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Post by Carl on Oct 16, 2019 19:49:41 GMT
But I think (it's my impression) that Ford's Le Mans / GT40 project really was the start of their comprehensive, large-scale involvement in motor sport - an involvement that ultimately made the name "Ford" almost synonymous with motor sport. This implied not only factory-supported international racing involvement, but also importer-supported involvement on a national level in a number of countries. Thus, for example, Ford Denmark supported a couple of drivers 100%, and they gradually became the "national ambassadors" of the brand, rather than the international stars. Perhaps the birth of the Formula Ford category can, ultimately, also be traced back to the GT40 project (?) (A personal reminiscence: In the period mid-60's to late 70's my own father was a devoted "Ford fan", and thus, in my childhood "we" always had a Ford; typically a sporty one, like an Escort 1600 GT, a Capri 1600 GT, and (the last one, before a switch to VW) an Escort RS 2000. I just loved those cars; I thought they oozed of motor sport.)  A Danish advertisement from 1966 ...  ... and one from 1971.  Finally, one from 1974, involving national (Danish) motor sport. A well thought-out and wonderful comment, Mikael 
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Post by Carl on Oct 17, 2019 20:14:23 GMT
A Ford Man sees his doctor...
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Post by mikael on Oct 18, 2019 2:03:39 GMT
A Ford Man sees his doctor...
Charming :-) Thinking about CM's in general, the psychology of /commercials / advertising is quite an interesting subject! |
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Post by Carl on Oct 18, 2019 4:21:48 GMT
A Ford Man sees his doctor...
Charming :-) Thinking about CM's in general, the psychology of /commercials / advertising is quite an interesting subject! Mikael, That was one of several Ford commercials with the same prolonged "It's a F...O...R....D!" The unique slogan was popular and became the Ford catchphrase.
You were lucky to have an enthusiast father! In the early 1950s my dad owned several Hudsons, the first successful stock-car racing models in NASCAR, but this could not have attracted my father, who had no interest in high performance. After Hudson merged into American Motors, he'd lease a new Pontiac Bonneville every few years until an unenlightened friend persuaded him to buy a Cadillac Eldorado in 1973. It had an 8.2 litre engine, weighed 5,200 lb. and had front wheel drive which made the inherent massive understeer even worse. You were isolated from all sensation in order to achieve the luxury boulevard ride Cadillac owners craved.
When it was new and I would drive it (seldom except when asked) my friends and I had long hair and people would crane their necks to see the young rock stars they presumed us to be. 
The color was very nice... 
Cheers, Carl
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Post by René on Oct 18, 2019 10:02:16 GMT
The Le Mans campaign was somewhat of a sledgehammer to crack a nut, but boy didn't Ferrari make them work for it.
Yep it was very much a sledgehammer to crack a nut so in that regard I also understand Joe's comment about a massive company taking on a smaller company. But I think it should be interesting to watch regardless, even if the film is all about Ford's efforts and seen from their perspective. It says just as much about Ferrari and how much that company was and still is all about racing and how much effort and money it takes to beat them.
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Post by René on Oct 18, 2019 10:09:33 GMT
When it was new and I would drive it (seldom except when asked) my friends and I had long hair and people would crane their necks to see the young rock stars they presumed us to be. The color was very nice...
It looks like a boat! But the sight of you and your friends in that car must have been priceless! 
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Post by mikael on Oct 18, 2019 12:24:55 GMT
Carl, interesting with front wheel drive for such a large car. An 8.2 litre engine to a 5,200 lb. car - I imagine it would actually have been pretty fast, then, at least in a straight line , as 5,200 lb. for sure is "heavy", but not unduly heavy, I guess, to such a massive engine. Nineteen-sixties' Pontiac Bonneville's were large cars too! Cheers, Mikael |
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Post by charleselan on Oct 18, 2019 16:20:34 GMT
Charming :-) Thinking about CM's in general, the psychology of /commercials / advertising is quite an interesting subject! Mikael, That was one of several Ford commercials with the same prolonged "It's a F...O...R....D!" The unique slogan was popular and became the Ford catchphrase.
You were lucky to have an enthusiast father! In the early 1950s my dad owned several Hudsons, the first successful stock-car racing models in NASCAR, but this could not have attracted my father, who had no interest in high performance. After Hudson merged into American Motors, he'd lease a new Pontiac Bonneville every few years until an unenlightened friend persuaded him to buy a Cadillac Eldorado in 1973. It had an 8.2 litre engine, weighed 5,200 lb. and had front wheel drive which made the inherent massive understeer even worse. You were isolated from all sensation in order to achieve the luxury boulevard ride Cadillac owners craved.
When it was new and I would drive it (seldom except when asked) my friends and I had long hair and people would crane their necks to see the young rock stars they presumed us to be.
The color was very nice...
Cheers, Carl
Goodness me Carl that car has a great deal in common with the current F1 cars  . It always surprised me that Cadillac had front wheel drive cars in their range, back in the 1990's I remember seeing a specialist used car dealer near a friend's home had a 90's Cadillac for sale which was classified as quite "sporty" and this thing had front wheel drive, very weird. Hudson's are held in high esteem are they not, especially the Hudson Hornet which had some great success in motor sport events like the early Baja run? |
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Post by Carl on Oct 18, 2019 17:03:06 GMT
John Charles, Yes, good point! The F1 cars are massive and the drivers insulated by the interference of technology and race engineers. The first modern General Motors front-wheel drive platform was the 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado, a sensation and quite a status symbol. I believe Cadillac later borrowed the system for the Eldorado, although the last thing it needed was more weight at the front. You're absolutely right about the Hudson Hornet, still revered as an icon of early postwar performance. As a toddler, my focus was the sleek styling, but my dad, while indifferent to high performance, really liked his Hudsons.
Cheers, Carl  |
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Post by Carl on Oct 18, 2019 17:26:31 GMT
Carl, interesting with front wheel drive for such a large car. An 8.2 litre engine to a 5,200 lb. car - I imagine it would actually have been pretty fast, then, at least in a straight line , as 5,200 lb. for sure is "heavy", but not unduly heavy, I guess, to such a massive engine. Nineteen-sixties' Pontiac Bonneville's were large cars too! Cheers, Mikael Mikael, Yes, still large cars at around 4,000 lbs, but better balanced, faster and nimble compared to the Cadillac, admittedly a low bar for comparison because the Eldorado couldn't get out of its own way and was dangerous at high speeds. The 389 (cubic inch V8) in the Bonneville was superb and you knew you could always safely slow down.
My father sometime would criticize sports cars as all about noise, which may explain why, as soon as I could drive, I was drawn to the whole concept.
Cheers, Carl
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Post by mikael on Oct 20, 2019 12:01:18 GMT
I find it interesting to contrast these large cars with the "micro-cars" that were popular at the same time (50's - 60's) in Europe, as well as in Japan. I believe those tiny cars appealed especially to first-time cars owners, who weren't really dependent on a car (and mainly used it for Sunday drives).
Some Danish advertisements:
B.M.W. (!)
Goggomobil
NSU Prinz
NSU Prinz
And a few Japanese ones:
Mazda R360
Subaru 360 The last one (above) is from 1962. The prices are interesting. While the salaries increased rapidly during the 60's and 70's, in 1962, the price of this car (JPY 340,000 - 390,000) corresponded approximately to the total annual salary of an average office (white collar) worker.
I found that the situation was not so different in Denmark. The NSU Prinz adverts are from 1960. At that time the listed price for that car (DKK 11.000) corresponded to almost to the total annual salary (around DKK 12.000) of an unskilled worker.
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Post by Carl on Oct 20, 2019 17:57:22 GMT
Mikael, I remember being fascinated and amused by the various examples of ultra-tiny cars that appeared, in most cases briefly but with high hopes, in America. The extremely tight confines could not have allowed for relaxation on long trips.
I once rode in the back of a friend's sister's Nash Metropolitan with no ill effects on a five minute crosstown trip, but I was about twelve and extremely flexible. I doubt the woman in the Goggomobil advertisement could have drawn her shapely leg inside. The slowly emergent economies following World War ll meant such tiny cars were the only choice for many and were popular here among the very practical as "city cars", but none could compete with the genius of Ferdinand Porsche and the balance of economy, comfort and reliability provided by Volkswagen.
Nonetheless, comparing even the smallest of them to the massively wasteful expanses of many American cars then and now, it remains true that less is more and small is once more the wave of the future.
Cheers, Carl 
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Post by mikael on Oct 21, 2019 4:37:31 GMT
Carl,
I agree with you in that those small cars reflected the spending power of the average citizen at the time, before the economical progress really had picked up steam.
But when I found the Subaru advertisement yesterday, I was really astonished by the amount they demanded for that tiny (360 ccm engine) car: ￥340.000 - 390.000 in 1962 - in '62 money - it was a fortune! (Makes you wonder how much a Japanese at that time had to pay for a large Toyota, or for an imported American car ...) Today, in 2019, you can go out and buy a brand new new "kei-car" ( = light-car; 660 ccm) for about ￥840.000 (around $8.400 (USD)). A number of manufacturers sell their "entry-level" model for this price. So apparently, cars have also become inexpensive, relatively seen. This must be largely due to the highly optimized and automatized production apparatus.
Mikael
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Post by René on Oct 21, 2019 15:39:57 GMT
Great stuff guys. I love those Danish and Japanese ads Mikael, really cool! |
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Post by Carl on Oct 21, 2019 23:11:37 GMT
Carl, I agree with you in that those small cars reflected the spending power of the average citizen at the time, before the economical progress really had picked up steam. But when I found the Subaru advertisement yesterday, I was really astonished by the amount they demanded for that tiny (360 ccm engine) car: ￥340.000 - 390.000 in 1962 - in '62 money - it was a fortune! (Makes you wonder how much a Japanese at that time had to pay for a large Toyota, or for an imported American car ...) Today, in 2019, you can go out and buy a brand new new "kei-car" ( = light-car; 660 ccm) for about ￥840.000 (around $8.400 (USD)). A number of manufacturers sell their "entry-level" model for this price. So apparently, cars have also become inexpensive, relatively seen. This must be largely due to the highly optimized and automatized production apparatus. Mikael Mikael, Your description of a curious paradox from the past and the role of more efficient production in lowering costs is excellent.
-Carl
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