Automotive Ads and Brochures

texases

Like that Viking ad. Hard to find a list of ALL the diffent GM brands, they typically skip ones like Viking.

ab348

Does the Arnold Palmer name still appear on the subsequent dealerships or has that been would up following his death?

sda

ab348 said:

Does the Arnold Palmer name still appear on the subsequent dealerships or has that been would up following his death?

Arnold Palmer eventually became part of Sonic Automotive and the name retired. There was also Arnold Palmer Cadillac where I’ve also done business. It is now called Cadillac of South Charlotte.

benjaminh

I think Viking was in a way the first Oldsmobile V-8. Since I once owned an Olds 98, I think of it as almost the first Oldsmobile 98....

I've never seen a Viking in a car museum. I wonder if any still exist?

benjaminh

1929

imidazol97

benjaminh said:

I've never seen a Viking in a car museum. I wonder if any still exist?

I searched and found this one, pictured in 1992.




By Ian Kirk from Broadstone, Dorset, UK - Canmania Car show - WimborneUploaded by tm, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30182087

benjaminh

Good to see that maybe a few Vikings have survived. Solid looking car. Nice paint jobs. More from 1929, including a purple Viking.

ab348

Back in the '90s when I ran the Olds mail list, there was a member (I believe from Kansas) who was trying to restore a Viking. As I recall, it was very difficult, as you would expect, and I don't remember if he ever succeeded.

benjaminh

1929

benjaminh

Cupholders seemingly date back to at least 1929? And Reo was advertising that its cars were designed and built to last 100,000 miles.

benjaminh

1929

benjaminh

The Goodyear Blimp gets ready to launch in 1929, plus the rare Ruxton front-wheel-drive car....

fintail

I wonder if those ads were conceived in the spring or summer of 29 when many thought it would never end.

The Ruxton is a very interesting car. They sit low due to the drivetrain, and the illustration there isn't just for effect, they could be had with flamboyant paint schemes:

benjaminh

fintail said:

I wonder if those ads were conceived in the spring or summer of 29 when many thought it would never end.

The Ruxton is a very interesting car. They sit low due to the drivetrain, and the illustration there isn't just for effect, they could be had with flamboyant paint schemes:

Those Ruxton paint jobs are quite something!

The ads just posted were from early to mid-October of 1929, and the stock market crash began toward the end of October. Viking and some of the other brands seemingly were only possible during the roaring twenties. As you say, these ads so far were all created before the crash began....

texases

If you thought Viking was an obscure GM brand:

pensfan83

ab348 said:

Does the Arnold Palmer name still appear on the subsequent dealerships or has that been would up following his death?

The store located in Latrobe, PA, located near his hometown, closed up last year I think. They were only selling Buick and Cadillac at the end after losing other GM brands over the years. When I last drove by the building was still vacant.

benjaminh

Yes, the Buick Marquette certainly was a rare brand. When did it end production?
1929....

sda

Locally there was Arnold Palmer Oldsmobile and Arnold Palmer Cadillac, two separate dealerships until around 2002 when the Olds location was closed and converted to a Toyota dealership. Olds then shared a small corner of the Cadillac location and then disappeared in 2003. The Arnold Palmer name was replaced with Cadillac of South Charlotte in 2004-05. I believe Sonic Automotive had the right to use the Arnold Palmer name for a while after they bought the dealerships. They own the Toyota dealership too.

benjaminh

Late 1929....

benjaminh

More from late 1929, including a comic about the "Cinderella Speculator" getting a rude awakening.

ab348

benjaminh said:

Yes, the Buick Marquette certainly was a rare brand. When did it end production?
1929....

Yes, the GM "companion brand" strategy might not have been a bad idea by Sloan, but the timing could not have been worse. Marquette actually sold a decent number of vehicles, over 30,000 IIRC, in its sole model year, but was discontinued in part because Buick management felt it detracted from their capacity to build more Buicks. Viking did not sell nearly as well and was basically done after 1930, though a few hundred were built using leftover parts and sold as '31 models. The engine was either an engineering marvel or nightmare, depending on your point of view.

benjaminh

The end of 1929 and the beginning of 1930.

benjaminh

January of 1930....

benjaminh

Early 1930....

benjaminh

More trips in time to early 1930....

texases

I'd never seen that bus before. Here's more info on Pickwick, including that bus:
http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/p/pickwick/pickwick.htm

ab348

Sharp-eyed viewers will note something unusual in this Canadian ad:



(Firefox still on strike against images, posting via Chrome)

benjaminh

Was the 6-cylinder Pontiac available in the US in 1955?

1930....

ab348

benjaminh said:

Was the 6-cylinder Pontiac available in the US in 1955?

No. Neither was a 162HP V-8. This is a Canadian Pontiac ad (hence the "Laurentian" model name) and shows how GM Canada used Chevy engines in Canadian-built Ponchos, a practice that continued into the 1970s.

What I do not know is if these had the US Pontiac wheelbase, or were built on a Chevy chassis as well. But I suspect they used the US dimensions here judging from the picture.

texases

Or the US artist...

fintail

In that 55 Pontiac ad, the people outside the car appear to be about 5'5", while the person driving it might be 7'.

benjaminh

Coke in Canada and other advertisements from 1930....

imidazol97

benjaminh said:

Coke in Canada and other advertisements from 1930....

My inquiring mind wondered about the V16 engine in the 1930 Cadillac. The hood looks long enough for a straight 16!!!


An interesting article from which I found the V16 picture...
https://heacockclassic.com/articles/when-v-16-cadillacs-roamed-the-earth/

benjaminh

Great article. Thanks for posting. Learned that Cecil B. DeMille owned one of these custom Cadillacs. Also:

"The Cadillac V16 was basically two inline eights sharing a common crankshaft. The cylinder banks were placed at a very narrow 45 degree angle and each had its own independent fuel and exhaust system. The engine used overhead valves, a design not previously seen on a Cadillac, and hydraulic valve adjustment, an industry first, which contributed to the V16’s exceptionally smooth and near silent operation. With a 3 x 4 inch bore x stroke, displacement was 452 cubic inches, (thus the model designation 452), with an output conservatively rated at 165 horsepower, (later increased to 185 horsepower) and delivered through a three-speed transmission."

ab348

From 1952, when 160HP meant you had a real hot rod.



Firefox labor action continues, strike-breaking with Chrome.

berri

We had a 54 DeSoto Firedome V8 when I was a kid. personally, I like the 55.

benjaminh

In 1930 GM's 90-day warranty was innovative. Cord's prediction in this ad that by 1935 front wheel drive would "sweep the industry" obviously didn't pan out. But by 1985....

benjaminh

1930

benjaminh

1930

benjaminh

Here in 1930 Gary Cooper getting ready to star in an early Western is pictured by Norman Rockwell.

benjaminh

1930....

ab348

Imagine driving one of these in a crosswind. I have never seen this before.

ab348

Here's one for @fintail

fintail

Nice fintail ad, I've seen that somewhere. Looks like it might be my color, and interesting both in that the car in the large pic is a Euro model with lighting much different than on the NA spec model, and that the ad copy is somewhat funny, almost like a direct translation from another language. MB was still in its infancy in this market.

Never seen a high roof VW like that either, probably can't get up enough speed to be too dangerous.

benjaminh

1930....
(And it seems like because of a change the images can no longer be enlarged? In other words, if the text is small it's probably unreadable. Oh well.)

omarman

1930....
(And it seems like because of a change the images can no longer be enlarged? In other words, if the text is small it's probably unreadable. Oh well.)

Right click and then expand the pic will enlarge everything. Great looking art work for 1931 model year!

Really like the looong Chrysler Eight art. Still the 1931 Chrysler Imperial Eight limousine was a big, long car.

benjaminh

Thanks @omarman — that Chrysler is a big car, although as you say that drawing makes it look even longer. And thanks for the instructions on how to get to the full size pix, which on a mac I think means hitting the control button. Anyway, here's some more from 1930....

benjaminh

1930

fintail

Looks like the depression hadn't fully set in yet by mid 1930.

benjaminh

fintail said:

Looks like the depression hadn't fully set in yet by mid 1930.

Yeah it's difficult to believe, but even though the economy had fallen significantly from late 1929 to late 1930, it would be much worse by late 1931, and truly horrible by 1932. And by February and early March of 1933 the banking system was significant trouble.