Free Cars, Playboy Bunnies & Ticklers - What Will They Think Of Next?

Over the past two weeks I have been reviewing some articles from the 2015 Tokyo Auto Show that was held last month. Oddly, but maybe in hindsight not so much, most of the articles focused on the funky, goofy, and totally weird automobiles that were in attendance at that show. Most of us realize that 95% of these models and prototypes will never see the open market, let alone US shores. I can see some of these concepts being popular in Japan just because - if you think it's weird in our neck of the woods, pay a visit to the land of the rising sun. Some of their culture is just... way out there.

But it got me to thinking - I've been to numerous new auto shows throughout the country over the span of 40+ years where manufacturers try to pull out all the stops to get the consumers attention. Some are cool ideas, some are just pure gimmicks. Some make us laugh; others just leave us shaking our heads. As goofy as the picture above right looks, it is basically a mini-van made by Toyota. While it may seem a little over the top, manufacturers as well as other organizations have been doing the same thing for decades. And if you think some of the gimmicks of yesteryear were sedate because it was easier and more laid back times, guess again.

First up, the always struggling AMC. Throughout the 50's and 60's, American Motors had the definitive "Mom and Pop" image. By the late 60's however, the Kenosha Wisconsin manufacturer tried everything to ditch this image. For 1968 as well as in 1969, one "sales" tactic (they called it a promotion) was the use of Playboy Bunnies. In one promotion, a special-order pink AMX was given to the Playmate of the Year. Victoria Vetri, (above left), better known as Angela Dorian, was awarded this special vehicle (which is now owned by Jay Leno). AMC also used various Playmates in special advertising supplements that were mailed to members of the AMC Performance Club. Sexist? Absolutely blatantly so. You also have to remember the car buying demographics back then. Over 88% of automobile customers were men. However, try explaining the flyer you received in the mail (right) to your wife...

One of the first questions you may ask, is "I've never seen GM do anything like this!" And you'd be correct. They really didn't have to. Face it - they were multiple manufacturers (including Chevrolet, who was the #1 selling automobile back then) under one roof. However, when your company is farther down the scale, sales wise, the gimmicks tend to get a bit more crazy.

Chrysler was never exempt from this. Even though at one point, Dodge & Plymouth accounted for more muscle cars on the streets than any other marquee, the organization as a whole was still at number three (or less) in total sales. One of the most notable promotions, actually took place back in the mid-50's. Dodge had a contest where a lucky contest winner took delivery of a new Dodge every year, for life. Yeah - every year... for life! Plus, if the winner was already the owner of a Dodge vehicle when they won the contest, they received a $5,000 bonus. That was a cake-load of money back then. Can you imagine any manufacturer doing that today?



Crazy ideas and sales gimmicks were not limited to just dealerships or special events. For 1970 as well as 1971, Plymouth released a plethora of wild colors for their performance models, including the completely redesigned Barracuda. The pendulum swing of societal values was reaching its zenith going from the uber-conservative 50's to the anything goes late 60's. The American public, for the first time. saw such eyeball frying paint hues like Panther Pink, Plum Crazy Purple, and Sassy Grass Green. But none of these names compared to one that Plymouth offered. It was a bizarre shade of yellow mixed with a hint of green. It changed color tone slightly depending on how the light hit it or what angle you looked at. The name - Curious Yellow. The only factory paint color named after a European porno movie. The country of Sweden used color codes in the late 60's to classify whether an adult film was either soft or hard core. The film, "I Am Curious" was a popular underground film back in 1967 with "yellow" being used for the hard core version. Supposedly, some small cities tried banning the sale of such vehicles that were painted in this shade.

Carroll Shelby had one of the greatest sales techniques of all time - I call it a technique and not really a gimmick because the tactic he used to sell his Cobra sports cars truly highlighted the sheer performance of the vehicle. Rumor had it, that he would place a $100 dollar bill on the dash of one of his 427 powered Cobras before a test drive. The passenger in the other seat was promised if they could grab the bill while the vehicle was accelerating, Shelby would give them the car and the $100. The story goes, he never lost that bet. 

I'll leave you with one more. In 1970, Dodge had a marketing campaign for their muscle car offerings called The Scat Pack. Members who signed up received a newsletter, decals, patches, engine tuning tips, and more. They also had opportunities to purchase special merchandise not offered elsewhere. For 1970 (the item has also been re-released recently) Dodge offered a special piece of jewelry to "...Scat Kittens who swing with the Scat Packers." It was a pin, usually worn at the bottom of a skirt. It was called The Scat Pack Mini Tickler. The advertisement alone is worth more than 1000 words. If you look close enough, you can see one of the real pins on the model. The little bead on the end, if worn correctly, would "tickle" the leg of the wearer while they walked. If they sat down, guess where the bead went...

Until next time, keep it cool.
Dave