1984 Chrysler Fifth Avenue
1984 Chrysler Fifth Avenue

It’s a maxim, a song title, and something your friends might have tried to tell you before a blind date: It’s what’s inside that counts. For a car dealer trying to maneuver a would-be car buyer into a test drive, it’s all about the cabin experience.

But long before a shopper shows up at a dealership, he or she needs to be sold on a given car or truck’s exterior design, which is why few car ads devote much space to images of the vehicle’s interior. There’s a process to selling cars, and in past decades, plush seating was typically lower on the priority list than was sexy sheetmetal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX2Lg4sJInY

Still, there were a good number of print ads that focused—at least in part—on cabin finery. We’ve collected a few of those ads here.

Our question for you is: Of the vehicles you’ve driven, which one had the nicest interior? Leave a note in the comments section down below.

Oh, and yes, we did notice that Ricardo Montalban is sitting in a car with velour seats, not Corinthian leather. What gives?

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1953 Kaiser

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1954 Dodge

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1954 Hudson Hornet

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1955 Chevrolet

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1956 Plymouth

1956 Plymouth Ad
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1960 Lincoln

1960 Lincoln Ad
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1961 Oldsmobile Starfire

1961 Oldsmobile Ad
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1965 Ford Mustang

1965 Ford Mustang Ad
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1966 Cadillac

1966 Cadillac
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1972 Ford Thunderbird

 1972 Ford Thunderbird
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1973 Buick Century Regal

 1973 Buick Century Regal
1973 Buick Century Regal Ad

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1974 Mercury Cougar XR-7

1974 Mercury Cougar XR-7
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1976 Chevrolet Nova Concours

1976 Chevrolet Nova Concours Ad
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1978 AMC Gremlin

1978 AMC Gremlin
1978 AMC Gremlin Ad

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1979 Oldsmobile 88

 1979 Oldsmobile 88
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1980 Chevrolet Camaro Berlinetta

 1980 Chevrolet Camaro Berlinetta
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1982 Buick Skyhawk

1982 Buick Skylark Ad
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1984 General Motors

1984 General Motors Ad
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1984 Chrysler Fifth Avenue

1984 Chrysler Fifth Avenue Ad
1984 Chrysler Fifth Avenue Ad

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1987 Sterling

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Classic Auto Interiors

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