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That Thunderbird Touch
Filed under: Looked Into Tagged: advertising, automobiles, Benjamin Chambers, Complete New Yorker
Benjamin Chambers writes:
Cruising through The Complete New Yorker (TCNY) the other day—though without a unique Safety-convenience Panel—I ran across a great ad for the Ford Thunderbird on page 5 of the December 25, 1965 issue (click image for larger view):
It’s interesting how explicitly the advertisers (Mad Men, anyone?) tried to evoke the romance and cachet of flight: the sheer novelty of having an overhead, “Safety-convenience” instrument panel was used to connote the complexity of the cockpit, and the driver was shown wearing, of all things, a pilot’s uniform. Drive this car, in other words, and you will be captain of your destiny, far from earthly cares … Hard to imagine that idea resonating with anyone today who’s flown coach.
However, I was intrigued by two of the car’s new features: the Stereo-Sonic tape system, and the “automatic Highway Pilot speed control option.” Maybe I’m showing my age, but I had no idea what Stereo-Sonic tapes were, and was surprised to learn they were 8-Track tapes. I hadn’t realized they were introduced so early. (According to Wikipedia, Ford introduced 8-track players in most of its automobile lines in September 1965.)
The mention of the “Highway Pilot speed control option” made me wonder when cruise control was first introduced. Turns out it’s been around since the 1910s (!), though the modern version first appeared in a 1958 Chrysler.
Apparently, the guy who invented the modern version did so after he got tired of the way his employer kept speeding up and slowing down when he was talking as they drove along together. Who knew that highly-useful invention was born of such deep irritation? Maybe that’s why the driver shown in the ad has no passengers. Wouldn’t want to spoil the illusion of peaceful command by including insubordinates just itching to fix your wagon …
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Hello! We're a small band of media enthusiasts, culture addicts, and journalists based in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Emdashes, formerly a New Yorker fan site, is our collection of conversations—mostly civilized—about magazines, movies, politics, design, punctuation, and other things that stir us.
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Dashes, some say, “are particularly useful in a sentence that is long and complex.” Emdashes—like an em dash itself—provides a thoughtful pause amid the hubbub.
Emdashes, founded in 2004, is written and drawn by Emily Gordon, Martin Schneider, Pollux, Jonathan Taylor, and Benjamin Chambers, as well as occasional guest contributors. All posts before October 2008 are by Emily Gordon.
The site was designed by House of Pretty with illustrations by Jesse R. Ewing.
Additional drawings are by Carolita Johnson and Pollux (author of our web comic, "The Wavy Rule"). The Emdashes pencil logo is by Jennifer Hadley, based on a 1943 Dorothy Gray ad.
Other writing by Emily Gordon
- Writing on theater: reviews (for Time Out Chicago; imperfect but workable search results)
- Profile: Valerie Casey, Designers Accord founder, is spearheading the design of sustainability (for SXSW World)
- Feature: Rea Irvin: visionary art director, bon vivant, New Yorker founding father (for Print)
- Slide show: the Coney Island Mermaid Parade (for NYCgo.com)
- Feature: Muslim immigration iconography in the Netherlands, and an interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali (for Print)
- Review: King's Gambit: A Son, a Father, and the World's Most Dangerous Game by Paul Hoffman (for Newsday)
- Homage: Celebrating lindy-hop legend Frankie Manning (for NYCgo.com)
- Inquiry: Does a New Republic redesign mean a change of tune? (for Print)
- Interview: James Surowiecki on what's next for the wisdom of crowds (for Assignment Zero)
- Interviews: four up-and-coming designers under 30 (for Print)
- Profile: novelist and dance critic Laura Jacobs (for Newsday)
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