Ford Cobra

Playboy Nov. 1968

Mr. Wrangler Gives Away a Mustang

Playboy Sept. 1966

Shelby Cobra GT350/500

Playboy Nov. 1967

     Now here's a car that people can get excited about.  Unlike the cute-and-tiny Fiat, the perennially unchanged Beetle, and the now-defunct AMX, the Shelby Cobra is a car that was lusted after when introduced, and has only grown in legendary status since.  When people think Mustang, this is their fantasy.

Ford Performance Buyer's Digest

Playboy Jan. 1969

I'd personally love to get my hands on some of the illustrations from an old Performance Digest.  

New Thunderbird

Playboy Nov. 1967

     Ad text:
     New and bound to create a storm: 429 exciting cubic inches of new Thunder Jet V-8.  More power than ever for the Bird, available now to people who can't wait to escape the ordinary.  What else?  A dazzling range of options, everything from Automatic Climate Control to AM/FM Stereo Radio (with lots of great etcetera in between!)  Even the Bird has never been the well built before!  Up, up, and away!
     Any way you want to fly this year, the Bird is there, one step ahead.  Standard this year: Flight Bench Seats, which means 6 people can fly in total comfort. (A new engineering achievement gives the man in the middle unprecedented leg room.)  You prefer buckets?  You may have them.  And 4 doors.  Or 2 doors, if you wish.  Don't wait.  Fly Thunderbird...  Unique in all the world.

1964 Thunderbird

National Geographic 1964

    It's good sometimes to take a minute to appreciate the simple things in life, and to remember that things haven't always been so easy.  Take this Thunderbird for example.  The car was considered luxurious and well-optioned when it had a padded armrest, seat belt and fuel-level and door-ajar warning lights, and retractable seat belts.  Nowadays we'd be astounded should they be absent.  Yet, they were once features to be advertised. Oh, how times have changed.

Broomsticks Slacks

Playboy Sept. 1964

     OH NO!  That woman is kneeling on that tiny man's shoulder!  Really though, you'd think they could have tried a little harder to edit the man into a more believable position, instead of obviously in the foreground of this picture.   Regardless, I thought this was an interesting ad since it appears to be advertising both the pants and the Mustang.

Ford Country Squire

National Geographic 1964

     Look at that woody!  Starting off our Monday with some good old-fashioned family transport, this Country Squire is a beautiful example of the wood-clad cars of America's history.  

AMC Javelin

Playboy Nov. 1967

Here we see the classic American muscle car.  It's got a timeless shape, and a reputation for performance to back up that mean facade.  It's one of the most sought-after cars amongst hot-rodders and gearheads, but is equally well known by non-car-folk.  It's been the car of choice for both movie stars and the characters they play.  It is the feature car in one of the greatest car chases in film history.  Your dad tells stories of his college buddies that drove this car.  Heads turn when one drives by.  In fact, it looks so good that when the fifth redesign came out, they tried to make it look like the old one. It's as much a part of American culture as baseball and apple pie.

The Ford Mustang.

Also shown is a competitor's vehicle that was only sold for 8 years, with a redesign in the middle.  The company that built it went on to go out of business.  Yeah.  Hot stuff.

To be fair, the Javelin is pretty collectible, and a lot of people do seek them out and restore them.  You do get a lot of people reminiscing about them.  There were Javelins in Hollywood flicks. They're not terrible looking cars.  I don't personally dislike the Javelin; it's rather attractive.  But one of those cars is still for sale, in one form or another.  And it's not AMC's offering.