Home » Again With The Bird: Cold Start

Again With The Bird: Cold Start

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When you poke through a lot of vintage car brochures, patterns start to emerge. Trends, fads, styles, perhaps even messages. Notes and clues from decades ago, hidden within the carefully chosen iconography of the staged photos, possibly telegraphing vitally important ideas and esoteric Secrets of Life. These can be the only explanation for a nascent pattern I’m seeing involving birds. Yes, birds, birds in cages, carried around in stylish mid-century rear-engined sporty cars. Like that 1965 NSU Spider up there.

See the lady dangling that bird in a cage over the NSU’s behind-the-seat cargo area? We’ve seen this before, remember? When I showed you that brochure for the Volkswagen Type 3 Ghia! Look!

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More birdcages! And also in a rear-engined sports car with a trunk up front, over the engine in the rear, and a cargo area behind the front seats! This can’t be a coincidence! There’s a message here, if only we can puzzle it out!

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The NSU Wankel Spider is a fascinating car on its own: it was the first mass-market consumer application of the Wankel rotary engine, even beating traditional rotary pioneer Mazda to market by three years, who brought their rotary-powered Cosmo to market in 1967.

As you can see up there the packaging was very clever and efficient: underfloor rear engine, and cargo room throughout the length of the car. It’s a real little gem.

But what’s the Message of the Birds? What about rear engined sports cars with weirdly significant amounts of cargo room and caged birds, together? What the big secret to living that the advertisers of old are telling us?

Think, dammit, think!

 

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Dodsworth
Dodsworth
1 year ago

Mary Poppins wants to star in more adult films. She’s on her way to audition for “The Birds.”

Chris D
Chris D
1 year ago
Reply to  Dodsworth

It’s a subtle reminder that a bird in a cage has about as much room to move around as a human in a car.
We, at least, can get out of the car when we would like to.

Mr Sarcastic
Mr Sarcastic
1 year ago

A bird in the van is worth 2 in the Nash.

Justin Short
Justin Short
1 year ago

A bird in a cage is worth two in the frunk?

Trust Doesn't Rust
Trust Doesn't Rust
1 year ago

I feel like birds were a **thing** in the 1960’s. Here are some cherry-picked examples:
-My grandma had two 1960’s-era decorative bird cages hanging in her house well into the late 90’s. She never owned a bird.
-My former boss found a 1960’s era incense burner in the shape of a chicken in an old supply cabinet
-The Enchanted Tiki Room
-Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds”
-The Byrds
-Lady Bird Johnson
-et al.

Manwich Sandwich
Manwich Sandwich
1 year ago

And later, birds turned into crows like The Crows and The Black Crows (who did the song Remedy).

RustFreeDreams
RustFreeDreams
1 year ago

Two German car brochures produced about the same time…methinks the ad agency/photog used the same set dresser and that set dresser really had a thing for birds in cages. Too bad it isn’t the same cage in both photos!

Beached Wail
Beached Wail
1 year ago

Not sure about the bird, but Mary Poppins up there better have some magic to help Mr. Airline Steward get the large suitcase in his left hand into the Spider. Unless there’s a second Spider parked out of camera range, I’m not convinced *any* of the items he’s carrying are going to make it into the car.

DysLexus
DysLexus
1 year ago

Precursor to the Monty Python skit?

“That bird is nailed to the perch“
“Lovely plumage, though“

(Wish I could type in a British accent for full dramatic effect)

Alan Christensen
Alan Christensen
1 year ago

The Beatles’ “And Your Bird Can Sing” was released in August of 1966. It clearly had an impact on art directors of the time. “You tell me that you’ve got everything you want…” Well, certainly, not that you have this NSU Spider. And the lyric “When your prized possessions start to weigh you down” is obviously symbolized by the massive amount of luggage in these small cars. Also in 1966, Cream released “NSU.” Coincidence?

Jakob K's Garage
Jakob K's Garage
1 year ago

You always get a bit of carbon mono oxide and other poisonous stuff in the heating system on a rear engined german car from the sixties, so I think it’s a “canary in the coalmine” kind of thing..

Jakob K's Garage
Jakob K's Garage
1 year ago

No, I didn’t read all comments before posting. But when it’s also suggested by others, that must be it then 🙂

Boulevard_Yachtsman
Boulevard_Yachtsman
1 year ago

“But what’s the Message of the Birds?”
Might have to ask the Trashmen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Gc4QTqslN4

Chronometric
Chronometric
1 year ago
Beer-light Guidance
Beer-light Guidance
1 year ago

Just a subtle way for the manufacturers to show that they are in compliance with all relevant Bird Laws. Can’t be too careful.

Freelivin2713
Freelivin2713
1 year ago

Just a different way of flipping people the bird!!! Bird, Bird, Bird…Bird is the word!

Fred Seelig
Fred Seelig
1 year ago

OMG, I thought I wanted an NSU Prinz. Now I’m lusting after an NSU Spider. Jason, you suck!

Lokki
Lokki
1 year ago

Which came first: the VW or the NSU?

Jason Douglas
Jason Douglas
1 year ago

She’s clearly a witch, and that bird is all part of some ritual. My guess is some kind of spell of protection against bad drivers.

ExAutoJourno
ExAutoJourno
1 year ago

The only “birdcage” is a Maserati. All the rest are poseurs.

That said, I drove a Wankel Spider once. Fun little piece.

Mr. Asa
Mr. Asa
1 year ago

In addition to some of the other excellent comments above, I think it has to do with how delicate bird cages, and birds are.
“Look at our stylish little roadster convertible. Its sleek, its clean, its fast, but its also well behaved enough you can transport your beloved little Polly Parakeet to your summer home.”

A. Barth
A. Barth
1 year ago

The owner hopes that the combination of birdcage and convertible will make the bird think it is outside flying around rather than being stuck in a wireframe house – sort of a mini avian vacation.

In reality, at anything over 15mph the wind will pin the bird to the back of the cage, detracting from the experience somewhat.

IRegertNothing, Esq.
IRegertNothing, Esq.
1 year ago

I’m going to guess that parakeets rank up there with cats on the list of pets that least want to go for a ride in the car.

Mercedes Streeter
Mercedes Streeter
1 year ago

Truth! When Sheryl and I rescued a parakeet (renamed Seven of Nine, yes, from Star Trek) that little bird hated going for car rides. Lots of noise and lots of flapping around.

Unfortunately, poor Seven caught pneumonia and basically Thanos-snapped out of existence three days later (vet says old parakeets have no durability). Sheryl and I eventually replaced her with a green cheek conure since Seven was the companion for our other green cheek. The two conures love car rides, especially the scenery.

Trust Doesn't Rust
Trust Doesn't Rust
1 year ago

Disagree. One of our chickens (Rhonda) sits quietly in her crate in the middle back seat, way up front so she can be close to us and chat.

IRegertNothing, Esq.
IRegertNothing, Esq.
1 year ago

Your chicken is not talking to you. Your car has an exhaust leak, and you are high AF.

Trust Doesn't Rust
Trust Doesn't Rust
1 year ago

A little from column A, a little from column B.

Jack Trade
Jack Trade
1 year ago

I’ve always thought it’s the mid-century version of people with their tablets in vehicles…a subtle underscoring that this vehicle fits right in with your separate non-vehicular life.

I mean for people who have those, not us. We like ads like those old Fairlane ones showing some guy with driving gloves reaching forward to dramatically shift into second or ones with smiling people piloting their Jeep on a beach with the windshield down.

StillNotATony
StillNotATony
1 year ago

I would think it’s obvious why they’re transporting birds in the back of rear engined cars.

Canary in the coal mine.

They’re there to detect exhaust leaks from the engine.

Mystery solved!

Larry B
Larry B
1 year ago
Reply to  StillNotATony

Yes! Fashionable carbon monoxide detectors.

Nlpnt
Nlpnt
1 year ago
Reply to  StillNotATony

A belt-and-suspenders approach in this case, since they already have the top down.

NewBalanceExtraWide
NewBalanceExtraWide
1 year ago

It’s setting up a symbolic, visual dichotomy– the bird trapped in a tiny enclosure versus the bird-owner having the freedom of all this space. That’s how it reads to me, at least.

Lokki
Lokki
1 year ago

Found the Art History major.

NewBalanceExtraWide
NewBalanceExtraWide
1 year ago
Reply to  Lokki

Architecture, actually- but yes, we were taught a lot of nonsense about conversations between topography of site and roof pitch.

William Domer
William Domer
1 year ago

Topography was such a bore though, while roof pitch had a real edginess about him.

Lew Schiller
Lew Schiller
1 year ago
Reply to  Lokki

Actually Torch is the Art History major. So in a way you’re still right.

JerryLH3
JerryLH3
1 year ago

If only Mazda had found a way to exploit bird hauling capabilities due to rotary compactness, maybe we would all live in a different world.

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