Automotive advertising

A magazine ad for Packard, c.1949

  Before television auto ads by manufacturers were in magazines, and I think some things went in the mail.  There weren't many mailings, but some car companies had "regular" customers.  Ads by car dealers were in the newspaper then as they are now, but less frequent and with emphasis on new cars when they were introduced to the public.
  In the 1940's (after the war) and 1950's manufacturers made a big effort to keep the "looks" of new cars from the public.  When cars were shipped for the "new" year the cars were covered on the trucks that hauled them.  New car introductions were a big effort both by the maker and local dealers.  Some small town dealers might hang up some streamers of something but budget constraints meant not a lot of advertising was done.  People liked on brand over another, still do, and the dealers "had the feeling" that he or she was a return customer.
  I had my introduction to dealer workings during my last two years of high school, 1956-1958, by working for a Chevrolet-Oldsmobile dealer in Milford, Ohio.  I worked two days with the service manager, two days in parts, one day with the accountant, and Saturdays with anyone who needed help, usually service.  I learned a lot of things that were useful during my entire working life.  I can tell you personal computers have made a HUGE difference to working men and women, I don't know how that job would have been done today.  The 1958 models of those two brands had a price increase over the '57's but even so a middle line Chevy costs less than $2000.00, and a big Olds went for just a little over $3200.00.  Keep in mind wages weren't much either, I made a little over one dollar and hour, but the man that "detailed" and cleaned the cars made only ninety cents, and our best mechanic made less than six dollars an hour, that was a lot!


Ad for DeSoto, looks like 1947-48, magazine ad.

1950 Ford magazine ad