Commercials

The reputation of the AMC Pacer certainly precedes itself. But the late 1970s bubble-shaped car certainly has its fans, too, if nothing else but for its kitsch factor. Or its appearance in Wayne’s World. Whether you love or hate the Pacer, there’s no question that it’s an iconic part of automotive history.

The Karmann Ghia is one of the most iconic cars ever made by Volkswagen. Produced from 1957 to 1974, the 2+2 coupe and convertible cars are immediately recognizable and are a joyful little ride. But even VW knew from the get-go that the Karmann Ghia wouldn’t keep up with high-end sports cars.

Take a trip back in the wayback machine to 1976, back to a time when automotive companies loved to show off the capabilities of vehicles using outlandish stunts. In this vintage commercial for the Ford F100, they rigged up the pickup truck with a couple of propane torches then ran it alongside a bunch of balloons.

Produced from 1977 to 1995, the 928 was one of Porsche’s more controversial designs. Originally created to replace the 911 (blasphemy!), Porsche attempted to make the car appeal to a wider audience by making it easier to drive than other sports cars, and also adding features like fold-down rear seats for the kids, and driver-centric comfort features.

Say it with us now… “Corrrrrr-doh-ba.” Now “Soft Corinthian leather.” Yes, if you’re old enough to remember this classic 1975 car commercial starring none other than Fantasy Island’s Ricardo Montalbán, you know exactly what we’re talking about.

MMMMM… Mustang! It’s interesting to see how Ford was positioning the Ford Mustang back in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Instead of touting power and masculinity, the car was marketed as having high mileage and economical pricing.

SAAB may have fallen on hard times in recent years, but it once made some really great cars. And while we preferred the older SAAB 99 design, the Saab 900 of the 1980s and 90s wasn’t a bad car – and it certainly was known for its safety.

Christmas is just around the corner, so the holiday commercials should be arriving any minute now. Dodge is getting into the holiday spirit already. Their new commercial “Upgrade” features pro wrestler Bill Goldberg as a buff Santa Claus in need of a new ride.

The sights and sounds ’80s are having quite a resurgence these days. With movies like Ready Player One, TV shows like Stranger Things, the 8-bit NES Classic Mini console, and countless tunes borrowing from the era, us Gen Xers are reliving our youth like on a daily basis.

Audi is set to debut a new commercial for its R8 sports car during the 68th Annual Emmy Awards, this Sunday, September 18th. The commercial is called Desolation and it features a very cool house in Death Valley called the Rondolino Residence.

XCAR is known for making lovely videos about the world’s best cars, but this time they made a cheeky promotional video for the Razor Crazy Cart XL, the adult-sized version of the popular drift cart. They chose the best “track” for the vehicle too: a Toys R’ Us store.

I wasn’t that thrilled by the ads which ran during this year’s Super Bowl, but the one spot that won almost universal praise was Nissan’s emotional clip about the bond between a child and his dad who races cars for a living.

Car and Driver says Volkswagen has been the top-selling diesel car brand in the US for the past couple of years. So it comes as no surprise that the car maker made not one but four commercials to promote its diesel lineup.

The story of The Tortoise and the Hare can be roughly summed up as follows: someone set up a weird race between a tortoise and a hare, and hare got cocky and fell asleep halfway through, and the tortoise won.

The Toyota Celica is still remembered by car enthusiasts today. The little coupe went through many iterations during its 45 year run, but all of them were sporty in one way or another. The third generation Celica was offered up in a number of configurations, ranging from a 1.6-liter engine with a live rear axle to a 2.4-liter version with independent rear suspension.