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If ever there was an ad campaign that stood out, the June, 1923 issue of the Saturday Evening Post totally changed the way we think about automotive advertising. Headlined "Somewhere West of Laramie", it was an instant industry icon. For the first time, an automotive campaign was NOT conducted by extolling the features, advantages, and benefits of the product, but instead introduced us to a rather psychologically manipulative style that sold the experience of owning a Jordan Playboy - selling the sizzle rather than the steak itself. The auto industry is still doing just that today, rather than selling number of cylinders, gears in the transmission, or warranty coverage, practically all manufacturers are selling the ownership experience of their latest offerings.
Even before the Playboy was out, there was a ongoing rival, in the sports-coupe/convertible department, between the Stutz Bearcat and Mercer Raceabout. Both cars (if they could afford them) were driven by more or less the same drivers that today would probably be dueling it out between the BMW M-series and Mercedes AMGs. Both Stutz and Mercer ads heavily emphasized (for the time) heavy sport-orientation and race-track capability. And each group of drivers had their own slogan. Stutz drivers would say "There's nothing Worser than a Mercer", while Mercer jocks would retort....."You gotta be Nutz to drive a Stutz"
Both the Stuz and the Mercer were "brass era" cars with their roots in the pre-WW1 market. The Mercer sported a 58 hp T-head four cylinder engine, while the slightly later Stutz was powered by a 60 hp, 16-valve 4. Both were outstanding examples of "sports" cars of their era, but like the Jordan, failed to survive the depression.
The Jordan was not only an advertising pioneer, but unlike the Stutz and Mercer, it was an "agglomeration car", built of parts from a number of private premium manufacturers rather than an in-house effort. It's wood and aluminum body was built by various coachbuilders, its 303.3-cu.in. (54 hp) L-head straight-six engine by Continental, updraft carb by Stromberg, electrics by Delco, axles by Timken, pressure chassis lubrication by Alemite, and wood wheels by Firestone - all top brands that remain today, if in name only. About the only components built in the Jordan factory were a few small parts and fasteners.
The top was a bit of an innovation in that it was folded and removed, maintaining the sleek lines of the automobile, where its contemporary roadsters that boasted tops at all had to carry around a big folded bustle on the back - which would have ruined not only the car's spare lines, but the view from the rumble seat. The Jordan wasn't made for wet, rainy days, it was built for sunshine and springtime in the Hamptons.
Photo courtesy of Hemmings -
But practicality was never the "sporting car"'s long suit. This was all about the experience of driving. . . something that was reflected in Jordan's colorful advertising. While both the Stutz and Mercer were the earliest pioneers of "fun-to-drive" vehicles, the Playboy roadster, as the second generation of American sports cars, produced only about five years later, incorporated dozens of advanced features that would make "fun" cars a little more practical.
First gen Legend Coupe worthy of mention.
Good looking.
V6 with twin cams and 24 valves.
4 speed auto.
And compact 4 wheel double wishbone suspension.
Motorized leather upholstery.
Very well equipped.
I always thought the 1st gen Legend coupe looked like an oversized Prelude coupe. Very bloated, while that same Prelude had almost the same shape, it had a lower nose with those pop up headlights, it just somehow managed to look a lot sleeker and a lot more stylish IMO. That was the failing IMO of those 1st gen 1980's Acura products, they looked too much like a Honda. And IMO that's the failing of Acura's current lineup, they look A LOT like their Honda counterparts. 90's Acuras were pretty hot and didn't look like other Honda products IMO, they lost the game in the late 90's/early 00's with rather blob like designs, but early/mid 2000's Acuras also looked great, loved that 2nd gen TL, 1st gen TSX, the RSX, they were wedgy and rather unadorned, just like those great Acuras of the 90's.
It seems like any time Acura abandons that ethos of unadorned and kind of wedgy, clean lines, they go astray. Look at the damn beak cars for example, fussy lines, way over the top front end treatment, cars look like crap IMO. Now days with the past 2-3 years of Acura cars, we've kind of gone full circle back to the 1980's, they look like Hondas again, nothing to distinguish them.
^ Those are sports cars, not luxury coupes. But yes, F40 is my favorite Ferrari, I like it better than some of their IMO perhaps more beautiful cars from the 60's. Its kind of from that time when they finally figured out how to make big power with electronic fuel injection and turbos, but stuff like ABS, stability control, sequential clutchless transmissions, drive modes, etc were still 10-15 years away. Its modern in the sense that's properly fast, has great grip, great brakes, but still there is no computer between you and the driving experience like on newer super-cars. Its very analogue and requires some serious talent to drive fast and not kill yourself.
Totally forgot about one of my favorite luxury coupes, the Audi S5. It was a head-turner when it debuted in 2008. I test drove one of the first ones at the dealership and people were actually stopping me to ask what it was. Audi kept it fresh with nice updates until the new '18 model was introduced. I owned a '15 S5, so I'm not sure how I could have overlooked it. Here is the original, and my '15. One of my favorite coupes of all time.
There are several much newer coupes that probably have more beautiful body lines, but my personal favorite luxury-coupe of all time was probably the late-60s Lincoln Mark III. This car drove, rode, and had the road-manners of pure whipped-cream....along with battleship-like weight for stability....it was almost impossible to really feel any bumps in the road. Driving this almost three-ton dream was comparable to piloting a luxury yacht in calm waters.
Ah, yes.......the late 1960s and early 70s....that was the period for real luxury vehicles.
^ I was more of a Cadillac man back in the 1960's, up until the 1971 models when they went to the ugly side IMO. 1970's was all Lincoln though, they were way better looking IMO.
1970 Coupe Deville, the last really outstanding year for the Coupe Deville(although I do like the smaller 77-79 cars as well, they drove a lot nicer and were pretty reliable).
^ I was more of a Cadillac man back in the 1960's, up until the 1971 models when they went to the ugly side IMO. 1970's was all Lincoln though, they were way better looking IMO.
1970 Coupe Deville, the last really outstanding year for the Coupe Deville(although I do like the smaller 77-79 cars as well, they drove a lot nicer and were pretty reliable).
The Caddy Eldorado coupes (not the Coupe De Ville you pictured), back then, of course, along with the Olds Toronado, were the only FWD American-badged cars, which gave them a bad-weather advantage. But the FWD of that period, on cars that heavy and with very soft-rubber tires, tended to eat up front tires like candy....many of them, even with rotation, were gone at only 5000 miles.
And, in the marketing back then, the Coupe De Ville was not considered a "Personal Luxury Car" like the Thunderbird, Eldorado, Toronado, Mark III, or Riviera. It was merely a 2-door version of the Cadillac Sedan de Ville. (The T-Bird, strangely, retained that classification even though it became a 4-door in the late 1960s)
^ I thought about buying a 90's Eldorado years ago, until I started reading on the Cadillac forums. Drop dead goergous piece of junk was my conclusion, once the cars got some age/miles on them(and I'm talking like major problems at 40-70k miles on pampered cars that were maybe 4 to 8 years old at the time)
06-15-17, 06:09 PM
