Daewoo Comes to Jane Avenue

Something tells me this is a resourceful use of a billboard by a Jane Avenue resident and not an example of guerrilla marketing by Daewoo.

Selling Cars: 1965 Buick Riviera Gran Sport Advertisement

Selling Cars: 1977 Chevy Monza Spyder Advertisement

Signs of the Times

An old M & S Bonanza pop sign on Fleming near Pierson Road. (Photo by Gary Flinn.)

The sign for the long gone 76 Station at Flushing and Chevrolet. (Photo by Gary Flinn.)

Campbell-Ewald Advertising: They don't write songs about Volvos

A few classics from Campbell-Ewald Advertising, courtesy of reader and commenter extraordinaire JWilly.

Monza GT Sparks the Imagination — AC Sparks the Action

Buick Electra and the Man of Action

"Today's man of action demands that his car be more than just a showpiece."

1967 Buick Electra: The Art of Advertising

Color Commentary

Designer turned marketer Chris Webb talks about how G.M. chooses colors for the Volt. It's basically a commercial for the internet age, but it's surprisingly interesting and offers a nice contrast with the yuppie extravagance of the Reagan-era Cadillac advertising I posted yesterday.

It did remind me a little of the color analyst scene in Roger & Me. And the part where Webb explains how G.M. uses three layers of color instead of two was somewhat reminiscent of the famous amp scene in Spinal Tap. (watch below)

All kidding aside, it seems like G.M. is finally figuring out how to market a car to a wider, more diverse group of consumers. (And no, G.M. did not pay me to say that.)

If you want a chance to fly to L.A. and test drive a pre-production Volt, go here to enter the Chevy color contest to name the strange green planned for some of the Volts. (Are they too broke to actually give a car away in the contest, as I mistakenly posted earlier? Apparently so.) Alas, there are no plans to re-introduce the "Bamboo Cream" of my grandma's Buick Electra.

UPDATE: If you scroll toward the bottom of this page, you can see some of the names people have submitted. And as some of the comments indicate, figuring out how to actually enter this contest is a real challenge. Perhaps I was a bit premature in declaring that G.M. has improved at the marketing game.

Tough Talk

Remember when G.M. was powerful enough to liken their competition to the ill-fated captain of the Titanic, destined for a cold, watery grave? (This is also a reminder that GM has had bad advertising for a long, long time.) 1970 Camero ad courtesy of the Old Car Manual Project.

Buick: Something to Believe In

Flint Artifacts: Stroh's Indy 500 Advertisement

When gas prices didn't matter

One headlight and two tons of chrome works just fine on the 1951 Buick LeSabre concept car. Warning: Pedestrians beware!

If you're interested in vintage cars and automobile advertising, look no further than than the boldly named John's Old Car and Truck Pictures website. The Buick pages alone are worth a visit.

Look out you little punks, the 1959 Buick Electra Convertible doesn't take kindly to alternative transportation sources like bicycles.