Classic Car Ads: Newspaper Bargains

What was with the big floating heads? Why were so many of the advertised vehicles displayed at extreme angles? And why, tell me why, no one bothered to have these delightful ads proofread?

Maybe you’re too young to recall newspaper dealer ads, but before the Internet kicked in, most Saturday newspapers contained a dedicated section or two of house-produced dealership advertisements featuring many of the elements noted above. Now, computer-designed layouts kicked in in the late Eighties, so for the really good stuff you have to go back a little earlier.

Dealers like to appear in their own ads, so it was common to see a giant head floating above the week’s bargains. And the bargains! In huge type appeared unlikely prices which were sure to lure customers to local dealers–just in case the price was correct, and the single example available at that price had not yet been sold.

This is hucksterism at its unbridled best—or worst—depends how you look at it. Collected here are a dozen such ads, each including “special” pricing, and often the promise of friendly service. Enjoy!

More classic car ads

Newspaper Bargains

1926

Tri-State Motor Company, San Antonio, Texas     
Tri-State Motor Company, San Antonio, Texas

Classic Car Ads: Cars of 1912

 

1955

Golden Mile Chevrolet-Oldsmobile, Ontario, Canada     
Golden Mile Chevrolet-Oldsmobile, Ontario, Canada

Classic Car Ads: Pickup Trucks of 1961

 

1956

1956 Dealer Ad
Riefling Nash, Jefferson, Missouri

Classic Car Ads: Station Wagons of 1979

 

1957

Riefling Nash, Jefferson, Missouri     
Hallman’s Chevrolet, Rochester, new York

Classic Car Ads: Luxury Cars of 1985

 

1960

Hallman’s Chevrolet, Rochester, new York      
Greater St. Louis Dodge Dealers Association

Classic Car Ads: Cheap Cars of 1983

 

1965

Greater St. Louis Dodge Dealers Association      
Grand Spalding Dodge, Chicago

Classic Car Ads: Coupes of 1981

 

1966

Ken O’Keefe Ford, St. Mathews, Kentucky     
Ken O’Keefe Ford, St. Mathews, Kentucky

 

Classic Car Ads: Sedans of 1980

 

1966

 

Ben Lindenbush Rambler, St. Louis     
Ben Lindenbush Rambler, St. Louis

Cheap Wheels: 1975-1977 Oldsmobile Omega F-85

 

1967

Dealer Ad, newspaper
1967 Volkswagen (Canada)

After Dark: Classic Car Ads Set at Night

 

1969

Saxon Oldsmobile, Elk River, Minnesota     
Saxon Oldsmobile, Elk River, Minnesota

Big-Top Madness! Clowns in Classic Car Ads

 

1971

Di Salvo’s American Motors, St. Louis     
Di Salvo’s American Motors, St. Louis

More Show than Go: Performance Car Ads from the Malaise Era

 

1980

Martin Chevrolet, Richmond, Virginia      
Martin Chevrolet, Richmond, Virginia

Design Madness: A Gallery of Sixties Hardtop Ads

 

1987

Hamilton Yugo, Irwin, Pennsylvania      
Hamilton Yugo, Irwin, Pennsylvania

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Classic Car Ads: Newspaper Bargains Gallery

Click below for enlarged images.

Hot Deals Madness! A Gallery of Classic Dealer Ads

Newspaper Bargains

Hot Deals Madness! A Gallery of Classic Dealer Ads

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