For our second installment of vintage auto-related travel ads, we’ll travel back to the 1950s and visit several places throughout North America – two ads from Canada, one from Bermuda, and two Hertz Rent A Car ads. Enjoy the ride!
CANADA, 1951 & 1955
Canada’s Travel Bureau was a heavy advertiser in American magazines during the 1950s. Here, two couples are enjoying a drive up Quebec’s Gaspé Peninsula with Percé Rock in the background. The caption below the main photo implores Americans to come up North to “enjoy carefree travel on beckoning, uncrowded highways.” These folks are certainly doing that – a Cadillac would be one of the finest long-distance cruisers of its era, and with the Gaspé Peninsula about 900 miles northeast of New York City, a comfortable touring car would certainly add to the trip’s pleasures.
The view here is from Route 132 overlooking the City of Percé – still an impressive vantage point today.
Our second Canadian ad here is from a few years later (1955) and again features two couples in a convertible, this time a 1952 Chevrolet Bel Air at Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta. A Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman served as the mascot for this long-running ad series, but here a helpful Mountie appears to be giving some map advice to the wandering American tourists (Americans-staring-at-maps imagery was used more than once in this ad series). Again, the ad text stresses Canada’s uncrowded roads and – with no passport required – easy access for its southern neighbors.
Incidentally, while Canada produced dozens of ads for American publications in the 1950s, their budget didn’t seem to allow for multiple license plates. This particular imitation California license plate (#12R1679) appeared on numerous cars for these ads. We can forgive this frugality, of course – and at least the ads didn’t show the American tourists driving a Meteor or Monarch!
BERMUDA, 1956
Bermuda’s Trade Development Board advertised heavily in US magazines in the 1950s and ’60s, and an analysis of tourists to the British colony explains the marketing strategy. A survey of tourists conducted by Bermuda’s ad agency affirmed that in the 1950s, the overwhelming majority of American visitors were leisure travelers, more than three-quarters were first-time visitors, and a surprising 39% decided on Bermuda as their destination within a month of their trip. Thus, American magazines were often peppered with ads for this temperate paradise.
It’s hard to get more alluring than this ad – with a soft sandy beach, clear ocean, and a Speedwell Blue Austin A40 taxi with a fringed canopy/umbrella top. I find myself most tempted by the Austin.
1950s street scene from Hamilton, Bermuda
Being a small colony with a significant tourist presence, Bermuda has historically been full of taxis – well at least ever since Bermuda’s ban on motor vehicles expired in 1946. By 1950, “taxi driver” was the colony’s eighth leading occupation, with 455 residents plying the trade among its 32,000 residents. While not all taxis were fringe-roof models, many were, and they epitomized the idyllic nature of the destination. Fringe-roof taxis were particularly popular for sightseeing tours – for about $14 per day, tourists could hire a car and driver, and see may places beyond walking distance from their hotels. If I visited Bermuda in the 1950s, a long ride to a quiet beach in a fringe-roof British taxi would be high on my list.
HERTZ RENT A CAR, 1955 (Las Vegas) & 1956 (Valley Forge)
A few months ago we were treated to a Vintage Ad Tropes collection of Cars Parked Poolside. Hertz Rent A Car joined the pool party too, as we see with this 1955 Ford Fairlane Sunliner. Hertz was a prolific advertiser for decades, and many of the company’s ads were location-specific, such as this one, taken at Las Vegas’ Desert Inn.
When it was built in 1950, the Desert Inn was Las Vegas’ largest resort (at 300 rooms) and cost a staggering $3.5 million to construct. The Figure Eight shaped, Olympic-size pool shown here pioneered a few things too. For example, the shade canopies in the background were a feature rarely seen before. Meanwhile, the pool held a special attraction for men: Upon the hotel’s opening in 1950, the operators hired a female lifeguard, the first in Nevada, one of the few nationwide. The lifeguard, Jane Dillard, joked that “perfectly healthy-looking men suddenly develop cramps in the deep water and start yelling for help!”
This is what the Desert Inn looked like when opened in 1950 (the pool is in the middle). Many additions were built around the original structure, and the hotel lasted until 2000.
Fairlane convertibles appeared in Hertz ads for resort locations – not just Las Vegas, but also Florida, Sun Valley, Idaho and Victoria, British Columbia.
A far different venue was provided in our next Hertz ad. These folks are checking out the artillery at Pennsylvania’s Valley Forge Park (despite its historical significance, Valley Forge wasn’t designated a national historical park until 1976), in their rented 1956 Fairlane sedan.
Perhaps most amusing from a modern perspective isn’t so much the rented Fairlane or the setting, but rather the manner of dress. Dad’s wearing a tie, sweater and jacket, mom a coordinated outfit with white gloves, and grandma a feathered pillbox hat. At least the daughter looks comfortable – chances are that when she grew up and took her own family on vacations, her own dress was a bit more casual than her parents’.
And for those who keep track of such things, Valley Forge appeared in a great variety of ads in the middle 20th century, from cars to motor oil to whiskey. But of all of these, the family with the rented Fairlane is my favorite.
Other installments in the Auto-Related Travel Ads series:
Volume 1: New Mexico, Germany & Oregon
The fringed canopies on the A40 and the Hillman Minx in Bermuda made me smile.
I wonder how fast you could drive before they blew off?
From what I understand, even today Bermuda’s maximum speed limit is 35 km/h, so if those canopies would work anywhere in the world without fear of blowing off, small islands like Bermuda would be it.
Excellent research, and background. When they talk of uncrowded Canadian highways, they were accurate. Canada’s population in 1951, was 14 million people, in a land area of 3.8 million square miles. Second largest country by area, in the world. For comparison, the population of the greater Toronto area today, is almost half the population of the entire country in 1951. Canadian federal and provincial governments still advertise heavily, in US media.
The 401, considered North America’s busiest freeway in its Toronto section, was just beginning its expansion. And would not connect as a freeway from Windsor to Quebec City, until the late 60s. So, the highway network connecting the country, was still underdeveloped.
It was so easy to cross the border by car, and the exchange rate favoured Americans. The volume of car-driving US visitors used to be higher, in smaller, more natural, vacation communities. Easier today, to fly in, and rent a car. US licence plates used to be popular all across Southeastern Ontario in the summertime, until the early 80s recession. Many had summer homes here. That older generation of wealthy US vacationers, also started to pass on. Or their children had less interest in vacationing here, as their parents did. In select popular vacation locales, it was common to see many premium domestic luxury cars, boats, and RVs, every summer. Dried up significantly by 1982. They overtook some smaller Canadian vacation communities. Outnumbering Canadian licence plates. It was a sight to see, for sure. However, US car visitors generally dried up, after Labour Day weekend.
I loved reading my dad’s newspapers as a little kid, in the 1970s. And I’d always be struck by the high percentage of car, boating, or swimming accidents, that involved people with American home addresses. Reflecting, the high volume of US visitors, staying in the region. It was common back then, to publish the home addresses of deceased accident victims.
Publishing, not just the home towns or cities, but specific street addresses.
Interesting background on Canada’s population density and US tourism. I recently came across a family who own a cabin in Ontario that had apparently been bought by their parents or grandparents decades ago, so undoubtedly they were among that trend of Americans back then.
I long for the days of the border being easy to cross. My mother-in-law grew up in Detroit, and back then it was common even for teenagers to just walk across the bridge to Windsor, Ont. for the day – unaccompanied by parents or anyone else, and with no ID. That’s unfathomable today. We’re considering driving to Canada for next summer’s vacation, but potential border hassles are the main drawback for us.
And regarding publishing people’s specific street addresses, that was commonly done in US newspapers as well. It wasn’t uncommon at all for a newspaper’s weekly police blotter to include the names and addresses of folks who were cited even for minor offenses. Decades later, it’s fun to look through, but at the time probably wasn’t so much fun for those involved.
Addresses were also given out on the radio. When announcers read a request from a listener, or interviewed a quiz show contestant, the full address was always specified.
Many in the ‘Great Generation’, loved to fish and hunt. The 250,000 lakes and wilderness in Ontario, would draw many wealthy American outdoors enthusiasts, like magnets. Westport, Ontario was a tiny nearby tourist village (700 pop. then) that would be overrun every summer with affluent Americans, driving everything from ’70s era full-sized Town and Country wagons, to high end motorhomes. As the outnumbered locals, would be tooling around in Valiants, and Ford pickups.
My parents would make regular daytrips to the US, using the Ivy Lea Bridge in the Thousand Islands, and it was a breeze. US Customs would just look at your driver’s licence, ask where you are going, and the purpose of the trip. Never, any hassles. Coming back, Canadian Customs would ask what you have to declare over $200(?) back then. Many consumer products were still not available in either country. So, it was a novelty for people in border towns to purchase items not available in their own region. For example, Pringles potato chips were still an American treat for Canadian kids, in the mid-70s.
I found it sad then, that the deceased were subjected to the indignity of their home addresses being published.
Thousand Islands Bridge at Ivy Lea, Ontario.
Eric…The last time I drove into Canada was just before the pandemic, but after the change in law that requires a passport. Frankly, it was totally easy. I believe that I used the Passport Card instead of the actual passport, but that has no impact.
We crossed at Niagara Falls to visit the Canadian side of the Falls and to go shopping for the day (the closest Ikea store to Niagara Falls is in Burlington, Ontario, less than an hour away).
We also used to drive to Nova Scotia, where we rented a house, for vacation. That was when the kids were little…and so all that was required (this is still true for children under the age of 15) was their birth certificates.
I do understand that it was difficult to cross during the pandemic, but from what I hear now, that’s no longer the case. You should go!
Good to hear. Our family will be discussing this month whether we’ll plan on going to Canada or Colorado next year.
I’m not much of an international traveler. That’s an understatement. The only time I’ve left the US was in 2017 when we were camping at a NY state park that’s virtually at the foot of the bridge that Daniel M. posted above. A few weeks before that trip, my wife said if we’re that close to Canada than we should go there, so I got my first passport (expedited, which cost a fortune) and we drove to Ottawa for a day trip. I survived.
We actually planned on taking a longer trip to Canada in 2020, but that never happened since the border was closed. I’m still nervous about those kinds of arbitrary, unpredictable restrictions – so that’s my main hangup at this point.
Well, if you should get stuck there, it seems from our many Canadian CC contributors that there are worse places to be. 😉
Canada’s great, you can’t (ok, shouldn’t) live your life in fear of a border that closed for A) Covid and B) September 11th prior to that, both events perhaps reactionary and smacking of “closing the barn after the horse is gone” but somewhat understandable. I believe it was THIS country that closed the border to other nationalities first in both cases, not Canada. Tourism is a major industry on both sides of the border and neither side wants crossings to be curtailed.
Leave guns and weed at home and you won’t have any trouble getting into Canada. It’s good for kids to see other cultures, not that Canada is really very different in that regard beyond oddities such as some French language and perhaps poutine. Without seeing other parts of the world and understanding and experiencing how other people live, a society becomes introverted, unaccepting, and can turn on itself.
Canada’s great, not overly crowded, generally inexpensive, uses the same plugs and voltage, and perhaps best of all is very large so there are very different areas of it, i.e. it’s several trips worth of destinations, all different from each other. Toronto is not Montreal is not Vancouver is not Edmonton etc…All my opinion of course, others may vary.
Passport is required since the planes have crashed on the world trade center.
Eric, you have no reason to feel anxious about coming to Canada. It is safe here, and most people are very friendly, and welcoming. The border crossings at Wellesley island State Park, and the International Bridge at Ogdensburg, NY and Prescott, Ontario, are busy post-pandemic. But generally, have less commercial traffic, than crossings in Southern Ontario. And they move efficiently. I prefer the Thousand Islands Bridge myself, as it links directly with Interstate 81 through New York State. And the 401 and 416 freeways are nearby, on the Canadian side.
For many long-time Canadians, living next to a country ten times larger than ours, our fear is the loss of our national identity. Cultural assimilation is a fear globally, for many smaller cultures. Internationally, and within countries. Why the province of Quebec, promotes the French language. For fear of it, being lost. It may seem intimidating for some, but Quebec is a wonderful and unique place.
Having travelled in both countries, there is isn’t much to make you feel apprehensive. People are friendly, and our social safety net though far from perfect, is something that helps define us. Regrettably, it is expensive here. Housing, groceries, gas, all inflated since the pandemic.
If anything, Canada is ever increasingly becoming more like the US, for better or worse. And more like you are used to.
Thanks Daniel,
My apprehension is more about the hassles and unpredictability regarding the international boundary than about safety, etc. I’d love to be able to take the trip we have planned, but it’s just a matter of weighing whether it’s worth worrying about the likelihood that either country will suddenly spring some kind of unexpected restrictions on travel. Like I mentioned to Jeff above, we’re planning to talk about this in detail as a family this month and come to a decision.
I absolutely understand the fear of cultural assimilation; if I were Canadian, I’d feel similarly.
Highly unlikely, similar restrictions to 2020-2021, would come back. I highly doubt, they will risk the economies of both countries again. As this latest mutated variant of COVID, may be easier to get. But it is also weaker, than earlier variants. Plus, many people have improved their natural immunity, from catching the earlier versions. Canadian border restrictions will not return, if this COVID variant is comparable to the flu. As it appears. Low/No risk, you’d be forced to remain here, for an additional period. And like most Americans, Canadians have no appetite to return to lockdowns, and restricting the international border. Especially, given COVID is not deadly to most of the population.
I’ve never had any trouble at the border. Bu I do have a squeaky clean driving record, and background check. I do recall a friend, not declaring all the goods that he purchased, on a trip to New York State. And a Customs agent finding those additional purchases, in his car trunk. Which he had to declare, and pay extra for. But that was around 1987.
Funny this – i was in Wildwood, NJ near the end of July – It seems that at least 60 % of the cars all had Quebec License Plates… Were they fleeing the tourists? 🙂
My 2-year-old ended up playing with another toddler – the parents spoke French to their child, but had a *VERY* Canadian accent when we were making small talk with them.
French is a minority language in Canada west of Quebec, and in the United States. Makes sense, if some French-Canadians may travel in groups. For comfort, and safety, if English is not their first language. Might explain the multiple Quebec licence plate sightings. No idea.
By ‘*VERY* Canadian accent’, I guess you mean they spoke English, with a French accent.
Your first comment may make sense – my dad just told me of being at Wildwood in the 70’s and a lot of signs back then were in both French and English.
As for your second comment, no, his accent was definitely English Canadian – maybe he spoke French with an accent? I didn’t ask, since it seemed a bit impolite. The kids at least had fun, even if there was a language barrier.
There were so many Québecois in Wildwood in the 70s that i remember that my mother , out of snobbery, preferred to go to Kennebunkport 30km further south..
yet my father did not speak a word of English
Reading that Hertz ad, renting a car was a bit more complicated back in those pre-internet days. The terms are a bit different, too.
I was surprised that prepaid gas was included in the rental, but then I recalled that unlimited rental mileage was unheard of back then – you typically got 100 or 200 miles per day with your rental. Unless you drove your fully allotted mileage, Hertz actually made out on the deal. Actually, they still do, which is why Hertz will still sell you a full tank of gas for less than what it costs at the local pump – they know people generally aren’t going to use it all.
Great post Eric, and thanks for the memories.
Lastly, the reference to adding checking and adding engine oil would be foreign to most people today, who have become accustomed to never having to add oil (or even checking the oil level) between oil changes. Yesteryear’s engines were definitely not as tight and leak-free.
That surprised me too about the rental agencies furnishing all gasoline for the trip, and even reimbursing customers who bought gas on their own. I wonder when that changed? Certainly long before I ever rented a car!
Excellent pictures and research! The Las Vegas Hertz ad is great. I wonder how many viewers of the ad in 1955 actually expected that one of the many pleasures of the Desert Inn would be a drive-up swimming pool.
The miniature – relative to the real thing – St. Louis Gateway Arch a full 10 years before the actual Arch was built in St. Louis was intriguing and surprising to see.
Apparently arches were a thing in the 30’s through the 60’s.
https://vintagelasvegas.com/post/618191728413999104/arch-and-cactus-garden-at-the-desert-inn-1950s
I know all arches are (not surprisingly) arch-shaped, but that Desert Inn arch sure looks like a miniature Gateway Arch.
Thanks for the link, too. It’s mighty interesting that firm headed by the Desert Inn’s architect designed McDonald’s Golden Arches as well.
A really nice selection of ads and writeup—with bonus of getting the match-up on the Canadian peninsula. Thanks!
Even in “real” vacation snapshots of the prosperous 1950s (eBay has plenty), I can’t help but notice the grownups *not* in the same outfits they did their lawn-yard chores in; that has sure changed in my lifetime.
I’ll have to keep closer track of Canadian/US money exchange rates, and pick a good time for a visit!
It’s a lot of fun finding the modern location of these vintage shots.
The other Canadian shot was taken behind Waterton National Park’s Prince of Wales Hotel – a modern view with the vintage shot is below… Google StreetView panorama link to the location is here:
https://goo.gl/maps/QaueaZYMFKXjmUfj6
While I realize that speed limits were much lower – and roads much slower – back in the day, I still can’t imagine taking a road trip as a rear-seat passenger in a convertible.
I agree. A little bit later in this series, I have a few ads from the 1960s of families and groups traveling in convertibles – that’s about when it petered out in the advertising world.
See the USA in 🎵 your 🎶Chevrolet 🎵 ! Would much rather be in tha t Cadillac. As a teenager, family toured west in a almost new 59 Lark 🤮. No air or even radio. Meanwhile our delightful DeSoto remained at home.
These tourism ads always made the places they were advertising so appealing – but then that was the whole idea.
I would imagine that Hertz dealt with a fairly well-off clientele back then – the kinds of people who could afford to take a trip by rail or air. Families on a budget (sorry) would drive their own cars.
This got me thinking about what was the first time I could recall anyone in my family getting a rental car – and it was when we were flying back from visiting relatives in Philly over Christmas of probably 1965, and we had a flight cancelled. My father rented a maroon 66 Mercury Monterey and we drove it to the Christmas gathering with Mom’s family where we were scheduled to be next. We were late, of course.
I love this series.
My dad – like me – was a guy who loved the mechanics of travel. Over his life, he arranged numerous road trips, business trips, cruises, and more than once managed to wrangle some kind of deal that took him (and my mom) to England on the QE 2, and back home on the Concord. So one of the ways he manifest some of this love of logistics was when we went through a number of years of family road trips where he would rent a car for us to take versus driving one of our own.
This lead to one memorable trip to New England in a deep purple 1970 Dodge Polara. Other than that, there were quite a few Buick Skylarks (he seemed to favor those as a rental car in the late 60s/early 70s). I probably learned my love of renting cars from those travel experiences.
Very true. When my family rented cars, it was only because their real car had broken down, and they used Rent-A-Wreck for a few days while it was being repaired. The idea of renting from someplace like Hertz was almost downright exotic.
For a brief period in my late 20s and early 30s, I traveled for business, and would rent cars on trips. I always enjoyed the experience of getting a different car in some far-off location… even if it was something like a Chevy Malibu in Rockford.
Austin Sommersault with a surrey top nope I’d give that a miss, convertibles of any brand are something I’d avoid for touring
I have many fond memories of traveling through Canada in the 1970’s through the 1970’s .
I courted my Sweet on a road trip to Canada, it really was romantic, just the two of us o blue highways there and back .
Even before 9/11 the border became a hassle to cross, long lines and often very rude customs officers, mostly on the U.S. side .
For those that haven’t done so treat your self to a Canadian vacation out of the cities .
-Nate
What is that in the upper left of the Desert Inn pic? Looks like a racetrack.
I believe that was the Las Vegas Park horse racing track. It opened in 1953, but was only sporadically used, and was demolished in the 1960s.
Percé : a classic https://avenues.ca/comprendre/histoire-en-photos/voyage-dans-le-temps-la-gaspesie/
At the beginning of the 20th century, there were only a few passable stretches of road in Gaspésie, which was therefore only accessible by boat or train. The completion of Route 6 ( now #132 ) from Sainte-Flavie allows Gaspésie to become one of the greatest road destinations in North America. Until 1945, 20,000 to 50,000 visitors used the route – this number jumped to 100,000 by the end of the 1950s. There are many stories of Americans going to fish in the Gaspé area , who get there by road from U.S. , and leaving their broken car there, the roads and steep hills of the time was not forgiving.
Remarkable picture – thanks! The Gaspésie area looks absolutely beautiful.
My wife and I are lucky enough to work in financial services industry and get to visit Bermuda somewhat regularly. We joke that it is quicker and easier to get there than to our offices in NYC. We just came back from a week’s visit, and one cab driver volunteered that he found it amazing that cars would be allowed to drive at 65MPH. I responded that the island isn’t 65 miles long, so no need to go that fast. One thing is certain – if you hear an ambulance siren, chances are another tourist dropped a moped on a right-way roundabout somewhere.
My ex and I used to take our squids north of Montreal into the Laurentians to a wonderful family resort that sadly no longer exists. It was a great cultural opportunity to get to know the area and the wonderful people of Quebec!