My friend Matt is an avid “thrifter.” He and I went to Goodwill a while back, and I found some amazing treasures, such as a scale-model train set similar to one that I had as a kid.
The last time Matt stopped at my house, he came bearing gifts — namely, a few old magazines. I’m an enthusiast of all things vintage (not just cars), so I was thrilled to have some reading material. A few of the ads inside the February 1966 Mechanix Illustrated magazine caught my eye.
The first one was an ad for an automotive wholesaler offering one-year-old cars for only $999. They were Ford and Dodge four-door models with automatic transmissions. While mileage was unspecified, the ad said that the cars were coming from New York taxi fleet operators. So maybe they were pretty “hard” city miles? Who knows?
Nothing car-related in this one, but I got a kick out of the “real human hair” wigs for $12.
This ad talked about the “OHC 6” that was offered from 1966-69 as the standard engine for the Pontiac Tempest and LeMans. It was an innovative approach for the time, especially given the muscle car boom that was brewing. Developed under John DeLorean himself, the OHC 6 also became the base engine for the F-body Firebird in 1967.
Chrysler Corporation was willing to offer an engine and drivetrain warranty for five years and 50,000 miles, as long as the owner had the oil changed every three months or 4,000 miles, the oil filter was changed every second oil change, and the carburetor air filter was cleaned every six months and replaced every two years.
Check out the accessories shown above. Ford was offering compasses, spotlights, and bumper guards as dealer-installed accessories — stylish additions to any car.
It’s a little weird to think of a Ford Bronco as a sports car, but Ford used that title for it. “Bronco takes you where the action is. Deep into woods for hunting, through snow to good skiing, over sandy beaches to where the fishing is best.”
Ford, known of course for its blue oval logo, talked about how it was painting its engines blue as a way to make them recognizable. “We want you to know the instant you see a Ford-blue engine in a car, it’s built to the highest standard of engineering excellence.”
A few pages later, Ford promoted its “Data Control Center.” It was a control panel, sized two by six inches, “jeweled” with warning lights and control buttons that would mount to the right of the steering wheel. It contained functions for door locking, low-fuel light, fasten-seatbelt light, door-ajar light, and four-way hazard flasher.
For some reason, Ford put a lot of marketing dollars into this issue. The last page contained an ad for the company’s new six-cylinder engines (available in displacements up to 300ci and 170 horsepower). Ford also touted its “Twin-I-Beam” suspension system.
Magazine ads looked a little bit different 60 years ago, didn’t they? Now, I wonder if I can still get a $12 wig in my natural color.
