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The Persuader
My personal blog, started in 2006. No paid or guest posts, no link sales.
Posts tagged ‘Pontiac’
01.12.2021
Here are December 2021âs imagesâaides-mĂ©moires, photos of interest, and miscellaneous items. I append to this gallery through the month.
Notes
Roger Moore and Ford Fiesta Mk I, via George Cochrane on Twitter.
More on the Volkswagen Fox in Autocade.
More on the Ford Consul Corsair at Autocade.
The Guardian article excerpt, full story here.
The devil drives Kia? Reposted from Twitter.
Audi maths on an A3, via Richard Porteous on Twitter.
Christmas decoration, via Rob Ritchie on Twitter.
Back to the â70s: Holden Sandman used for Panhead Sandman craft beer promotions.
GeorgiaâPacific panelling promotions, 1968, via Wendy O’Rourke on Twitter.
Ford Cortina Mk II US advertisement via the Car Factoids on Twitter.
Bridal fashion by Luna Novias, recently featured in Lucire.
Deborah Grant in UFO, with the VWâPorsche 914, which would have looked very modern at the time.
Freeze frame from episode 1 of The Champions (1968), with William Gaunt, Stuart Damon and Alexandra Bastedo.
Our rejected greeting card design, with a picture shot at Oriental Parade, Wellington.
Ford Taunus GT brochure spread via the Car Factoids on Twitter.
My Daddy Is a Giant image and UK measures, reposted from Twitter.
Richard Nixon attempts to appeal to younger voters, 1972. Simple, modernist design using Futura Bold.
A 1983 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am advertisement.
Mazda Savanna brochure via George Cochrane on Twitter.
More on the Renault Mégane E-Tech Electric in Autocade.
Lucire issue 44 cover, photographed by Lindsay Adler, layout by me.
Tags: 1960s, 1963, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1970s, 1971, 1972, 1980s, 1983, 1988, 2000s, 2006, 2021, actor, actress, advertising, Aotearoa, Audi, book, Brazil, car, celebrity, Christmas, COVID-19, design, election, electric cars, fashion, fashion magazine, film, Ford, GeorgiaâPacific, GM, graphic design, Holden, humour, ITC, Japan, JY&A Media, Kia, Lindsay Adler, Lucire, magazine, marketing, Mazda, media, modernism, New Zealand, newspaper, Norway, photography, politics, Pontiac, Porsche, Renault, Roger Moore, The Guardian, TV, Twitter, typography, UK, USA, Volkswagen, Wellington, Whanganui-a-Tara Posted in cars, culture, design, gallery, humour, interests, media, New Zealand, politics, publishing, TV, typography, UK, USA, Wellington | No Comments »
01.12.2020
Here are the images that have piqued my interest for December 2020. For November’s gallery, click here (all gallery posts are here). And for why I started this, here’s my earlier post on this blog, and also here and here on NewTumbl.
Sources
Auckland City Library opening, via Auckland City Council Residents’ Group on Twitter.
Jono Barber scanned the Aston Martin DB5 story from newspaper clippings he recently found.
From the Instagram of hairstylist extraordinaire, my friend Adrian Gutierrez. Photographed by Steve Yu, hair by Adrian Gutierrez, make-up by Meri, modelled by Chanel Margaux.
Volkswagen KĂ€fer advertisement from the Car Factoids on Twitter.
Star TrekâStar Wars series from Alex on NewTumbl.
Manawatƫ Guardian front page relates to this Tweet.
Alexa Breit promotes masks by Peggell, via Instagram.
Amber Peebles photographed by me in 2003 on a VoigtlÀnder Bessamatic Deluxe.
Google Forms’ 419 scam relates to this Toot.
Peugeot 504 advertisement from the Car Factoids on Twitter.
Triumph TR7 brochure cover from the Car Factoids on Twitter.
Katharina Mazepa photograph from her Instagram.
More about the JAC Jiayue A5 (JAC J7 for export) at Autocade.
Tardis image from Alex on NewTumbl.
More information on the Toyota Yaris Cross at Autocade.
Tags: 1970s, 1971, 1980s, 1985, 2020, advertisement, Aotearoa, Aston Martin, Auckland, Australia, Autocade, BBC, car, car design, celebrity, censorship, China, design, Doctor Who, fashion, film, Ford, Germany, GM, Grundig, Instagram, internet, JAC, James Bond, ManawatĆ«, modelling, New Zealand, newspaper, NewTumbl, NZME, Palmerston North, Peugeot, photography, Pontiac, social media, spam, TÄmaki Makaurau, Toyota, TV, Twitter, UK, USA, VoigtlĂ€nder Posted in cars, China, design, gallery, interests, internet, media, TV, UK, USA | 1 Comment »
31.10.2020

A very quick note, probably more for me than anyone else: the 4,300th model went up on Autocade tonight. It was slightly deliberate, since I checked the stats for the site to see we were up to 4,299. Iâve a folder of models to be added, and I admit I scrolled down a little to see what piqued my interestâhaving said that, itâs what I usually do anyway. But there was a desire not to add yet another two-box crossover (had enough of those for a while) or any model that would lead me to be obsessed about a full line (DAF 33, anyone?). As the 1980â4 Pontiac Phoenix is already on the site, the 1978â9 entry went up. (Yes, I disagree with Wikipedia, which has Phoenixes starting in 1977, which is true, but it was mid-year, it was officially part of the Ventura line, and Phoenix doesnât appear in the 1977 full-line brochure.) Wikipedians can do it their way, and Iâll do it mine.
At some point I’ll add the Oldsmobile Omega for 1975â9 and we’ll have the X-cars for those years all up.
Tags: 1970s, 1978, 2020, Autocade, car, GM, history, JY&A Media, Pontiac, publishing, Wikipedia Posted in cars, interests, publishing, USA | No Comments »
07.12.2011


Fiat has announced that it’s going to bring back the Dodge Dart nameplate on a compact sedan based on a stretched Alfa Romeo Giulietta platform for the 2013 model year.
This was actually mentioned when Chrysler was going cap-in-hand to the US Government, so it’s not a total surprise. The nameplate, however, is.
It makes sense to me, though if you look at some of the blog comments elsewhere, motorheads are coming out saying it should be used for a rear-wheel-drive sedan that captures the spirit of the original.
The trouble is, it does. Dart was a compact beloved of schoolteachers, and even if the last one was a variant of the Dodge Diplomat sold in Spanish-speaking countries, enough time has passed for the general public not to be nostalgic for V8-powered Demons, Dart Sports and the like.
It’s a compact sort of name, and it’s going after a general audience. And it looks too aggressive to be called Omni or Neon. A sporty little Dodge should be called Dart.
I know that it could be very easily argued that the last time an American company resurrected a hallowed nameplate last sold in the US in the 1970sâthe Pontiac GTOâand ignored the heritage, it was a sales’ disaster.
But the Goat is legendary. Think back to the 1975 model year: did anyone really regard a basic Dart as legendary?
We’ve already had a four-door sedan from Dodge called the Charger, the Polara name last wound up on a version of the Hillman Avenger down in Brazil, and the Chrysler New Yorker nameplate went on to a heap of different cars in the 1980s (R-body, M-body, E-body, C-body), so this isn’t exactly a company that has been looking after its heritage that well. I dare say the public is used to nameplates being recycled when it comes to Chrysler, sometimes for the better (300) and sometimes for the worse (it’ll be a long time before anyone brings Sebring back).
The preview shots Dodge has revealed look aggressive, and since a designer is running the decals-and-flash show there, I suspect it wouldn’t look too bad.
The other nameplate news of late, going in reverse chronological order, is the demise of Maybach. No surprises there, either: if you’re going to charge stratospheric prices for a car, it had better look stratosphericânot a rehash of a Mercedes-Benz S-Klasse. âNuff said.
Finally, I’ve been meaning to blog about this little item for many weeks now: the rebadging of rebadged Lancias, if we might come full circle to Fiat.
As many of you know, Lancias are sold as Chryslers in markets where Chrysler has a stronghold, while Chryslers are sold as Lancias where Lancia has a stronghold. That means, in Britain and Ăire, the Lancia Ypsilon and Delta are sold as Chryslers.
Car design, however, is no longer a matter of badge-engineering (even if there are certain segments where you can still get away with it, such as city cars and certain minivans). Everything about the design has to reflect the brand’s value. Cover up the grille of a Volvo, and it’s still a Volvo. But the Lancia design language is very Italian, and the Chrysler design language is very American, the insipid 200 aside.
It is unfair to criticize ChryslerâLancia given that these cars were penned before Fiat merged the brands, but I thought this customer-level rebranding exercise was a very interesting one on the part of Lancia fans in the UK and Ăire.
A group of enthusiasts located an Italian dealer who was willing to sell them a bunch of Lancia badges, so British and Irish owners could give their cars the complete Lancia treatment.
It shows something I have talked about in many of my speeches: that brands are increasingly in the hands of the consumers.
But it also shows that no matter what badge you put on the Ypsilon and Delta, they look Italianâand certain consumers want authenticity.
Finally, it shows that in a globalized world, it’s no longer up to retailers to tell us what something is called. We have access to the ânet, and we can find out for ourselves. When it comes to cars, where there is a lot of online research, demand might start building from the moment scoop photographs are released. These Lancia enthusiasts have clearly wanted their RHD Deltas for a long time, and they have the means to make their dream come true, regardless of what the badge at the dealership says.
Tags: 2013, Autocade, branding, car design, cars, Chrysler, consumerism, Daimler, Dodge, Fiat, Germany, GM, history, Italy, Jack Yan, Lancia, Maybach, Mercedes-Benz, people power, Pontiac, USA Posted in branding, business, cars, design, marketing, USA | 1 Comment »
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