10 ms·

Old Car Brochures

116 points by smacktoward 7y ago

dhbanes 7y ago
I clicked a few links and got 404 every time.
- King-Aaron 7y ago
  I didn't have this experience, i.e. http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/Australia%20and%20New%20Zealand/Holden/1970%20Holden%20Torano%20GTR-X%20Concept/image1.html http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/Australia%20and%20New%... resolves for me
  - js2 7y ago
    If you’re on an iPhone the site redirects to http://oldcarbrochures1.bmobilized.com/ http://oldcarbrochures1.bmobilized.com/ which doesn’t resolve.
    - creeble 7y ago
      Likewise Android.
    - bdcravens 7y ago
      Bypass with “Request Desktop Site” in Safari
      - js2 7y ago
        The links on the site redirect before there's a chance to do that.
        bdcravens 7y ago
        Do it on the home page. Worked for me.
- cam_l 7y ago
  I didn't see any Peugots?
ian0 7y ago
I cant help but thinking from these brochures that people had more picnics in the 50s/60s than we do now. Perhaps it was a trend for awhile. Or maybe related to the fact people couldn't easily live together before marriage :P
- duxup 7y ago
  Maybe it is like how you might think there are a lot of Americans who are frequently hauling things and going off road in their pick up trucks ... but they probably aren't ;) Not unreal, but perhaps the volume of depiction and such was more aspirational than reality.
  - Waterluvian 7y ago
    I think you're on to something. The picnic scene is a lot like the picket fence suburb scene. Iconic atomic family American dream.
    - taborj 7y ago
      I just realized that I own a pickup, have a white picket fence around my suburban home, and enjoy picnics. To be fair, though, my pickup is a 1946 Dodge.
  - dsfyu404ed 7y ago
    The poor use the shit out of their used 20yo trucks hauling scap metal and saving $15 delivery fees on bulky things. It makes me wonder if the poor of 1955 had more picnics.
- trop 7y ago
  In 1991 I drove down the Natchez Trace Parkway and as the morning passed, saw car after car pull over onto the grass to the side of the road for a picnic. As a northeasterner, this was not something I had ever seen before. I'm curious if this tradition continues.
- d-sc 7y ago
  I don’t watch much tv, but when I do I see a lot of car advertisements that feature a car on some winding country road. Which, while nice, most of us spend the time in our car in traffic/commuting. So I’d view it more of a change of our desires or ideals.
RickJWagner 7y ago
Love it! I had to go lookup some of my old rides.
anonu 7y ago
> http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Ford/1924_Ford/1924%20Ford%20Freedom%20Mailer/image2.html http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Ford/1924_Ford/1924... Funny how this Ford was marketed only as a "summer and fall" car... Forget about the winter... Also - interesting to note that I see no car model years between 1941 and 1945. WWII I suppose...
- smacktoward 7y ago
  Yes, all civilian car production in the U.S. was suspended for the duration of the war so the auto plants could be used to produce military trucks, tanks and aircraft.
  - Aloha 7y ago
    I'm astounded sometimes how little people know about history anymore.
    - ashtonbaker 7y ago
      Well, nobody can know everything.
- Waterluvian 7y ago
  May just be an advertising angle. But I do remember my grandfather telling me that a bad car will have holes in its floor after just one winter worth of slush and road salt.
  - smacktoward 7y ago
    The one in the brochure (a 1924 Model T) didn't have a fully enclosed cabin -- there was a windshield and a fabric top, but the doors were only half-high and didn't have any windows or bodywork above them, just big open holes. So yeah, if you take one of those out in a snowstorm, you're gonna have a bad time :-D
    - 7y ago
iamspoilt 7y ago
This is gold!
inferiorhuman 7y ago
While looking for some proprietary hose fittings I came across back issues of an automobile trade mag. Here's one from 1964. What a time to be alive. http://www.ai-online.com/Adv/catalog/downloadCatalog.php?id=1093 http://www.ai-online.com/Adv/catalog/downloadCatalog.php?id=...
smacktoward 7y ago
I feel like the 1974 Lincoln/Mercury brochure (http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Lincoln/1974_Lincoln/1974_Lincoln-Mercury_Brochure/dirindex.html http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Lincoln/1974_Lincol...) may represent peak '70s salesmanship... > Last year 44 out of 50 airline pilots rated a 1973 Marquis Brougham more comfortable to drive than a $31,000 European town car. > We've demonstrated the excellent ride of a 1973 Monterey Custom in a dramatic test: a vial of nitric acid was safely suspended over a $50,000 natural Russian sable coat on loan from Maximilian of New York, while traveling over rough and irregular road surfaces. > Sexy European cars with great style and superb performance have had, all too often, prices that run into five figures. Until Capri that is. ... not to mention Detroit's bizarre '70s fascination with what to the modern eye are unbelievably tacky materials: > The [Lincoln Continental] Mark IV instrument panel is simulated cashmere walnut woodgrain matina and burl walnut woodgrain applique. > For 1974, the Mark IV has new, sophisticated insulation against outside sound, thick 25-ounce shag cut-pile carpeting enhancing the luxurious interior, further hushing the ride. > Overhead rich vinyl sheathes sun visors and headlining. Super-soft, expanded vinyl covers the European-influenced bucket seats and even door panels. There are rich tones of woodgrain vinyl along the dash. Touches of European luxury everywhere. A word I was unable to find anywhere in the brochure: "mileage." A word I only came across on the last page of the brochure, down with the fine print: "safety."
- userbinator 7y ago
  Early to mid-70s could be considered "peak American car", for a variety of reasons --- not long afterwards, emissions and fuel economy regulations tightened greatly and cut both size and power of cars. But if you've never been in one and have the opportunity to, or even drive one, I'd definitely recommend it. There's nothing quite like the experience of being in a classic American full-size sedan, especially at highway speed. It's very different from the more common modern Japanese car, or even the big European ones. (Full disclosure: I have one of these. http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Chevrolet/1972_Chevrolet/1972_Chevrolet_Full_Size_Brochure/dirindex.html http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Chevrolet/1972_Chev... )
  - lm28469 7y ago
hwj 7y ago
You might also like visiting the ZeitHaus in Wolfsburg, Germany. It's a museum packed with old cars.
maqdoom 7y ago
good to see But some links are misdirecting http://oldcarbrochures.org/index.php/index.php/Canada http://oldcarbrochures.org/index.php/index.php/Canada --> http://oldcarbrochures.org/Canada/ http://oldcarbrochures.org/Canada/ and http://oldcarbrochures.org/index.php/Australia-2 http://oldcarbrochures.org/index.php/Australia-2 --> http://oldcarbrochures.org/Australia/ http://oldcarbrochures.org/Australia/
wimagguc 7y ago
An 1924 Ford cost $265 (In this Freedom Mailer: http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Ford/1924_Ford/1924%20Ford%20Freedom%20Mailer/image2.html http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Ford/1924_Ford/1924...), which in today's money is only $3,968 (based on https://www.usinflationcalculator.com https://www.usinflationcalculator.com). Is that true? Why didn't _everybody_ have a car?
- read_if_gay_ 7y ago
  Employee wages were lower as well I suppose.
  - wimagguc 7y ago
    Wouldn't that be incorporated in the inflation though?
- sokoloff 7y ago
  1924 cars took a lot of labor on an on-going basis to keep running. (Hell, 1960s cars took a lot of labor to keep running as compared to today's cars that visit a mechanic perhaps annually.)
- em500 7y ago
  $265 is an outlier, $2000 was more typical: http://www.1920-30.com/automobiles/1922-car-prices.html http://www.1920-30.com/automobiles/1922-car-prices.html Incomes in 1920 (for the selection who paid income taxes) were around $3200: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/20soirepar.pdf https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/20soirepar.pdf
obituary_latte 7y ago
Man the 87 Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z[0] is still such a beautiful vehicle. So much fun having a 5.7 liter 8 cylinder as an underachieving 16 year old newly minted driver! [0]http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Chevrolet/1987_Chevrolet/1987_Chevrolet_Camaro_Brochure/1987%20Chevrolet%20Camaro-03.html http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Chevrolet/1987_Chev...
jedberg 7y ago
This is amazing. I found the brochure for both my parents' first cars. My dad had his first car until I was 13, so I most definitely remember riding around in it.
kreetx 7y ago
These are always really interesting! I wish they had a better UI though since often the collectors appear not to be web devs (and we all are - here on hn :p).
- dewey 7y ago
  Honestly, most of the time these simple websites are way nicer to use than what "web devs" put out these days.
  - kreetx 7y ago
    I totally agree with you. For this site I would just wish it had the images to either full with or height mode and a next/previous button at exactly the same position to flip through the brochures. But I hear you on the js insanity front -- been there, suffered that. :p

Old Car Brochures

116 points by smacktoward 7y ago

dhbanes 7y ago

I clicked a few links and got 404 every time.

King-Aaron 7y ago
I didn't have this experience, i.e. http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/Australia%20and%20New%20Zealand/Holden/1970%20Holden%20Torano%20GTR-X%20Concept/image1.html http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/Australia%20and%20New%... resolves for me
- js2 7y ago
  If you’re on an iPhone the site redirects to http://oldcarbrochures1.bmobilized.com/ http://oldcarbrochures1.bmobilized.com/ which doesn’t resolve.
  - creeble 7y ago
    Likewise Android.
  - bdcravens 7y ago
    Bypass with “Request Desktop Site” in Safari
    - js2 7y ago
      The links on the site redirect before there's a chance to do that.
      - bdcravens 7y ago
        Do it on the home page. Worked for me.
cam_l 7y ago
I didn't see any Peugots?

ian0 7y ago

I cant help but thinking from these brochures that people had more picnics in the 50s/60s than we do now. Perhaps it was a trend for awhile. Or maybe related to the fact people couldn't easily live together before marriage :P

duxup 7y ago
Maybe it is like how you might think there are a lot of Americans who are frequently hauling things and going off road in their pick up trucks ... but they probably aren't ;) Not unreal, but perhaps the volume of depiction and such was more aspirational than reality.
- Waterluvian 7y ago
  I think you're on to something. The picnic scene is a lot like the picket fence suburb scene. Iconic atomic family American dream.
  - taborj 7y ago
    I just realized that I own a pickup, have a white picket fence around my suburban home, and enjoy picnics. To be fair, though, my pickup is a 1946 Dodge.
- dsfyu404ed 7y ago
  The poor use the shit out of their used 20yo trucks hauling scap metal and saving $15 delivery fees on bulky things. It makes me wonder if the poor of 1955 had more picnics.
trop 7y ago
In 1991 I drove down the Natchez Trace Parkway and as the morning passed, saw car after car pull over onto the grass to the side of the road for a picnic. As a northeasterner, this was not something I had ever seen before. I'm curious if this tradition continues.
d-sc 7y ago
I don’t watch much tv, but when I do I see a lot of car advertisements that feature a car on some winding country road. Which, while nice, most of us spend the time in our car in traffic/commuting. So I’d view it more of a change of our desires or ideals.

RickJWagner 7y ago

Love it! I had to go lookup some of my old rides.

anonu 7y ago

> http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Ford/1924_Ford/1924%20Ford%20Freedom%20Mailer/image2.html http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Ford/1924_Ford/1924... Funny how this Ford was marketed only as a "summer and fall" car... Forget about the winter... Also - interesting to note that I see no car model years between 1941 and 1945. WWII I suppose...

smacktoward 7y ago
Yes, all civilian car production in the U.S. was suspended for the duration of the war so the auto plants could be used to produce military trucks, tanks and aircraft.
- Aloha 7y ago
  I'm astounded sometimes how little people know about history anymore.
  - ashtonbaker 7y ago
    Well, nobody can know everything.
Waterluvian 7y ago
May just be an advertising angle. But I do remember my grandfather telling me that a bad car will have holes in its floor after just one winter worth of slush and road salt.
- smacktoward 7y ago
  The one in the brochure (a 1924 Model T) didn't have a fully enclosed cabin -- there was a windshield and a fabric top, but the doors were only half-high and didn't have any windows or bodywork above them, just big open holes. So yeah, if you take one of those out in a snowstorm, you're gonna have a bad time :-D
  - 7y ago

iamspoilt 7y ago

This is gold!

inferiorhuman 7y ago

While looking for some proprietary hose fittings I came across back issues of an automobile trade mag. Here's one from 1964. What a time to be alive. http://www.ai-online.com/Adv/catalog/downloadCatalog.php?id=1093 http://www.ai-online.com/Adv/catalog/downloadCatalog.php?id=...

smacktoward 7y ago

I feel like the 1974 Lincoln/Mercury brochure (http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Lincoln/1974_Lincoln/1974_Lincoln-Mercury_Brochure/dirindex.html http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Lincoln/1974_Lincol...) may represent peak '70s salesmanship... > Last year 44 out of 50 airline pilots rated a 1973 Marquis Brougham more comfortable to drive than a $31,000 European town car. > We've demonstrated the excellent ride of a 1973 Monterey Custom in a dramatic test: a vial of nitric acid was safely suspended over a $50,000 natural Russian sable coat on loan from Maximilian of New York, while traveling over rough and irregular road surfaces. > Sexy European cars with great style and superb performance have had, all too often, prices that run into five figures. Until Capri that is. ... not to mention Detroit's bizarre '70s fascination with what to the modern eye are unbelievably tacky materials: > The [Lincoln Continental] Mark IV instrument panel is simulated cashmere walnut woodgrain matina and burl walnut woodgrain applique. > For 1974, the Mark IV has new, sophisticated insulation against outside sound, thick 25-ounce shag cut-pile carpeting enhancing the luxurious interior, further hushing the ride. > Overhead rich vinyl sheathes sun visors and headlining. Super-soft, expanded vinyl covers the European-influenced bucket seats and even door panels. There are rich tones of woodgrain vinyl along the dash. Touches of European luxury everywhere. A word I was unable to find anywhere in the brochure: "mileage." A word I only came across on the last page of the brochure, down with the fine print: "safety."

userbinator 7y ago
Early to mid-70s could be considered "peak American car", for a variety of reasons --- not long afterwards, emissions and fuel economy regulations tightened greatly and cut both size and power of cars. But if you've never been in one and have the opportunity to, or even drive one, I'd definitely recommend it. There's nothing quite like the experience of being in a classic American full-size sedan, especially at highway speed. It's very different from the more common modern Japanese car, or even the big European ones. (Full disclosure: I have one of these. http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Chevrolet/1972_Chevrolet/1972_Chevrolet_Full_Size_Brochure/dirindex.html http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Chevrolet/1972_Chev... )
- lm28469 7y ago

hwj 7y ago

You might also like visiting the ZeitHaus in Wolfsburg, Germany. It's a museum packed with old cars.

maqdoom 7y ago

good to see But some links are misdirecting http://oldcarbrochures.org/index.php/index.php/Canada http://oldcarbrochures.org/index.php/index.php/Canada --> http://oldcarbrochures.org/Canada/ http://oldcarbrochures.org/Canada/ and http://oldcarbrochures.org/index.php/Australia-2 http://oldcarbrochures.org/index.php/Australia-2 --> http://oldcarbrochures.org/Australia/ http://oldcarbrochures.org/Australia/

wimagguc 7y ago

An 1924 Ford cost $265 (In this Freedom Mailer: http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Ford/1924_Ford/1924%20Ford%20Freedom%20Mailer/image2.html http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Ford/1924_Ford/1924...), which in today's money is only $3,968 (based on https://www.usinflationcalculator.com https://www.usinflationcalculator.com). Is that true? Why didn't _everybody_ have a car?

read_if_gay_ 7y ago
Employee wages were lower as well I suppose.
- wimagguc 7y ago
  Wouldn't that be incorporated in the inflation though?
sokoloff 7y ago
1924 cars took a lot of labor on an on-going basis to keep running. (Hell, 1960s cars took a lot of labor to keep running as compared to today's cars that visit a mechanic perhaps annually.)
em500 7y ago
$265 is an outlier, $2000 was more typical: http://www.1920-30.com/automobiles/1922-car-prices.html http://www.1920-30.com/automobiles/1922-car-prices.html Incomes in 1920 (for the selection who paid income taxes) were around $3200: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/20soirepar.pdf https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/20soirepar.pdf

obituary_latte 7y ago

Man the 87 Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z[0] is still such a beautiful vehicle. So much fun having a 5.7 liter 8 cylinder as an underachieving 16 year old newly minted driver! [0]http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Chevrolet/1987_Chevrolet/1987_Chevrolet_Camaro_Brochure/1987%20Chevrolet%20Camaro-03.html http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Chevrolet/1987_Chev...

jedberg 7y ago

This is amazing. I found the brochure for both my parents' first cars. My dad had his first car until I was 13, so I most definitely remember riding around in it.

kreetx 7y ago

These are always really interesting! I wish they had a better UI though since often the collectors appear not to be web devs (and we all are - here on hn :p).

dewey 7y ago
Honestly, most of the time these simple websites are way nicer to use than what "web devs" put out these days.
- kreetx 7y ago
  I totally agree with you. For this site I would just wish it had the images to either full with or height mode and a next/previous button at exactly the same position to flip through the brochures. But I hear you on the js insanity front -- been there, suffered that. :p