Classic Ads: 1966 Lincoln Continental Coupe

I get a very East Coast vibe in this 1966 ad for the Lincoln Continental coupe. The lighthouse, people shooting clay pigeons, it all shouts Martha's Vineyard to me. And that's fine, because rich people live there and those are the sort of buyers who would drive a big Continental luxury coupe in 1966. When was the last time you saw a man with a gun in a luxury car ad?
The '66 Continental's biggest update was of course the handsome new coupe body, but it received a refresh front and rear and a new engine displacing 462 cubic inches. An 'automatic temperature control system' (air conditioning?) and stereo tape (8-track?) AM/FM radio were now available.
Now that I look at it, the Continental coupe has a passing resemblance in profile to a Ford Galaxie. This would be remedied in 1968 when the car got a more formal roof with smaller quarter windows. In my opinion, this early coupe style is far more attractive.

This ad appeared in the March 4, 1966 issue of Life magazine.

Dealership Shoot: 1966 Oldsmobile Starfire

Photos taken at the former Kassabian Motors in Dublin, CA (now MyHotCars, Inc. in Livermore).

Classic Ads: 1966 Ford Mustang

If you want to sell a car to a person who doesn't like cars, play up its practicality. And boy do they ever in this Ford ad. Instead of publishing a full-page airbrushed beauty shot of a stripey red GT fastback on a beach surrounded by beautiful women playing volleyball, we have a rather average-looking young lady up to her eyeballs in grocery bags in front of a sedate Nightmist Blue six-cylinder coupe. The ad calls attention to the base Mustang's fuel economy, but reminds us of the car's famously extensive options list that allowed thousands of combinations from mild to wild. Among the many options were a vinyl roof and wire wheel covers, which cost $74.36 and $58.24 respectively.
This ad appeared in the March 4, 1966 issue of Life magazine.

Classic Ads: 1966 Dodge Rebellion

There's a lot in here that Dodge would probably like to forget. Bigger big cars! Bigger small cars! Bigger everything! Women brandishing guns in a car ad and talking about how swingers are hip to Dodge. What are we rebelling against? Boring cars, apparently.

Fight boredom by threatening someone with a relic of the Civil War. Sprawl all over a car hood in provocative poses. Then throw some money at your neighborhood Dodge dealer and be awesome until OPEC takes away all our nice things.

This 4-page spread appeared in the November 8, 1965 issue of Life magazine.

Classic Ads: 1966 Dodge D-Series Camper Special

In the mid-1960s Detroit truck manufacturers found a way to capitalize on the American pastime of camping, with pickups that were designed to pull double duty hauling cab-over campers. Ford had an F-Series Camper Special, Chevy had a C/K Camper Special (or Custom Camper) and Dodge also offered a D-Series Camper Special. Now outdoorsmen could go do manly things like hunting without dragging the whole family along in the station wagon with a trailer.

This ad appeared in the November 1, 1965 issue of Life magazine.

Classic Ads: 1966 Chevrolet Corvair Corsa

Sex sells. Sexism? Not so much. But in the 1960s world of advertising as depicted in "Mad Men", sexism was the norm. Here we see "Trudy", an attractive young lady who the ad wants you to believe is a Corvair Corsa owner. She didn't like driving because driving was boring. But then along came the Corvair Corsa and now driving is just swell. Because it's a car marketed toward young people, the ad uses key terms like "became hip to", "she dug its tenacious rear-engine traction", and "she was a real swinger at the wheel". It gives me a mental picture of a middle-aged man in an ad agency, with a comb-over, thick rimmed glasses and a starched white shirt with a skinny black necktie reading the ad copy aloud in a dull voice. What exactly does it mean to be a swinger at the wheel? Does Trudy mess around in the front seat? At least it doesn't play the "So easy to drive, even your wife can do it" card.

This ad appeared in the March 4, 1966 issue of Life Magazine.

Classic Ads: 1966 Renault 8

A few years ago I came across a pile of old magazines in a book arts class in college. They had been donated for use in book-making projects and were 40-50 years old. Seeing that they were doomed to be cut up anyway, I rescued every ad for cars and automotive products.

This print ad for the Renault 8 appeared in the June 3, 1966 issue of Life magazine. How can you consider buying an economy car without at least considering the new Renault 8? Who wouldn't love that scowling face and "rough, tough engine that makes it from 0 to 60 in mere seconds" (as opposed to... minutes?) I'm sold!