Something I love about some vintage car ads is the usage of the Earth to illustrate how far something can go. Maybe a car manufacturer wants you to know that its car comes with a lengthy warranty or that its car is a world leader in something. Or maybe an oil company wants you to know that you can go very far on an oil change. These types of ads go back several decades and there are some neat variations of them.
As someone who loves all things U-Haul, the most memorable interpretation of this to me could be found on the back of older U-Haul trucks. On the roll-up door of these U-Hauls, you might find an old Ford U-Haul truck traveling on a highway in the void next to the Earth. The truck asks “Where Will U Go Next?” Here, check it out:
I suppose it’s silly because who in the heck pays attention to U-Haul SuperGraphics to remember them that well? Though, I love the idea of a mural on a truck or van that’s just another truck or van doing something. Also silly is what happens when you let your mind go astray looking at today’s Cold Start: an ad about Chrysler’s warranty, featuring what appears to be a low-poly Cordoba.
Well, COTD winner RadBarchetta comes in with an obscure reference, depending on your age:
If that car flies around the planet fast enough, it’ll go back in time and save Lois.
I’m not going to tell you how crazy 1978’s Superman is, because I’m not sure I could quite describe it in words that would form a coherent sentence. Look, just watch this:
Honorable mention goes to flyingstitch, who also provided us with a laugh today; who doesn’t need a good laugh on a Monday?
They discontinued the Plymouth Satellite just a year before. Coincidence?
As a parting gift, here’s another globe-based car advertisement. Have a great evening everyone!
(Top Photo: carparts.com/Warner Bros. Pictures)
Is it really that obscure? The movie is from before my time and I don’t know that I’ve ever actually seen it, but I’m still familiar with the flying around the world to turn back time thing. I feel like that scene has transcended the movie to some extent.
As lazy as it was for the writers to have Superman fly around the world backwards to reverse time and save Lois, it seems no worse than the multiverse nonsense in the current crop of Mad Libs script garbage that makes pretty much any character death or major event pointless.
Ah, a Sunday evening at my Grandparent’s house circa 1981 looked like a Cordoba festival. My Grandpa’s white ’77, my uncle’s maroon ’78 (with white vinyl landau!), and my dad’s black ’80. Not that the family was all Mopar, Grandma had a butter-cream ’75 Conti and my youngest uncle had a peak-malaise red ‘Vette that my wife’s minivan would smoke all day long.
I have a sudden urge to watch WGN and eat a pierogi.
This seems like a good opportunity to share my favorite clip from the first Superman movie. It’s a little lesson in physical transformation.
https://youtu.be/BIaF0QKtY0c
Reeve was pretty brilliant in that/those role(s), and went underappreciated for a very long time. I still believe that a man can fly.
Totally. But I don’t believe a man can outrun a train. That effect didn’t work even in the simpler times of 1978: https://youtu.be/2AmY_TaUh8M?t=89
Thank you!
I’m just here to stand for truth, justice, and the Autopian way.
To this day, the word Cordoba is always said by Ricardo Montalbán in my head. I even hear it when I read, ‘rich Corinthian leather’
“Cor DOH ba!”
Corinth is famous for its leather!
You forgot to roll your “r”. CorRrR DOUGH baa.
You’re so right. I should have played the clip first. Shame on me
No one mentioned the Rich Corinthian Leather, either.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxGczs1rIUE
Did anybody else zoom in on the U-Haul picture in this article and look for the little guy, or was it just me?
https://www.theautopian.com/theres-a-little-guy-hidden-on-the-side-of-most-u-haul-trucks/