Concept/design/production homage of a proud hard fought product. It was good to be u.s.(.) Them were the days.
Simpler times and in a way simpler people. Not stupid or backwards either. Information was not at anyone's fingertips. I can recall reading the Monday newspaper on Tuesday because in our rural area the big city newspaper arrived a day late. Magazines arrived once a month and it was exciting when they showed up.
Pretty darned insightful for an OU guy. You hit a big nail on the head. As a nation, we don't dream - we scream if we don't get our ego stroked. Very good article, Ryan.
The GM ad campaign where they are telling kids their life would be better if their parents had a new GM that had 4g wifi, then everyone could play plants and zombies makes me sick. This is how they are selling now? Makes me really see how far things have gone down a road , and it will never turn around. Appliances, man, you nailed that!
The cars that are HAMB proper take you back to that dream era, and if it all goes right, without ego and vanity.
In 1949 the "Great Depression" and all the attendant hardships were still very much within living memory. While it is true, strictly speaking, that world war second "got us out of the depression" it's kind of a bizarre way of justifying an at best, dubious economic rationale. I'm as flag waving as the next guy, but killing millions and blowing up stuff - never mind. Anyway, America, and Americans were made of sterner stuff in those days. Pickup trucks in particular were meant for work, not fashion statements. edit: Things across the pond were a lot worse. Britain basically lost WWII if you want to look at it that way. Rationing didn't even end there till 1954. Here's a picture of the rations issued to Britons during the war. p.s. That's for the week...
yep, a different world now in the "computer age" - can buy an online app/program and do much of the same stuff shown in the film at home in a fraction of the time. then with stuff like a 3D printer and see in real time right in front of you. of course, now the driverless cars are the big push. used to be the anticipation of waiting for the new cars to be displayed at the local dealerships. then the experience of sitting in and driving the latest creation. next place a special order for the combination of colors, drivetrain, etc that could take months to show up. now we stand tapping our foot while complaining how slow a online site is. or, how much time it takes for the microwave to heat up our food.
Instant gratification and too short of an attention span...sums it up right there. How many likes can I get on my cat video...wait, that was so 3 seconds ago, look at this cat video....
Ain't that the truth. But you could buy a small house for the price of the new truck. Oh, so you think you one-upped me, Ford, by talking my neighbor into buying that new truck? No, you one-upped him by increasing his debt load and selling him a lot of shit that nobody really needs.
"But, at the end of the day we are all dreamers. In this day and age of ego and vanity, that’s pretty damned cool." ...I whole heartedly agree. ...and I like the way that you said it so well that I'm going to add it to my signature !
Anyone notice the 49's ride height, seems the ad artists dropped the sedan several inches to get the proper stance... Went to a Oldsmobile New Car show in Portland, OR. in the mid-sixties and all of the display models had their coil springs tied down, those 98 sedans looked a mile long... Dyno Dave
As I had a wrench in hand this morning looking across the shop at all these gorgeous Audi cars that I am lucky enough to maintain for a decent living, all I could think about was how much my life needs to slow down. How I would love a barn with a tin roof with rain dancing off gracefully as I sip a cup of coffee that I made in my own kitchen, while I contemplate the strategy I will take to repair the vintage automobile parked in front of me. a job or two a day so that I could maintain the utmost quality repair a man could offer. the smile on the customers face as they drove off knowing they would now be able to enjoy many trouble free miles with confidence in the money they just spent. We have lost something along the way that I dream of getting back. If it kills me I will get it back and I give the middle finger to this new idea our society lives under. modern technology has brought us many good things and for those I am grateful, to all the other idiotic things that Ryan has referenced in the original post well I agree we are just Stupid. Help spread the gift of a simple life for dreamers and support your local dreamers whenever possible.
Dreamer, visionary, artist, magician and more. All the same thing. The 50's and 60's were all about our dreams. Dreams of space, dreams of peace, dreams of humanity , dreams of greatness. Everything seemed possible, and it was...in our dreams. We believed there was no limit, so we achieved more than ever. We believed we could, so we could. Today we just survive to buy, to produce, not to contribute. We are just part of the gears of commerce, nothing really special. We need to learn to really dream again I think. When we stop dreaming, we stop living.
Dave I think the auto mfgs. across the board allowed (or directed) their ad artists to create any illusion needed to sway customers to their side. Even many of the subcompacts appeared much sleeker in some of the factory literature.
They're far from perfect. They're not traditional. But after 21 plus years retired to Florida we moved four of our cars back to the midwest. They left in 90 degree heat and sunshine. Arrived twelve days later after more than ten days of pouring rain and then snow and ice in -4 degree cold. (Shit happened to the trucker) I may never get them back on the road but we're still dreaming, and that's okay with us. As a plus I gave one panel truck to my son-in-law, my favorite car to my oldest son, and may sell the yeller one to another old car lover. That's three more dreamers and that's what makes this hobby fun.
Awesome old video. Amazing to see how things were done in those days. No CAD, no PCs just pure manual work, even the test reports on a clip board written with a pencil. And those tool designs and development ... man, what a time. Those guys were real artists.
"But, at the end of the day we are all dreamers. In this day and age of ego and vanity, that’s pretty damned cool." Mostly I'm dreaming of spring, a chance to get out to the garage, and do the stuff I'm planning, then a nice long sumner of driving the wheels off it.
Nice post. After calibrating to the heroic/reverent tone of the narrator and the strings/xylophone soundtrack I was ready for as much of that design process as they wanted to show me. It made me want to roll up my sleeves, get in there and HELP OUT. Dun duh dunnnn. More xylophones ! I hated to see the film end. Shocking how hard it was to get through a mere 30 SECONDS of that modern armored truck ad. It's nice to know I'm not the only weirdo. Thanks for keeping this place rolling.
I am a dreamer, always have, however, I am learning that dreams are a missed opportunity if you're not willing to act on them , and chase them, and make them a reality. Dream big, and make them your's, it isn't easy, nor will it be quick, but if you want it bad enough you'll find a way, eventually.
Okay.. I never "comment" on anything but this time I must. I don't consider myself a hard core traditionalist or old schooler by any means but I do get up every morning in my 105 year old house, grind my coffee beans and brew it on the gas stove. I don't use a cell phone, don't use Facebook , don't drive new cars, and definitely don't subscribe to most new ideas. ( get the picture?) I feel the responsibility to show my kids that I choose where I spend my time and energy. I can't believe that someone thinks a truck will sell because it has "wifi" or a 1 cup coffee maker or a freakin tv screen. I don't care if it has a map or gps on it. I know where I'm going. The dream of a simple life isn't that hard to achieve, it just takes restraint. I have to look at something and say to myself, "is this worth my time or effort?" . Most times the answer is no. Like the new truck ads for example, I don't even watch them. Not worth my time. I 'd rather watch the coffee percolate on the stove. the ad from 1949? Already watched it three times with my son. He gets it and he's only eleven. But he is an old school traditionalist. ( heck he only listens to vinyl! ) haha. Thank you H.A.M.B. for everything. It doesn't matter where you are from, if you have core values and choose to think independently then you're okay in my books. Cheers and thank you for taking the time to read my rant.
John F. Kennedy once said that Americans don't do things because they are easy; we do things because they are hard. These days it seems like nobody wants to take on risks or challenges, either because of laziness or litigation. My Grandparents were part of the Great Depression/WWII generation, and I learned a lot from them and their lives, which kind of makes me an anachronism in todays world. My Grandmother used to tell me I was born about fifty years too late - and I tend to think she was right!
The Jalopy Journal
