We've got a locked storeroom here at Edmunds with media kits going back decades that is a wealth of information and an endless source of entertainment. It's one thing to go back there when you need to dig out specs on something like our new long term 1991 Acura NSX, but it's quite a different experience to just walk back there and look around to kill some time. Vintage car ads / brochures just have a different feel than they do today. There was time and money invested not just to sell a car, but to sell the lifestyle that that car supported. The older you get, the more detailed they get. People tolerated reading a lot more back then.
Trouble is, our archives are just that, archives. They're not digitized for public consumption and our office manager probably wouldn't be too thrilled with providing guest passes for all of our readers to come check it out.
And while other people and enthusiast sites have digitized some stuff, there are few with as complete a collection as we have here. The site, Lov2xlr8, is run by a man out of Norway with a passion for cars, specifically classic American cars.
Fear not lovers of the nearly-modern, they've also got such hot tickets as the 1994 Olds Aurora, the 90 and 92 Eagle Talon, the '99 Buick Riviera, most modern Cadillacs and much, much more.
Combined time wasted in our office so far: 11 hours.
bc1960 says:
04:02 PM, 10/20/11
Five large station wagons, and three of them were 2-doors. Different times.
heidis says:
05:01 PM, 10/20/11
Different for sure, bc1960. Though, every thing that is old is new again. The 2 door wagon is now a 'shooting brake'. Sounds much sexier that way.
My local CJD dealer is a family owned shop that's been in business since the late 1800's when they were a buggy dealer. They've got a nice little collection of vintage ads and various paper snippets from across their history I enjoy perusing when I drop in for service. Yay for pointless nostalgia!
stephen987 says:
04:46 AM, 10/21/11
That's a great site. There's also www.oldcarbrochures.com, which has a different but equally intriguing collection.
ed124c says:
06:05 AM, 10/21/11
"Motoramic"? Never heard of it. Must be a pure marketing word.
Look at the visibility in the wagons. In the brochure they call it "Sweep-Sight Vision"
And where we now have wide steel pillars in the rear, these Chevy wagons have "curved rear quarter windows."
I want to go back to that time and spend more time appreciating and enjoying my '53 Bel Air, my '61 Bubbleback Impala, my '62 Ford Galaxy 500 XL, etc, etc.
throwback says:
07:27 AM, 10/21/11
This should become a semi-regular feature. I love looking at old brochures and ads. They were so much more stylish. I belive GM's Design division under Earl and later Mitchell, had oversight on the manuals. These days the lawyers are clearly in charge. Love the colors, contrast that with today were we drive in a sea of greys and blacks.
deagle13 says:
09:52 AM, 10/21/11
My productivity just went waaay down...
explorerx4 says:
05:33 PM, 10/23/11
I like that picture of the red Nomad with the dog pulling at the girl's kerchief.