seville
The song “Driver’s Seat” would be British pop band Sniff ‘n’ the Tears biggest hit. Released in 1978, the tune would chart in several countries, and would provide period top-40-radio listeners with a needed reprieve from the disco music which then dominated the airwaves.
