I’ve been enjoying Yohai’s 1980s vintage Road and Track ads, and I have a few old magazines, so let’s turn the time machine back to April 1964, and see a parade of almost all of the most interesting sports cars and sporty sedans advertised. Frankly, the content of this issue is a bit lack-luster anyway, as the VW 1500 isn’t all that exciting of a subject to cover with two articles. And they hated the new Rambler American’s handling. But maybe I’ll do them later….scanning takes quite a bit of time on my old machine, and as you can see, it’s got streaks in it. Time for an upgrade. Anyway, the multi-page GTO insert is more compelling than the VW by a long shot.
The Porsche 356 was near the end of its long road, with the last update which included four wheel disc brakes.
I sat in one the other day, and I felt soooo at home. To bad they’ve doubled in price in jst the last three years or so.
The new BMW. Here’s where the legend started. And with optional equipment to make up to 170 hp. I didn’t know that was available over the counter. I found one of these in Portland, and my CC is here.
There were several camera ads, including this one for the Honewell Pentax, which was of course the Japanese camera but then distributed in the US by Honeywell. A little detail I just learned: the word “Pentax” was originally a registered trademark by the German firm Zeiss-Ikon, but all German patents and trademarks were dissolved with their loss of the war (I didn’t know that either). So the Japanese firm of Asahi Opticals started using it in 1957.
Oldsmobile really needed a new ad agency in 1964. This, one of a series of similar ones, is very weak. Compare it to the GTO insert a bit later. No comparison.
Celebrity endorsements are old business.
I’d come back glassy-eyed too…
The only sexy ad is this one by an accessory seller.
A very understated Corvette ad, which is all about the copy. Advertisement has changed quite a bit over the decades.
Not very creative. Don Draper wouldn’t have approved it.
Sony was the hot brand for electronics already.
The Pirelli Cinturato was the other (non-Michelin) radial tire, with fabric belts instead of steel ones. What’s interesting is that they never use the word “radial”.
Here it is, the highlight of the ads. Pontiac’s GTO was the big story of 1964, and its brilliant advertising was one of the keys to its success.
Who wouldn’t want the tri-power, if just for the looks alone?
An understated ad, but the XK-E looked great no mater what the setting, even with stripes from my scanner (yes, I cleaned the glass plate).
I so wanted this for my VW 1200, but couldn’t afford it.
Clever ad, as usual, but by 1964, the Ghia was in desperate need for more power. It was the last year for the 40 hp (34 net) 1200 engine, and it was not very sporty in its actual performance by this time. Especially since it cost about the same as the new Mustang that was coming out just shortly after this magazine hit the news stands.
The Judson supercharger was popular with VW and MG owners. 50% more power, and 50% less engine life, or even less. These engines, especially the VW, were prone to overheating with too much boost and a big jump in power. Use sparingly….
This was a low point for Fiat, until the new 124 range came on line. The 1200 was exceedingly rare in the US, as it competed with the beetle. The 600 was more common, for folks who couldn’t afford a Beetle. The 1500 was also rare.
Saab rubs it in Ford’s nose.
And the very next ad is by Ford, on the same subject. Given tat Ford was fairly new at this game, they could be forgiven to losing to the little Saab; 4.7 liters, to 1 liter.
Not one of Peugeot’s better ads, but it does make a point. The bumpers and trim always stayed shiny on these, even if the body rusted in salt country.
John Fitch was the premier Corvair tuner, and sold his own version, the Fitch Sprint.
I only scanned one page of the classifieds. They’re not that compelling, as most of the cars are late models
Who could predict in 1964 that a Japanese roadster would become the dominant car in its field? Or practically the only one?
And on the back cover there’s this rather spirited ad for the Spitfire. 0-50 in 12 seconds…sassy indeed.
I was 12 years old when this issue hit the newstands but I think it was still 2 or 3 years before I would discover that those same newstands sold magazines dedicated to car nuts who weren’t hot rodders.
It was about this time that I would get to ride in my 2nd foreign car, a Volvo 122…the 1st foreign car was a late 50s Mercedes 300D. That Volvo would make a huge impression on me.
The 1st foreign car I would get to drive, and drive by myself no less, was an early 60s VW beetle and that made a huge impression, too.
Yet, my 1st car was a 68 Mercury Cyclone GT.
The 60s, in my opinion, gave us gorgeous LOOKING cars, though to drive….not so much compared to cars of the last 25 years.
I like the new “200 MPH Lotus 30”. One of Colin Chapman’s worst cars, if it ever made 200 MPH, it probably was flying, what with these flawed aerodynamics.
Pretty daring for Volvo to compare against Detroit directly. And before the US$ started falling in relative value vs. Europe’s currencies, they could actually make a plausible price argument, too. But like VW, they had an uphill battle on comparative styling.
That Sony radio!
This ad really shows the incredible change that happened. A diode worth of advertisement! Microchips today.
The Esaki diode discussed in the Sony ad is now called a tunnel diode. No doubt Sony was proud of their employee who was awarded a Nobel Prize (along with others) for discovering the effect.
Transistor “population” was a common advertising point for radios & TVs. Like watch jewels, it was debatable whether it made a real performance difference beyond a certain point.
Jack Kilby helped develop the 1st integrated circuit while at TI in 1958 (posthumous Nobel Prize in 2000), though Werner Jacobi of Siemens evidently applied for a patent for one back in ’49.
I remember the “transistor wars” – I have a 1960s-vintage transistor set made in Hong Kong, AM only, that has 15 transistors. Count ’em, they’re in there. They might not all be wired in, but they are there! (This set actually worked up until just a couple of years ago.)
In those days, C&D did not cover the kinds of cars I usually saw in my midwestern life. My first car mag was Motor Trend. And yes, I’ll bet C&D hated the new Rambler’s handling. Didn’t everyone who tried to drive one fast?
I love vintage ads like these. They are proof that there has always been bad advertising to go along with the great advertising (and the good-enough advertising that made up the bulk of every publication.)
Indeed, the sixties were a dream come true for anyone involved in automotive advertising and marketing. It’s difficult to argue that this wasn’t the zenith of the US’ automotive age.
Of course, the sixties were also quite a turbulent times in other areas.
Nice! And correct about Sony. Back in the early ’80s, my girlfriends parents had a very early ’60s Sony component stereo ( separate amp, tuner, turntable). The fit, finish, feel of the controls was impeccable. Each piece had a real wood cabinet. The amp was tube type, the sound was amazing, and had enough watts to make your ears bleed. I shudder to think what that system cost in 1962 type dollars.
In case anyone is interested, the Rambler review was already scanned :
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/vintage-reviews/vintage-road-test-car-driver-tests-the-new-1964-rambler-american-rather-unhappily/
while the Lancia comparison (Flaminia 3C GT vs. Flavia Coupe) is available on Car and Driver’s website :
http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons/lancia-flaminia-3c-gt-vs-lancia-flavia-coupe-archived-comparison-test
I’d definitely take the Jetstar 1, As for the imports, I can’t decide on The Peugeot 403 Sedan or the 404 wagon. While I expect to see one or another car I’ve owned here, I surely never expected to see my Pentax H1a, This of course let to Spotmatic, K1000, MEs ETC Still have it, still works!
Is that John Hamm’s dad in the bottom right of the Weatherguard ad?
Hamm working for Haan?
I’d definitely take the Jetstar 1, As for the imports, I can’t decide on The Peugeot 403 Sedan or the 404 wagon. While I expect to see one or another car I’ve owned on here, I surely never expected to see my Pentax H1a, This of course let to Spotmatic, K1000, MEs ETC Still have it, still works!
I’ll take all the Alpines they can wrap at that price, the decimal point has moved considerably since 64.
I’m sure I’m in the minority here, but I wouldn’t mind seeing the 1500 VW road test.
I love the Saab ad with the Carlssons, and the Volvo and Spitfire ads are nifty, too, but Pontiac could do little wrong in the ’60s.
300 SL Gullwings for under $5,000. Wow!
Hard to believe they were once just used cars.
VW Ghia for me!!!
As if a Renault Dauphine wasn’t fragile enough let’s add a supercharger!
Apparently bad car ads have been around for a while. For some reason I’m imagining a Sunbeam ad modeled after today’s current Buick ads–I’m next to the Sunbeam. Wow that’s a Sunbeam!
Today’s BMW has found ways to charge for the 20 “extras” (previously valued at up to $500).
The Jaguar ad is the definition of cool. When the product is that sexy it really doesn’t need many additional words.
Weirdest thing in the GTO advert is the reference to “Pontiac Pontiacs” – what’s that all about?
My dad had one of those Pentax cameras, only it said “Asahi Pentax” on it rather than “Honeywell Pentax”. He bought it cheaper in another country, and it was my first exposure to the grey market. There are instructions in one of the scanned articles about how to bring in a VW 1500 of your own from another country – easy – just change the headlamps and dash labels to be in English. If only it still was that easy……
I still have my father’s Bolsey compact 35mm, made back when American camera manufacturers besides Kodak still roamed the earth.
Handed down my Pentax K1000 to my son-in-law.
” “Pontiac Pontiacs” – what’s that all about?”
Full sized cars were referred to by their marque names, as if they were the brand’s “real cars”. Hence “the new Chevrolet” for 1977.
In old ads, you’d see {Brand X, Mid Size, Compact, mini} listed.
Did anyone notice that all the British adds are convertibles??
Jetstar flopped since big Oldses by the 60’s were family-lux cars. The Rocket 88 of the 50’s was a memory, but at least the Cutlass 442 was a hit.
GTO is so legandary, to this day some think it was like a Corvette, with unique body shell and platform. Even some ‘casual car guys’* think Pontiac was an “independent car company”, not at all related to GM/Chevy.
* Folks at local cruise nights, who just kick tires, don’t own classic cars. If they do, usually just get a red ’69 Camaro. Never turned a wrench, but like to talk about cars once in a great while. I
That Fiat 1500 Cabriolet indeed was rare, but there were a few. What I wonder is is I’d think it was so perfectly sleek, understated and timelessly sexy even if it hadn’t been the first car I ever bought? Anyone?