1974 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham
I got the car brochure bug very early in life. One reason was that I came from a family of gearheads, so it was partially due to genetics. At a very early age–kindergarten and first grade–my grandmother would take me to Razz-Ma-Tazz (a long defunct kiddie arcade) and then to the Lincoln-Mercury dealer to see the new cars. I always would get a brochure. To this day, I still have the 1985 Lincoln full-line brochure, 1986 Town Car and 1986 Mark VII brochures received on those long-ago visits; I would have been 5-6 years old at the time. So, my brochure love goes deep!
1975 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham
Thanks to family friends who knew of my love of cars, on two separate occasions I got a large cache of old car brochures, which made my addiction to vintage car literature much more acute. And thus began a wild and amazing spending spree on eBay between 1999 and about 2002. And by that time, I was naturally a bit more interested in the lovely ladies featured in many of these 1970s brochures.
1978 Ford LTD Landau
You see, back then, car companies weren’t in love with stark backgrounds, bland colors and bland design. Whether a BMW, Ford or Nissan, you are likely to see a gray car in a gray background with only the suggestion of a driver’s head in the shadows. Lame!
1977 Chrysler New Yorker Brougham
Who is running today’s advertising agencies? Why does everything look the same? And I don’t mean the cars themselves, I mean the brochure pictures and art. Recently I picked up a brochure for the Audi A5 coupe, a car I’ve always admired. After flipping through it and only seeing black or silver cars featured, I put it back in the rack. It might as well have been black and white, so bland were the colors. Only the amber parking lights and taillights had color!
1978 Buick Electra Park Avenue
So it is always a pleasure to dive into my old car brochures and admire the wide color choices and upholstery styles of what once was. And the pretty ladies oft-seen in said brochures only add to the appeal.
1979 Lincoln Versailles
Yes, you could get interior colors! And leather was leather then, not the poor facsimile seen on many modern motors! And color! Lovely, glorious color: maroon, blue, green, white, dove gray, saddle tan and red.
1979 Lincoln Town Coupe
Even aqua velour!! Are today’s cars better than ’70s luxury yachts? By and large, yes. Safer, longer-lived in most cases, more efficient in most every case. But man, those Broughamy land cruisers of the Me Decade sure were snazzy, were they not? And ladies were classier too–not a tattoo or nose ring in sight! And remember when people dressed up? In a world where folks wear jeans and T-shirts to weddings, I feel like a man without a country with my golf shirts, slacks and loafers. Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong decade. I’m rambling…
1976 Chrysler New Yorker Brougham
Ah well, I can always go back to the ’70s with my trove of brochures. All you can do, when the flux capacitor hasn’t yet been invented.
1974 Imperial LeBaron
And hey, maybe it’s for the best. As much as I love ’70s cars and ’70s TV shows like The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Bob Newhart Show, I am not sure if I would have enjoyed the bellbottoms, Nehru jackets and other “with-it” ’70s pop items!
1973 Ford Thunderbird (with phone!)
I know what you mean. I’m not a fan of today’s car brochures. While I like the engineering that goes on underneath BMW and Mercedes-Benz cars, I know that people are more attracted to what’s on the outside, and what’s on the interior of the car. Unless there’s some colour on the outside, or the interior, what good is it?
First off, ignore each lady because they are all basically the same! Yes! It is true!
The models used were between 25-30. The ones who look older had their hair sprayed gray. It is better to ask for young models and make them look mature, than actually asking agencies send over mature looking models. What we could do with gray hair spray, makeup and clothing could turn a hot young thing, into a hot mature thing!
What is focused on is the dress, pose and makeup/hair.
With this in mind, each brochure tempts to reach its market demographic which in all of these shots is upper income professionals.
In the early 1970s, the color and hue look is earthy. The 1973 Thunderbird shot represents this era beautifully. If the interior looks slick and shiny, then the ladies wear a texture. If the interior is textured, the ladies wear something that looks smooth and silky – right? The textures were chosen to highlight the interiors and the upholstery. The exception is the Lincoln Continental shot where the model is wearing a velour business jacket over her silk blouse and above-knee skirt while sitting on crushed velour.
Red was considered the best color for a lot of model work. It is considered a sexy color and is still considered a color which makes everyone look sexier. By the late 1970s, we see models wearing red in many ads. By the 1980s, it became a joke – even reaching into the Reagan White House when the President would appear before the Press and find the men wearing red ties, and the women wearing red as well. Even the First Lady emphasized that color. It was a big color during this era.
So sorry if I bust your fantasy, but the ladies used in these ads were heavily made up with the exacting hair colors, hair styling, make up, and clothing that was waiting for them to use when they showed up that day at the shoot. All these ladies are pretty much the same age. They were aged for the shot, depending upon need.
Also please note, that most of these ladies are passive back seat riders. We only have three ladies behind the wheel, and one of them is simply showing how she can handle the power sun roof. We have a lady going to The Polo Club where she will continue riding on leather, while wearing her tweeds. To make this more clear, her props include a polo helmet and a riding crop. In reality, she wouldn’t have these items sitting on the passenger seat. They are there to help the viewer distinguish her class and her superior tastes in leather found in this car.
Only two of these ladies are married. The lady in the rear seat of the LTD, and the older lady in the Park Avenue. The rest of them are unattached and available. You see, wedding rings on lady models is absolutely considered before the shoots. Jewelry is also considered and the kind of jewelry considered is pre-determined.
There are literally hundreds of shots from each photo shoot. Many of them look alike, but they are not for very subtle reasons. Then after several of them are chosen, then each is air brushed to eliminate anything that isn’t wanted. The people doing the photo shoots are professionals on each auto maker’s staff. Every detail has been predetermined based on a myriad of factors pre-determined by each make’s marketing teams.
None of the lighting in the photo is natural. The purpose of the photo is to highlight the attractiveness of the interior. So the shoots sometimes didn’t even get shot in the car, but inside a scene that looks like the car. The lighting is fake. A lot of this era’s cars were hard to shoot in because they were so dark. We need to see the depth of the carpeting, feel the size of the interiors and admire the touch and textures of the seats. That is all dependent on the lighting. It wouldn’t surprise me the least if these interiors are made specifically for these brochures and aren’t even cars!
I love the Thunderbird photo. She is your secretary and she is holding the phone for you. That business call interrupted her little bit of rest the two of you were enjoying together in the beautiful car. She isn’t married and that c-b radio call could be from your wife – she knows, doesn’t she? You want that? Then you want this car!
Perhaps all this reflects that Broughams were intended as little more than rolling living-rooms, & the modeling & upholstery simply reflects that priority. They might as well be furniture ads.
Whatever role modern cars are supposed to fulfill, it isn’t this, hence the difference. I must ask though, however laughable Broughams may have been, is it any more honest to portray “Ultimate Driving Machines” tearing around on remote country roads when most drivers inch along in traffic jams every day? It’s not so much about selling cars as selling illusions.
Bingo! Always was; always will be.
Yeah, but there are plenty of miles of road for a Brougham to shine. Last time I jumped on I-80 for over an hour I pined for a Fleetwood or a Town Car.
What I get a kick out of is the sports sedan commercials showing the car tearing around this ridiculously turning and twisting road. Now granted I’m in Nebraska, but how many roads like this are really out there? How many of these curve carving stiff shocked Krautmobiles are ever going to carve anything more curvy than an off ramp?
Agreed VanillaDude, these pics are finely honed art treading the line between sex and propriety. The cars would be cutaway bodies specially made for photography or displaying trim, much the same as a stage set of a house interior.
You’re being a logical spoilsport. Sometimes it’s best just to enjoy the nostalgia…
EGGGGGGsactly.
Don’t take it so seriously, enjoy a laugh from a past era that we will never see again.
One thing I hope we won’t see again is… without looking back how many of the beautiful models had their seat belt fastened? How many ads had the seat belts hidden as well as possible? I only noticed one fastened, a late 70s Buick. The older I get the more of a nerd I become.
If Princess Diana had fastened her belt in all likelihood she would still be with us as most of the internal organ damage she suffered might not have happened – and this comes from medical school faculty friends at UCLA who researched the case. Nothing nerdy about this thinking – I’m with you.
I agree, consider that the one survivor in that crash was in the front seat wearing his seat belt.
Carmine
..and that one survivor was closest to the impact point as well. If he could survive the others would have too, if they wore their seat belts.
Richard, I started in my late 20’s making crash test results (IIHS) the first consideration in purchasing a car for me or my parents. If a vehicle does not have the highest rating I do not even consider it. I also make sure we order all optional safety features; Pre Collision System, AWD, etc. I want to give us every advantage should we face the unexpected. This way of thinking has paid off many times in avoiding an accident and once in a big way when my Mother’s vehicle was struck last November on the passenger side rear wheel as she drove at a fast pace. What was much like a pit maneuver done by police, but instead was a direct hit on the rear wheel, should have thrown the vehicle out of control and caused it to flip. Instead she was able to bring the vehicle to a complete stop off the road in a parking lot without a scratch or burse. She and my Dad were out to dinner that night on a normal schedule instead of what could have been life altering for all of us. I do not give a damn if it is viewed as nerdy, I will buy the safest vehicle I can afford every time. I must admit I am often nervous driving my special interests cars that are pre safety design, especially given all these texting drivers,,,no, make that passengers.
In addition to being very young, I guarantee you all of these ladies are very small, with the curious exception of Ms. ’76 LTD Landau, who’s really giving the shallow headroom away in her second shot. They’re generally posed at an angle, and slouched, allowing them to stretch out their carefully-clad legs – and maximize the apparent interior room, especially leg room.
And is it me, or does the first Brougham-lady look as if she’s heading to the Men’s Club in the original The Stepford Wives.
A fascinating insight. Thanks, Dude!
OMG – was it possible to actually get comfortable on those 78 Buick Electra Park Avenue seats? I have never, ever seen so much ruffled velour in my life. I know the cushioned look was big for a while back then, but this must have been the most extreme version of the genre…..I hope.
Just as bad is that imitation Chesterfield in the second last photo.
I had forgotten why so many regard the ’70’s as the decade that taste forgot! Even more frightening, some ’70’s stuff is coming back. Let’s hope that does not include these hideous interiors.
I take your point about lack of colour these days but looking at these alternatives, give me monochrome any day!
I remember sitting in one of these in the showroom. It was comfortable there, perhaps better than the Olds 98 Regency which I owned one of. How it might have been after an all day trip is hard to say, my Regency was OK, but my 86 T-type Electra was better.
In 40 years people will be saying the 2010s were the decade that taste forgot.
I’m already saying that!
Certainly the decade that style forgot. Last decade too; seems to be all about conformity nowadays.
The Electra seats are indeed hilarious. The yellow dress worn by the woman looks to me like “utra-suede.” I can imagine the difficulty she’d have trying to scoot over on those seats to let someone in next to her. On the other hand, it would give great lateral grip should the driver push the Electra to its cornering limits.
Nearly Cadillac Fleetwood Talisman.
According to Wikipedia the Buick Park Avenue seats from 1975 till 1980 were made by Flexsteel, the same company that made the Talisman seats. In 1980 the Park Avenue seats were available in leather, making these the closest you could get to a leather “Talisman” seat. I’ve seen one picture of an 1980 Park Ave with leather but no pics of a Talisman with leather.
T Type-can you post that picture of the Buick Park Avenue in leather? haven’t seen one either
I don’t think leather was an option for the talisman- having said that there is a car magazine that had a leather trimmed talisman, which I suspect was aftermarket- I have the pics at my home computer so will have to pose them when I get home
The Talisman was only available in leather for the 1974 model year.
Here is a link to what I saw about the leather Talisman:
http://automotivemileposts.com/cadillac/cadi1974fleetwoodtalisman.html
Info is at the bottom of the page. Two colors in leather.
@Lincman Here is the pic of an 1980 Park Avenue with leather:
That black leather Park Ave interior…..
Good Lord…..I’m in full on Broughmance…..
I thought only the 1975-1976 Park Avenue seats were made by Flexsteel, and that the ones after that were Fisher Body.
The Talisman with leathers are mythical unicorns that some people claim don’t exist, I’ve never seen one in person, Collectible Automobile did have a photo car in their 1971-1976 full size Cadillac retrospective “Twilight of the Titans”, but some people claim that that car was converted to leather.
The option does exist on the books, but even purveyors of full on Brougham Explicit Filth, such as The Hartford Guy on Flickr and Matt Garrett don’t have photos of one, so, Its like Bigfoot, I can’t say it exists, but can’t full doubt that it does either.
Wild. I never knew that Talisman seat production was outsourced to Flexsteel. Nor was I aware of this available Park Avenue interior…whoa. My folks had a Chevrolet Suburban with three rows of Flexsteel seating, pillow type blue velour. If I’d only know how cool that was, a sort of Talisman SUV!
Wow. They certainly share the overall puffiness of the Talisman seats; it’s like you’re sinking into a giant leather marshmallow.
Yes, that woman wearing suede on those velour seats – such a sticky combination that she may still be in that car to this very day for all we know. 🙂
(Seven hours after the photo shoot) “Soooo….hungry….”
I’m picturing Ralphies younger brother Randy in A Christmas Story.
“I can’t get up!!!!!!”
Too bad the ’78 Park Avenue didn’t have OnStar.
“Hello, this is OnStar, how may I help you?”
“Yeah, I need two bacon cheeseburgers, a large order of fries and a jumbo chocolate milkshake delivered to a silver 1978 Buick Park Avenue in the parking lot of the Topeka JC Penney. Please hurry!”
You could well be right. It would have similar fastening properties to velcro. I hope someone has been taking her refreshments from time to time!
@T Type omg its beautiful! thank you- I don’t know where I put the picture of the talisman ergh
@Fred yes I have seen that page before- they don’t cite the sources they use…I have seen it leather cited in one other source… its debatable at least
The 74 Cadillac brochure (old car brochures website) does not show leather as an option. My 74 Edmunds price guide also does not show a leather option for the Talisman. The 76 Brochure shows only two colors for the Talisman option, so the webpage I posted above is questionable.
I am almost sure that my Automotive Quarterly Cadillac book from 1979 does list the Talisman leather interior as an option, but I would have to check……it could have been one of those things that was pulled at the last minute from the RPO codes and never really offered.
I would guess that the leather option might have been added after the start of the 74 production. That might explain it not being listed in the brochures. The webpage I found says only a few were ordered with leather (not sure if that mean a half dozen or so, or perhaps a few dozen).
From my point of view, the Fleetwood Brougham standard interior is really very nice and not over done (second picture from the top of this article).
here is the 1974 Cadillac Vehicle Information kit http://www.gmheritagecenter.com/docs/gm-heritage-archive/vehicle-information-kits/Cadillac/1974_Cadillac_VVI.pdf
the only notable options are as follows “The numerous features of the “Fleetwood Talisman” option combine to create one of the most luxurious automobiles ever offered. An ideal companion option is the Deluxe Robe and Pillow, available in matching
colors”
I have seen a photo of a Talisman with the leather option. I have seen numerous Talisman’s with the cloth option in person, having owned one myself for 15 years, selling it just last year. The fascination with these cars puzzles me. A friend had a 76 Fleetwood d’Elegance that I always found more comfortable and plush that my Talisman.
I also had a low mileage 76 Cadillac Formal Limousine. I always thought the back seat was plan as it had the same cushions as the standard Fleetwood. I could see having that in the non partition limousine but it would have been a nice touch to have upgraded cushions in the rear of the Formal Limousine. It would have given it a less livery look.
I’ve seen one 74 Talisman with the lap robe and pillow option, I have sat in a Talisman, but never driven one, I’ve always liked the oddball rarity of the option, and the absurdity of the 1974 version which made a 5000lb 4 seater, I’ve looked at a few, but never found one that was nice enough to really pull the trigger on, a big Fleetwood is on my list, I’m flexible on it not being a Talisman if the options and color are right.
Something I had not realized is that the basic Fleetwood Sixty Special had been dropped by the 71 model year with only the Brougham left. By the mid seventies the Fleetwood Brougham was available with the base interior (seen above as picture #2 except leather is extra), a d’elegance option and the Talisman option. So the limo’s really had Brougham cushions, probably nicer than in the sixties.
Contrary to popular belief colorful interiors didn’t die in the 70’s. At least in Ford-land they were available well into the 90’s. The Mark VIII was avaialble in something like 8 or 9 interior colors over the course of its run, including greens, blues, and reds along with beige/gray/black. And my ’97 Crown Vic has a willow green interior which is a very nice sprucey color. I think that was in its final year though. By 2000, the colors had all but disappeared.
My 2013 ATS has red seats (well dark red, but still red).
Oh I know Chris. I would say the multiple interior color options started disappearing in the early 2000s. The last year you could get white leather or navy blue leather in Town Cars was 2002. Even Volvos were available with blue or burgundy interiors through the early ’90s.
There was apparently a rare blue/black two-tone for the 780, even. i’ve only seen photos of it in one car, but it was…quite interesting!
Yes, I’ve seen one in person, the only one I’ve ever seen with it.
Amazing how these ads offend modern sensibility. I find the shot of the woman in horse riding apparel especially cringe-worthy. The idea that such a single woman (note: no wedding ring displayed–and the way the hands are arranged, it appears it is intended for us to notice) would buy a Lincoln seems impossibly unlikely with today’s perspective.
Lastly, the aura sexuality permeates this pieces. To equate Broughams and sexiness is certainly a concept that did not stand the test of time. I always thought Broughams were appealing to WWII vets who were ready to retire in FL, but these ads clearly indicate the target demo as late 30’s up and comers with arm-candy wives and girlfriends.
That’s because they already had the old-timers sewn up, and you can’t really market to an older demographic without turning off the younger. Marketing is generally always targeted at the youngest end of the demographic scale a manufacturer could possibly hope to attract; ten and now. How successful they were with it is a different matter.
You can sell a young man’s car to an old man, but you can’t sell an old man’s car to a young man….
That’s because the young man can’t afford the old man’s car. So they buy it secondhand. (There are a few of us. I had to put up with some snide “grandpa car” comments from friends when I bought a Mark VIII, but usually those went away once they discovered how nice the interior was and once I floored it a few times.)
+1 Corvettes are old man’s cars to most people in my age group, yet you think any one of us wouldn’t snatch one up if the price was half of what they go for?
“Amazing how these ads offend modern sensibility.”
Hogwash! The advertising industry has used sex to sell everything from produce to razor blades to tobacco products to cars, and it isn’t going to change anytime soon. You know why? Sex sells, period. Get used to it!
If those ads YOUR modern sensibility, then how do you feel about the obnoxious “bleeps” heard on TV nowadays, where beautiful people spew garbage out of their mouths? THAT offends me, and as a result, I rarely watch TV.
I find the ads quaint, no matter how unrealistic the settings may be.
Take a look at this old produce crate label. I find it lovely.
I don’t like reality shows featuring idiots with “bleeps” but I don’t like watching some classic movie edited for TV with “bleeps”. I don’t get offended by what’s being “bleeped” so long as the vehicle for them is of quality, of which there’s very very little left of now a days.
And I agree, modern sensibilities is a joke. Modern sensibilities means everything is sexist, even though sex is predominantly the catalyst for every modern TV and reality show on the air now a days. But noooo it’s old brochures from the “bad old days” that were REALLY the problem in society, but luckly now we’re on the right track!
I’ll probably have to say this a million times before I die: We were never on the right track, or even necessarily the wrong track. This is the best possible life, and it was no better or worse overall 10, 20, or 30 years ago.
A big, BIG +1 to you Zackman and Chris. “Modern sensibilities” is like “politically correct,” a meaningless, throwaway term invented by vapid 24-hour news shows.
“Ooh, I am so offended! How dare he or she enjoy a gin and tonic after work and play golf! That is so 1960s throwback and out-of-date!” “Ooh, he still reads a newspaper–what an idiot! Let’s mock him or her.” “He or she enjoys a bacon cheeseburger! That’s made out of cute little pigs and cows! How dare he/she!” “Let’s protest and get him/her/them fired, sued and/or otherwise publically disparaged and humiliated!”
No, not a fan of modern news, or modern sensibilites, at least the version seen on TV news. And I rarely keep up with the news, other than the local paper or the WSJ occasionally. Now back to your regularly scheduled CC… 🙂
Pretty girls were even used in photos of test equipment a couple decades ago by a company I worked for (which will remain nameless). At least they actually were engineers.
It also could have been aimed at pimps involved in the high dollar escort market.
…just like that Park Ave interior?
You are a child of the PC-sensitive era towards women. I feel sorry for you. When it came to relationships, the 70’s were an era where we’re not even in the same ballpark nowadays.
Just imagine. Being able to show interest in a woman without being screamed at for being harassing. Or being scared to death to show any interest at all.
Funny, I’m not sorry for my wife and daughter to have missed the “good old days” you allude to. Though I find these old ads pretty tame and expect they would too.
Right, because last time I held open a door for a womyn she sprayed me with mace and screamed “Oppression”. No wait, she said, “Thanks.”
Meanwhile in 1976, it was still considered comedy to pat the secretary on the bum as she walked by. Such a wonderful time that was, and such a horrible time we live in now, when women and minorities have the audacity to walk down the street in broad daylight.
In the 1970s, those World War II vets were more likely to notice an ad with a pretty woman in her late 20s and early 30s as opposed to one in her late 40s or early 50s.
That is also why late-1970s television shows such as Charlie’s Angels and Three’s Company featured Farrah Fawcett and Suzanne Somers, who certainly weren’t chosen for their skills as thespians.
Rolling living rooms.
The 78 Buick Park Avenue with the double cushion seats, is so soft, makes me want to lay down and sleep.
I agree with Vanilla Dude on how the shots were likely done, but I don’t see it as broken fantasy or quite so negative. My mom looked like some of these ladies when going out with my dad, but the car was the more basic ’76 LTD. I rarely see anyone really dressed up in a restaurant anymore. My mom also worked for a while in a legal office and wore similar suits. And the lady with with the riding crop either is taking a new one to the stable, or is perhaps returning it from home after taking it there for other recreational purposes.
Tom brings up some nice points about an era gone by. The ladies look lovely, the cars plush, and the backgrounds inviting.
I too was an avid brochure collector in my youth. The fat part of my stash starts around 1972-73 and goes well into the 80s. It is interesting to see the differences in the aesthetic of the different time periods. These 1970s shots are so conservative compared to some of the ones from the decade earlier, like the 68 Chryslers whose seats sat in fields of different vegetation while the alluring yet unavailable models stared off into space.
I have not been able to decide if sites like OldCarBrochures.org is a good thing or not. For those of us with big collections, our specialness goes away. 🙂 It is a good thing, really – all of these are now at my fingertips without having to make an expedition into the seldom-seen corners of my basement.
It also just occurs to me that when these were in showrooms, I would have looked at these ladies like they were somebody’s mom. However, I have reached the age where I have more than caught up with them, and they all look quite inviting. 🙂 They certainly would have appealed to the demographic that R Henry identifies.
When I was a boy, the Seattle International Auto Show, would take place in the Kingdome. I would attend every chance I had, and take any, and every new car brochure I could get my hands on. Even the Japanese car brochures I’ve seen had style and colour, something you just don’t get with today’s brochures.
Buick did that too in 1966 (every model in the brochure shows seats in an outside decor!), they even cared to show the 1966 Wildcat Custom 4 door sedan (model number 46669) in the brochure that year.
In 1965-66, the Wildcat 4 door sedan sold in Canada was only available with Custom trim while in the US, it was just available in the lesser trim levels which were lacking the center armrest. The lower trim level was not offered in Canada before 1967.
This seat was also available in the Canadian Wildcat Custom 4 door hardtop at extra cost and was standard in the 4 door sedan.
Chrysler, in particular, got especially creative. first they put the car in the living room, then the seats in the house, then the seats in a field.
I always though this theme was funny, where did the rest of the car go? Was it stripped by some Amish car thieves that left the seats just to spite the owner and now she sits in the field looking off into the distance wondering what to do?
Ah yes, the seats-in-a-field years.
Chrysler put the entire car in the house in 1965.
And then the seats in 1970!
Wow, student housing was so much classier then!
Don’t laugh! I knew someone in college who had the back seat out of an XJ Cherokee in the living room of his on-campus apartment. Sure it wasn’t up to Chrysler Imperial standards, but when you’re 19 and drunk it beats sitting on the floor!
A roommate of mine in college bought a leather seat from a Saturn L200 and used it as a gaming chair. Another guy had an extra seat from a Volvo 740 he stripped before scrapping, and gave it to me to make a desk chair out of. Sadly I wasn’t able to fashion a suitable adapter for the rolling chair base I had, so I had to get rid of it. Comfortable, if a little odd-looking when taken out of its scandinavian surroundings!
I could have written your post, except subtract about 5 years. My collection starts around late 70s, is heavy in the 80s and 90s, and then is pretty limited after that. I’m much less tolerant of the dealer sales pitches now, so I’m reluctant to browse showrooms just to get the brochures (and also feel guilty taking up their time if I’m not really in the market).
And so true about oldcarbrochures – it’s nice to have them at our fingertips, because the truth is, I rarely look through the real things anymore. It’s getting time to purge my basement, and at times I’ve considered selling or giving away the collection (along with my collection of CAR magazine, from around 1981 through 2013). My kids don’t seem to be as enthralled as I was/am!
They were really selling style back then, while it’s petty much all tech today. Of course, Mercedes and BMW brochures were all serious, even if they looked good. But as someone pointed out, that was their selling proposition. Now, it’s all luxury and tech, just like everyone else.
Let me know if/when you want to sell, as I’d be interested in your collection.
I will. One of these days, I should take an inventory. I probably have about six book boxes filled. I started by writing letters to importers when I was probably 12. I’m sure they had no idea a kid was requesting brochures;)
Like you, I’m a huge collector of brochures. I started as a little kid going with my father to all the dealers in New Orleans, where I’d always pick up every piece that they had. Later, I found literature sellers through Hemmings where I could add pieces from before I was born. Then the Internet hit, and I’ve really been able to find some cool items. There is nothing better than going from era to era, where you see the tastes and values change over time. From the optimism of the 1950s to the “go-go” 1960s, cocooning 1970s, tech-lust 1980s, etc., each period really has its own vibe. And few things are better than car brochures in capturing the aspirations of a generation.
While some of the 1970s interiors are just shockingly ugly (I remember making fun of some of the shots even when I was a kid), you have to admit they have amazing character. Also a great way to keep people trading into new cars, as today’s turquoise velour is tomorrow’s out-of-date embarrassment, so it must be time for a new car!
Here are two more, from a 1976 Buick brochure. One is adjusting the passenger side mirror, not the vanity mirror!
Ladies beckoning you to join them in the backseat. They all look like the are yearning to go to town.
A quote from an unknown source: “Something within us burns, desire fuels the will to live”. Long live ads like these.
I think everybody’s too serious nowadays. I love the kitch humour evident in these photos, car adverts, brochures and the cars themselves are so dour nowadays, especially German ones. Why do German cars all have to look like Panzer IVs? Next they’ll be offering BMWs with optional Zimmerit.
“Why do German cars all have to look like Panzer IVs?”
Ha ha! Would you prefer a Leopard ll, instead?
Germany tried exporting Panzers to other European countries in the early 1940s, but they proved unpopular…
Well played, sir.
There were some PanzerKampfwagen IV export buyers: Finland, Bulgaria, Spain, Romania, & Syria (secondhand). The latter were used in the 6-Day War. How many other 1936 tank designs lasted this long?
Of course the T-34 & Sherman dominated the postwar secondhand tank market.
Find the brochure where the 1978 or 1979 Chrysler New Yorker is sitting outside the base of the World Trade Center. It’s somewhere on Old Car Brochures. It’s eerie. But not because it’s a classic Chrysler.
Here is the Lincoln Versailles at Windows on the World at the top of the WTC.
I remember this ad as a kid. Unless the WTC had some type of giant freight elevator, this car was taken apart, using only the shell. It gives the impression that Windows on the World was a drive through. Lobster Newburgh to go! A Versailles should have been sent to Versailles for a photo shoot with proper French models.
I’m not embarrassed to be a Versailles fan. They look far better in person and have a real Lincoln vibe. Topnotch seats, leather work, paint (1st clear coat) and bells and whistles galore. The chassis was beefed up as Seville. If the Monarch/Granada twins never existed and the Ver’s price were lower, it may have succeeded.
Too me it almost looks like a set made to look like Windows and the image through the windows always looked pretty fake to me.
Carmine, the more I examined that ad, the more I realized you’re right…it’s a set. My theory was plain silly-to believe that was really Windows on the World for that shot, just as the whole premise for the ad is ridiculous. Sincerely I have learned the most from you of all the replies. Keep your comments coming.
Maybe they took the picture of the car at some studio and pasted it over a photo from the WTC
Kev, I believe you’re thinking of the 1979 St. Regis brochure, as seen here.
The back seat photo from the ’78 LTD makes me laugh. She’s not sitting on the seat -she’s got her backside up against the corner of the seat. I’m 6’1″ and have sat in an LTD of that vintage. My head came nowhere near the roof liner.
Typical late-70’s Ford Brochure photography. Check out the Lincoln Versailles brochures from that era and how Ford made the back seat room seem almost tolerable when in reality it wasn’t.
Amusing, but not near as hilarious as the Pinto brochures. Like any normal person could sit in that back seat and be comfortable!
“Note: the models in this brochure are all five feet tall, and the front seats have been moved way, way, WAY! forward to make the back seat look livable. See your Ford dealer for details.”
Pants sold separately, see dealer for details…..
Notice how the guy driving has his sternum nearly touching the steering wheel.
“Hey Bob, why aren’t we moving?”
“Can’t….breathe…”
He’s trying to get away from the noisy trousers in the back seat.
Seriously, they’d drown out a Beatles audience at Shea Stadium.
The woman in the Versailles looks like a young Sean Young. The woman in the front of the Lincoln Town Coupe also looks vaguely familiar.
I get a Jaclyn Smith vibe from the Town Coupe girl.
Lincoln Town Coupé woman was a babe.
I think the Fleetwood brouchure should have two old wise guys discussing ” how are we going to take care of Jimmy Hof…eh, I mean that matter in the trunk?”
My first car. I think it is so funny as my seat was torn to shreds
I have the brochure for my namesake. It is downright creepy. The imagery seems to trade on the popularity of Andrew Wyeth’s paintings, as if to say, hey, rich people like those, let’s put two and two together. Ignoring that a pall of menace and death hangs over the paintings, which makes it hard to think happy thoughts about the cars!
http://imperialclub.com/Yr/1973/Brochures/brochures.htm
And here’s the ghost of young Tabitha Hester, taken from us far too soon, haunting your Rim-Blow, Tilt-a-Scope and Auto Temp II…
That is…extraordinarily creepy.
The ghost of children left in hot cars…
That’s nothing on the creepy scale compared to the 1969 and 1970 Imperials. Nearly every magazine ad and page of the brochure those years (especially ’70) featured some obviously rich middle age gentleman and his daughter(s) (never sons) who don’t look real happy to be there.
http://www.imperialclub.com/Yr/1969/Ads/index.htm
http://www.imperialclub.com/Yr/1970/Ads/index.htm
http://www.imperialclub.com/Yr/1970/Brochure/index.htm
Speaking of the ghost of the kid left in a hot car (in this case, a ’70 Imperial LeBaron)….
I know those ads. Creepy they are. Like what’s really going on here, creepy.
Those ads with the younger girls are odd, its like John Forsythe hitting on your little sister…..
Yikes. Reminds me of the twins from The Shining…but where’s the other one? RIGHT BEHIND YOU!!!
This does not make me want to buy an Imperial. Sorry Alan. 🙂
Hey, more for me. :-p
Oh I’d buy one, but not because of the brochure!
Come play with us in the Imperial Danny…..come play with us….for ever and ever…..and ever…..
I’m waiting for her head to start spinning around….
THE SEATS…..no one must know about THE SEATS.
What is the SECRET of THE SEATS?
Haunting…..Thrilling….based on novel that sold over 1 million copoes
THE SEATS
This Summer
Vera Miles and John Saxon star in….
THE SEATS!!
A Universal Release.
+1 Carmine! You got the tone exactly right.
And +1 for “A Universal Pictures Release”. It would be them.
Vera Miles drove a ’68 Imperial in Hellfighters with John Wayne, which was – drumroll please – a Universal film!
Ha! I didn’t even remember that, I remember that John Wayne had a fire engine red Mark III.
I am now giggling like a happy little schoolgirl…for ever…and ever…
The guys at American International would quickly make a rip-off that would go onto the drive-in circuit before The Seats would have been released. It would be pretty much the same…but with more screaming, a few gratuitous sex scenes featuring has been B-movie actresses, and buckets of red-colored corn syrup being thrown on camera lenses.
Followed by Bill Rebane’s The Giant Seat Invasion, where gamma ray-contaminated AMC seat eggs emerge from a cosmic black hole and fall to Earth. The Gremlin and Pacer seats (we dare not speak of the Oleg Cassini Matador seats) eventually hatch and terrorize the denizens of Gleason, Wisconsin.
Combined with a double feature…A Golan Globus Production of….Blood Brougham.
When I was a child I thought the 78 Buick Electra Park Avenue had very comfortable seats. It was also a fast car with almost no returns to the dealership with problems. I only remember my grandparents having a repeating issue with the delay wipers and a power passenger recliner malfunction. I also remember it being a quiet car.
I wish I had experienced some exposure to the flagship Chryslers as a child. Their leather was awesome.
The blue, poofy seats in the 1978 Buick Electra Park Avenue remind me of a statement John De Lorean made in “On A Clear Day You Can See General Motors”-“After a short time, the isolated executives would find their markets taken away by competitors who were attuned to the wants and needs of the public and who were exercising their franchises to operated responsibly.” GM was still trying to cram the bordello waiting room esthetic down our throats while we, the next generation of buyers, just wasn’t buying it-literally. I bought a new 78 Rabbit and drove it for the next 16 years.
I read his book. Then I watched what happened with De Lorean Motors. The 70’s were a period when the velour interior became widely available and the so-called Brougham era went overboard. I was not as impressed with my 78 Olds Regency interior as I expected to be. My 95 Riviera interior may be the most comfortable of any I have owned.
The thing was, it wasn’t just in cars, velour was every where, we had a Florida room set was a huge low sectional brown velour sofa that would have looked perfect in a Park Avenue. Everything was brown and upholstered in the 70’s, and the cars reflected a lot of that, taste and styles in general were very outlandish and over the top, ties were crazy, lapels were wide.
And not just here. The Germans were obsessed with brown. You can still see it at airports like Dusseldorf and Berlin-Tegel. Back in the 90s, I visited the HQ of Saarland Energy and the place was a 70s time capsule, awash with glazed brown tiles and orange and brown velour and leather upholstery.
Mercedes had velour interior options on most of the high end sedans too, I’ve even seen a 6.9 with velour seats. Though not German, I remember going into a regional office for Costal Fuel in the late 90’s and it still had leather couches in the lobby that were huge, brown and pillowed baggy leather like what you would see in a 70’s Cadillac.
Velour was available in larger Mercedes sedans for decades. Many Adenauers were so equipped as were various 300 fintail and W109 models. Yes, it was an option in 6.3’s and even in the next Generation 6.9’s, as well as 450 SEL’s. I have seen the very same velour in 600’s! It didn’t look anything like the Park Ave though and there was not a ruffle or loose cushion in sight!
Oh yeah, it was very different, it almost resembled a sweater in my mind. Almost like the wood material that carmakers used in the 30’s and 40’s.
I remember seeing only one modern Mercedes in my life with cloth interior that was not a gray market car and it too was a 6.9. A friend had ordered it new and kept it for many years. He was able to get the car with cloth interior from the factory. The only one I have ever seen.
I have also seen one modern Rolls-Royce with cloth. As best I can remember it was an option around the early to mid 80’s. Neither car had the plush cloth we were used to here in the US.
I have never found a cloth seat as comfortable as the 79 Cadillac d’Elegance or the rear seat of the early 80’s Cadillac Fleetwood d’Elegance. I have owned a low mileage 76 Fleetwood Talisman whose interior reflected almost no wear and it was not as comfortable as those two either, not even close.
Perhaps it is odd but I prefer some cars in cloth and some in leather trim. The mid to late 70’s Lincoln sedans are ones I much prefer in leather.
I’ve heard that in Japan in particular, cloth seats are commonly found in the highest-end old-school models (Toyota Century, Nissan President) as they are seen as superior to leather. Not sure if leather is seen as too ostentatious or if cloth is seen as having the most comfort.
My ’68 300SEL, originally sold in Italy, was dark blue over a very light grey velour interior. It also had very tight-grained wood, like mahogany or ash, which I’ve never seen in another W109.
I can confirm the Japanese love for cloth seats in their “traditional” cars. I’ve ridden in both a Toyota Century and a Nissan President with velour interiors, and you see a lot of hire car Toyota Crowns and Nissan Cedrics with velour upholstery, usually in a very unfortunate brown. We had a Cedric with said interior – and a reclining rear seat! – as one of our company cars (with driver) when I moved to China in 2001.
Well, I do think the Mercedes velour treatment is done with much greater restraint than that Park Ave. There is also the fact that the Mercedes (any model) would not reach its cornering limit in a carpark….
..and many top level cars have cloth interiors. Look at the vintage car classifieds and you often see top line Bentley’s, Rolls Royces etc with “leather to front compartment, West-of-England cloth to rear”. Hmm, I am not 100% sure what “west of England” cloth actually is, but I have seen an almost flannel-like material in the rear seats of these cars.
Cloth was regularly used in such cars. I even saw red velour in a Rolls Corniche once, but it had been reupholstered.
“Cloth” or velour was used in higher end cars because that would have been traditional in carriages. Leather was for the (exposed) driver’s seat and had to be because that was what was most weatherproof at the time. The passenger compartment was intentionally velour, to very clearly delineate between the “working” section of the coach and the luxury riding section. Carried over, velour is actually fancier than leather. Leather became the higher end option once that carriage distinction was lost and gained in appreciation as a “luxury” item in other usages.
Found a couple of Broughamisch ladies when looking through some old brochures. Here is one example (don’t know how to post more than one pic) from a 1978 Cadillac brochure. Very Brougham!
…and this Brougham lady jumped into the wrong car 🙂
Ha. “Wait a minute, this isn’t an LTD?!”
“Barb….babe…..we had you scheduled for the Thunderbird….but you know, your looks really aren’t what they used to be….but I still got you a shoot, don’t worry….”
“Hey Barb….You wanna go back to polyester jumpsuits in the Sears Catalog? Or work for those slave drivers at Montgomery Ward? Then do the damn Fiesta shoot!…..”
HAHA…..Montgomery Ward…..
How about nice photo shoot for the Zayres catalog Barb?
Or how about Venture!
Or how about Venture!
Venture? Poncho Girl from the ’68 Chrysler brochure already had that gig…and didn’t have to change clothes!
I had never heard of Venture, I had to look them up, they never made it to Florida, Zayres we had tons of, later they became Ames and then they became closed.
We did have Jackson-Byrons, which later became JByrons and then Uptons and then closed.
Venture did well as a regional chain (primarily Missouri and Illinois) and had a loyal following. They expanded into Texas in the mid ’90s and had their asses handed to them so badly by Walmart and Target (against whom they more than held their own back home) that it killed the whole company.
For those lamenting the blah-tastic grey/beige interiors, you can get red suede in the Dodge Scat Pack cars.
I know this is a shout out to Brougham-ville, but nothing says ‘NOT BLAND’ like a Challenger Hellcat in Sublime green….
My boss has a black SRT Challenger. Looks just like the one in NCIS LA!
Is the blonde in the ’75 Cadillac the owner’s granddaughter? (My favorite is the “Equestrienne” in the ’79 Versailles-kind of looks like a young Emma Thompson.)
Why the grain field?
Because a maize field is just too corny.
We here at Chrysler grow our seats from the finest American grain straight from the Heartland…..
Unless they’re buckets out of a 300, where they’re carefully harvested and on the trim line at Jefferson Assembly within 24 hours of washing up on the rocks near Big Sur…..
Retrieved only by scowling women in Beetlejuice ponchos apparently….
If not harvested quickly the seats were consumed by sea lions. The ponchos scared them away.
Contrary to popular belief, the 300 wasn’t discontinued after 1971 due to declining sales. It was overfishing and the cost of chartering a Northwest 707 freighter out of SFO every night to get the seats to Jefferson Ave before the 1st shift.
Its sad that we lost so many sea lions who consumed FoMoCo seats. Mercury poisoning.
Its sad that we lost so many sea lions who consumed FoMoCo seats. Mercury poisoning.
Too bad Buddy Rich is dead. He was the only drummer worthy of the rimshot for that one!
The cost of shipping Mercury seats was much higher. They only washed up on a beach near a police station on Oahu.
Oh no, it looks like I have a companion in the Bad Automotive Jokes & Puns Department here at CC. Warning everyone, this could get ugly. 🙂
Tom, I think this is one of my favorites of your stories! Very fun!
I started out at the ripe old age of Eight collecting brochures. It was 1984, and my parents bought a slightly used Dodge Aries from a small Chrysler dealer in Chelsea, MI. The car a few “issues”, so we made the long trip back to the dealer a few times, and each time I would take a few brochures with me! Well, before I knew it, I was begging my Dad to take me to dealers to get more, and surprisingly enough, he did! For me to walk into a showroom and see the brochure rack would cause me to almost hyperventilate!
Sadly, the brochures of today all seem so bland, with way too much in the way of computer animation, and no where near enough interior pics!
If you need to know something about a car from the late 70’s through late 90’s? Chances are I could help you out! Today, They just don’t have what it takes to excite me, and that’s when I can even Find a brochure, as most dealers won’t even stock them…they just say “Well you can log onto the website!”
Oh well…
Come on Tom, we need to get back to work at The Brougham Society 🙂
facebook.com/TheBroughamSociety
Dang, missed all the fun.
Tom, you are a man who shares my passion. I have been collecting car brochures of all makes since I was 13, accompanying my father to car dealerships. Since then, I have amassed over approximately 500 or so (?) brochures, and even some introductory videotapes and DVD’s. I LOVE the smell of a new car brochure. My other passion – or perhaps what directed me into it – is typesetting and desktop publishing, which I later went to study in University. I will never sell my collection, because I love comparing the imagery of the brochures and catalogues over the years, and how they represent what is important to our society. I must agree with you: today’s brochures have grown COLD and IMPERSONAL…. few people to be found in the brochures, enjoying their cars. Here is a photo from a 1980 Lincoln Continental Town Coupe.
I’m inspired…this weekend…to the brochure collection! How do you all store yours? I need to get them out of boxes and into something else that’s more accessible.
I keep most of mine in bankers’ boxes. More are in the garage, but in plastic tubs.
The lovely lady in the ’74 Cadillac now is the background on my work computer.
Between her, the car and the period setting- just perfect.
Lovely women, nice, roomy and comfortable interiors…
One of the things we have learned here is that with very careful cropping and positioning, it is possible to photograph the interior of a Lincoln Versailles in a way that makes it look good. Ms. Equestrienne helps by being carefully positioned so that she completely blocks the B-pillar. Take another look; if you didn’t know what car that was, might you think at first glance it was a hardtop? Then, the photo was carefully cropped to leave out the obviously Granada dash, and in back to cut off the photo before the C-pillar, which makes the back look bigger.
Great conversation here – thanks for posting this, Tom!
A little more on velour. The big difference between the velour used in German and Japanese cars, as well as in the rear of old-school American Limos is that those cars used straight velour, which is a knitted imitation velvet, while crushed velour (imitation crushed velvet) was de rigeur for luxury broughams here in the states. Did it wear better? Was it more forgiving to manufacture? Did it work better with tufted, pillow seats? I have no idea, but crushed velour it always seemed to be.
Thanks for posting this, Tom.
In the 1990s, I worked with a woman who, when she found out that I was interested in cars, told me that she had modeled for some early 1970s Chrysler Division brochures. She was pretty, but rather petite.
By that time I was used to the idea of female models being thin and tall. She explained that the modeling agencies wanted smaller women for automotive brochures and ads, because they made the cars look bigger.
I’m about 99.9% positive that the model in the top pic is actress Carla Borelli. Famous for an awful series of singing ads for “Figurines” (Diet cookies or candy bars) for women and some bad movies:
If not, I would be shocked, as I’m almost never wrong. I’ve won a lot of bets naming obscure actors in movies and TV shows.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carla_Borelli
Holy plush seats. I want to sleep in that 1978 Buick.
Love the lady with the riding crop and tight pants in the Lincoln Versailles. S and M fantasies galore.