Do you remember these automotive "gimmicks"???

cplchris said:
nope, it was esso....exxon still operates as esso in certain parts of the world such as barbados.
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ENCO and ESSO actually were the same. Just used in different parts of the country. It goes back to the early part of the 20th century and the break up of Standard Oil. Really gets complicated, Humble Oil is in the picture too.

Just wish I had kept that silly 'tail'...LOL.

Bill
 
Yeah, I bought some of the decals for my Dad's truck. Put some on the dash, and a couple on the hood. They stayed on pretty good.

There was also the 4-Way flasher kit you could put on, I had one of them.

Oh, and the head rests that fit over the top of the seat, I had them too.
 
I'm back (not letting any E-thugs ruin my time here)

I'd say neon lighting should be on the list for sure, as well as the Levi interiors AMC offered, guess that's why they say AMC stands for:

- All Most a Car

-Another Mistake Completed

Did I mention the Matador, truely a horrendous looking car, then came the Pacer and proceed by the Gremlin! Only cool thing about the Gremlin was the logo, LOL!

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Klasse Act said:
I'm back (not letting any E-thugs ruin my time here)

Did I mention the Matador, truely a horrendous looking car, then came the Pacer and proceed by the Gremlin! Only cool thing about the Gremlin was the logo, LOL!
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Glad you're back, I hope you aren't considering me a thug because I made some whipper-snapper remarks, you can make all the old-guy jokes about me you want...because I'm OLD :p

I actually knew people who had each of those cars and rode in 2 out of the three...I take it back, I might have ridden in someone's Pacer, too.
 
Speaker covers

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Setec Astronomy said:
Glad you're back, I hope you aren't considering me a thug because I made some whipper-snapper remarks, you can make all the old-guy jokes about me you want...because I'm OLD :p

I actually knew people who had each of those cars and rode in 2 out of the three...I take it back, I might have ridden in someone's Pacer, too.
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Nope, not you at all Setec and based on your posts I know your older and wiser and because of that...much respect! Not only that your oil knowledge, even more respect and speaking of that, my test results are in, now I just need to find Maury, LOL! I'll be making a post about that and it fill enlighten everyone about drain intervals, so those interested in such things, look for that under BLACKSTONE LABS heading!

Now back on topic, I too rode to HS my freshman year in a 72' Gremlin, a girl who was my senior took to school in that, I thought it was very cool and at the time the car was only 12 yrs old. Also hung out with her and her boyfriend and another friend where I was introduced to something that is being legalized nowadays but never got "baked", LOL!

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Klasse Act said:
Did I mention the Matador, truely a horrendous looking car, then came the Pacer and proceed by the Gremlin! Only cool thing about the Gremlin was the logo, LOL!
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That's the danger of "outside the box" designs...most of the time they stray too far from people's current perception of what a car should look like, and that seldom equates to sales. You have to make some pretty serious changes to body lines to stand out (look at the dozens of barely-different 4-door sedans in today's market).

Still, all those cars you metioned, as well as the AMX, are instantly identifiable from any distance. Even non-car-people that were around back then know them.

If you want to see some really funky designs, do a search for Virgil Exner and have a look at some of his work (especially his prototypes).

I'd love to see what Chip Foose could do with a Matador/Gremlin/Pacer. I bet he'd somehow find a way to make them look appealing, and that would be a fun episode of Overhaulin' to see. It would really challenge his ability.

PS, don't know if they were mentioned yet, but curb feelers were a short-lived gimmick. It took half a century before they were electronically implemented with sensors and around-view cameras.
 
94BULLITT said:
Grounding strap, the rubber strap that people put on their bumper.
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I also remember seeing ALL and EVERY gasoline tanker having a chain ground strap. Wonder why they quit using them? Maybe the low octane gas of today is less likely to go, BOOM? LOL!

Bill
 
Hey, does anybody remember the Sears Allstate car? I actually saw one, I think it was at Pioneer Village in Minden, Nebraska.

OK, it was a Henry J with Sears badging, but they actually sold a few.
 
That I've not seen, but I do remember seeing them listed in the infamous Sear's Catalog.

As long as we are into Sear's at the moment, remember Allstate Motor Scooters? They were re-branded Vespa's (Lambreta?). I'd STILL like to get a Vespa or a Cushman.

Bill
 
Lots of great things brought up here for sure but Setec brought up a great point a couple posts back when he spoke about cars going outside the box with design and here's the "bullseye" by Setec, "why every 4 door sedan has the same design" (paraphrasing here). When you really think about it, its soooo true. The headlights angle about the same, grills have the same basic design and here's the big one, profile and window design, same across the board. I'll take it a bit further and speak about wheel design, check out how many split 5 spokes, waaaay too many of those!

I'm going to say the current "gimmick" or fad is OEM's painting their wheels gloss black, surprised they're not applying a red pinstripe to the lip too, LOL!

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BillE, now that you mention it, yeah, I remember the scooters. I had a cousin who had a Cushman, I think. They had a problem with them, people kept stealing the tail lights to put on rods.

Does anybody remember the painted on vinyl tops? i had a '64 Impala with one. There was 2 tape strips on the top, and flat black paint with a type of texture mixed in.
 
vet said:
BillE, now that you mention it, yeah, I remember the scooters. I had a cousin who had a Cushman, I think. They had a problem with them, people kept stealing the tail lights to put on rods.

Does anybody remember the painted on vinyl tops? i had a '64 Impala with one. There was 2 tape strips on the top, and flat black paint with a type of texture mixed in.
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I remember the tops. How about a Landau top?
 
Klasse Act said:
Lots of great things brought up here for sure but Setec brought up a great point a couple posts back when he spoke about cars going outside the box with design and here's the "bullseye" by Setec, "why every 4 door sedan has the same design" (paraphrasing here).
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I said what? I think that was SR99.

But if you want me to gripe about car design, how about the high belt lines so you can't see out of the car (combined with large air bag-equipped A-pillars and big C-pillars)? Or the wheels that keep getting bigger and the tire profiles that keep getting lower so you can curb your wheel on a pebble? And if my car is going to come with giant wheels with huge openings, could the OEM at least paint the barrels so I can clean them?
 
bulldog shine said:
I remember the tops. How about a Landau top?
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Man, when you step into the 70's, you open the doors to a whole new dimension of tasteless. Landau bars, wire basket wheels, crushed velour, fake TV antennas, simulated convertible tops, etc., etc., etc. Of course the Eash family wouldn't have been able to fund their racing operations if it weren't for the continuous demand for the E&G Classics fake Rolls Royce-type grilles.

Bill
 
Setec Astronomy said:
I said what? I think that was SR99.

But if you want me to gripe about car design, how about the high belt lines so you can't see out of the car (combined with large air bag-equipped A-pillars and big C-pillars)? Or the wheels that keep getting bigger and the tire profiles that keep getting lower so you can curb your wheel on a pebble? And if my car is going to come with giant wheels with huge openings, could the OEM at least paint the barrels so I can clean them?
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Im the MAN
How bout the headlight eye lash things I keep seeing?!
 
Do I dare to bring up....The Van Craz in the 70's?

Seemed like every issue of Hot Rod during that time was devoted to "Vans."

As I bring up HR mag, anyone remember the original version of Rod and Custom (there was another one also, can't remember the tittle)? The small sized editions.

Least we not forget: 1/4 Midgets, and Go-Karts.

Bill
 
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