(first posted 11/23/2015) BuzzDog left this Chevrolet dealer sales promo film in the comments, as the first part shows the San Diego Yellow Cab facility I once worked from. Obviously SD Yellow went back to buying full-size cars by the time I got there (1976), but it brought back some memories. The film extols the virtues of Chevrolets compared to all sorts of other cars, including even other GM brands. Happy viewing!
Was the Caprice heavier than the LTD? That might explain why the latter got “more air” off the bump.
Sound meters don’t tell the whole story; it’s what the mind perceives is what matters, for by definition noise is a combination of fundamental frequencies, not all of which register the same way. And of course there’s other things like road-surface resonance, which is more significant than noise at idle.
Turning-circles could be compared more simply by measurement, which is why I think that stack-of-cans was humbug.
Wasn’t this the time period when Ford was advertising their full sized cars as being “Quieter than a Rolls-Royce inside”?
The “Quieter than a Rolls-Royce” ad campaign began with the 1965 LTD, and Ford continued to emphasize how quiet the LTD was in 1966.
That sound test measured how much sound that was initially OUTSIDE the car could be heard inside the car. It didn’t account for road noise and engine noise generated by the car itself while being driven.
I can tell you from experience that a 66 Country Squire was *not* quieter than a Rolls Royce. My father’s put up an awful racket of squeaks and rattles when it went over railroad tracks. The sedans were much tighter.
Station wagons were noted for having more rattles during that era. They were also noisier, thanks to their large, open cargo areas.
My parents’ 1965 Chevrolet Bel Air wagon was not particularly quiet and definitely not very luxurious. When I rode in our 1967 Oldsmobile Delmont 88 Holiday sedan for the first time, I couldn’t believe how quiet and smooth it felt. And that Oldsmobile was five years old and had 19,000 miles on it when my parents bought it.
I can tell you that in the 70s a Lincoln Continental Town Car was way quieter than an Rolls Royce. I don’t know about the Fords though.
That was fun to watch. I’m guessing that, aside from the portions in San Diego, it was filmed at the GM Proving Grounds in Arizona?
The fuel economy test was conducted at 40 mph, and at a steady speed. I wonder if the results would have still been in Chevrolet’s favor in stop-and-go driving or at interstate speeds (65 mph and higher). Fords with the 390 cubic inch V-8s of the mid-1960s were not noted for their fuel mileage, but I thought that the Mopars didn’t score badly in that area.
This film focuses on the 396 and 472 cubic inch V-8s, which were available with Turbo-Hydramatic. Chevrolet’s smaller V-8s were only available with Powerglide, while the far superior TorqueFlight was available with every Plymouth engine. I wonder how the smaller V-8s would have stacked up against the smaller Plymouth V-8s for both performance and economy.
It’s interesting that the film notes how many Caprice buyers came from other brands, including Pontiac and Oldsmobile. I always thought that Pontiac, in particular, was poaching a fair number of customers from Chevrolet, and Oldsmobile was also starting to make inroads with the Cutlass series. Chevrolet’s total market share had been falling steadily since 1962.
I meant 427 cubic inch V-8, not 472 cubic inch V-8.
13.1 to 15.7 mpg at a steady 40 mpg on a level road is pretty abominable. I imagine most modern cars would get at least three times those figures under similar conditions, but I don’t have the patience to find out. It seemed odd that the Plymouth was keeping pace with the Chevrolet for fuel consumption for a while before suddenly drinking enough to catch up with the Ford. I believe Chevrolets last longer than Fords, but I didn’t find much else about this sales video credible.
I believe that mid-1950s Chevrolets lasted longer than mid-1950s Fords, but that advantage had disappeared for cars built in the early 1960s.
Our 2000 K2500HD Chevy 4×4 pickup with the 5.7 (350) gets over 20mpg at a steady state 40-45 once it gets into torque converter lockup. But, look at how much automotive technology advanced from 1936-1966 vs 1966-1996. The latter span still kept the same basic engine, transmission and rear axle structure. The advances were almost all due to computers.
Having just been in San Diego last month – I think that those freeway segments were on I-5, not far from the airport – I can’t get over the lack of lanes, and the lack of traffic!
Wonder how many salesman took the chance of balancing the coin on the dash. Seems an unlikely stunt. Same with bouncing the coin on the decklid. Salesmen do have some downtime between customers, so maybe they could practice the tricks.
Great video.
That coin bounce on the quarter panel test is totally bogus. The Ford has a much wider, flatter panel top, of course it’s going to resonate more when hammered on.
What an insult to the intelligence! Of course, that wasn’t the only one in the vid.
Thanx ! .
A fun watch .
-Nate
Very cool video! I’m liking those full size 60’s era Chevys more and more. Sounds like Nelson Riddle did the sound track. A Batman style sound. Please keep the videos coming. Thanks.
Well! I would run right out and buy a 1966 Chevrolet, they sold me! Too bad you cannot actually buy a new 1966 Chevrolet. That Caprice hardtop four door is pretty sharp.
Out in “The Real World” a 283/PG Impala was a slow & thirsty pig compared to a 289/Cruise-a-matic Galaxie or a 318/TorqueFlite Fury.
Ive never driven a Galaxie of that era, but our 327/PG Impala wagon was surprisingly quick and economical compared to Grandpa’s 318/Torqueflite Belvedere sedan.
High compression and a 4-bbl (250hp) really woke up the Chevy vs the 2-bbl poly head Mopar. But, yes a 195hp 283 loses vs 230hp 318, especially with the different transmissions.
I wonder if your Grandfather’s car has “issues”?
A 318/TorqueFlite Belvedere usually cranked out some good gas mileage numbers (for that class), as well as being a sprightly performing car.
What year was it?
’65, with the older polyspherical head design. My experiences with later LA 318’s in Dodge vans was excellent performance, but not so great mileage.
I wonder what the special order turnover time would be to get a Caprice four-door hardtop with the 283 and 4 speed. I’ll take it in medium blue metallic with matching brocade interior and vinyl top delete.
Thanks for the shout out, Paul!
Glad it brought back memories…
Great propaganda piece but it must have worked 65/66/ Chevrolets were a good seller in NZ there were several in the small town I lived in maroon seemed to be the most popular colour of them, my Dad comp sec of the Chevy dealership said they sold themselves without any pressure and considering all Chevs were pre ordered and paid for with overseas funds there certainly was little “selling” involved.
Great video. I don’t think the ending of the part 4 video would go without serious media and public outcry today.
Here’s Dan Aykroyd advertising the Royal Delux II. It doesn’t get better than Bris.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url
amp;ved=2ahUKEwi_wveR46_0AhUGV80KHYbuBgkQo7QBegQIBRAB&usg=AOvVaw2eKN6FrHu0UELXAuRTEksv
“The worst thing that can happen to a car is to become a taxicab.”
A fate worse than death!
@Ralph ;
It never ceases to amaze me how many ex Taxis are daily drivers in the Barrios and Ghettos of Southern California .
All they do is remove the meter and lettering, usually you can easily tell what cab company it was by the slightly brighter paint where the letters were .
-Nate