1958 Chevy - Road party.

For the holiday weekend, I'll be posting car ads. Labor day is a big travel weekend, and all the "infrequent drivers" will be on the roads, sliding around and waving one arm in panic while talking on their phone with the other. "I'm having a car accident. What are you doing today? Oh, that sounds fun! Hang on, I have to over-correct my swerve and skid into a gas truck..." Dicking around while driving is a huge part of American history. It's our birthright. In this ad for a "1958 Chevrolet", Annette Bening and Dean Jones are whooping it up in their new car with their son, Popeye Doyle, and they're looking anywhere but where they're going. I love sharing the road with people like this.

It's pink. If it belongs to the man, I suspect they're "just friends".

The ad copy is a little weird. They keep talking about "your new Chevrolet", even though the car is clearly a Cadillac, which is a specific Chevy model.. A quick web check shows that Chevy did indeed have several models in 1958, although there was indeed a time when car manufacturers only made one model each. The ad brags about some specific features, which makes it sound like they only make one model. If I were a fan of American cars, I may be able to explain this, but I don't care too much. I do enjoy the way the marketing douchebags named the motor a "Turbo-Thrust V8" even though no turbocharger was available. Aah, branding specialists. They've always been idiots.

Notice the total lack of seat belts in the picture. Seat belts weren't required by law to be standard equipment on American vehicles until 1959, and use of seat belts by children under 14 wasn't made law until 1989. Little Billy sure loves his airplane. He must have dreams of soaring through the air like Superman. If dad doesn't get his shit together and pay attention, Billy may get his wish.

It's a nice painting, though. The P.A.G. Image Forensics and Zoom Tool Department indicates that the signature is hard to read. Possible artist name matches are Augle Bingle, or possibly Gucli  Brugie. I didn't know either of those artists were active in America in 1958... or existed.

UPDATE: Duh. Cadillac is a GM brand, not a Chevy. But, you've got to admit, the badge on the hood of the car in the ad looks an awful lot like the Cadillac logo. In any case, this still doesn't make clear the reason the ad is only promoting the "1958 Chevrolet" when it sure looks to me like an Impala. You just don't see car ads now promoting a car brand. It's always a specific model. But, like I say, ancient American cars don't do much for me, and it's hard for me to tell them apart. Meh.