Tag Archives: cars

Sorry to bug you.

Volkswagen Beetle magazine ad from around 1970
circa 1970

Q: Where do Volkswagens go when they get old?

A: The Old Volks home.

I’m so sorry.

Not-really-fun fact: The Volkswagen Beetle was originally named the Volkswagen Type 1 and marketed as the Volkswagen.

More VW Beetle trivia here via Mental Floss.

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Uncle Sam wants… YOU!?

American Motors Gremlin magazine ad
found in the May, 1970 issue of Car and Driver magazine

Behold, the American Motors Gremlin.

Fun Facts:

Its sales brochure called it “the first American-built import”.

It was marketed as “cute and different”.

Both Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush once owned and drove Gremlins.

In 2007, Time magazine included it in its list of “The 50 Worst Cars of All Time”.

In 2020, Automobile magazine gave it a good review, but still called it “one of history’s dorkiest cars”.

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Beep-beep zip bang!

1971 Plymouth Road Runner

Fun facts: 

Plymouth paid Warner Bros. fifty grand to use the Road Runner name and likeness.

Hatched in 1968, the Plymouth Road Runner wasn’t discontinued until 1980.

And yes, Plymouth had a special beep-beep horn for it, developed by the Sparton Corporation of Jackson, Michigan. Hear it here.

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