As many fans of the Peanuts comic strip know, fifty years ago Charlie Brown and company first appeared in ads and commercials for Ford cars. Courtesy of Denro, here is a brochure for the 1961 Ford Falcon.
The affordable Falcon was very popular, but the name conjures an image of a powerful bird of prey, while the Falcon was actually a rather underpowered, compact economy car. Our family owned a 1965 base model 2-door Falcon that I remember fondly, mostly because it was the first car I drove when I got my driver’s license.
Cartoon Brew has an animated Peanuts TV commercial for the ’61 Falcon. Somebody put it on YouTube, but the shape of the image is wrong, so I fixed it here. The narrator’s voice should be familiar if you’re over 40.
[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/2009/FEB/FordPeanuts.flv 400 380]
And here’s another gem. Color videotape from 1961, with Lucy introducing Tennessee Ernie Ford, sponsored by Ford.
[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/2009/FEB/PeanutsFordIntro.flv 400 300]
Monte, I don’t think I knew a single Pinto owner who liked their car! However, Pinto BEANS are high in complex carbohydrate and excellent for your health!
Don’t worry, Doug. I’m feeling a bit better and won’t let the knife-happy guys get me.
That was his XJ12. He bought that a little after his XKE-V12 to have a sedan. It was a little unreliable, but fun to drive for a bigger car. And the English interior was elegant.
Pinto and Vega. Yeah, we called our Pinto, the Pint-dog and one of Craig’s friends had a green Vega-dog. Both were lame cars. No wonder Ford and GM have troubles. The Honda Accord just killed them.
Jean,
Before my back trouble I did a lot of push ups, which are considered to be a forward plank exercise. What I wasn’t doing were sideways planks, and they’ve made all the difference. Back surgery can be an iffy proposition, so proceed with caution.
Monte,
Click here to see the photo with the Jag. No telling what the color was, of course. The Jaguar body style hasn’t changed much over the years.
There sure were some awful cars in the 70’s, with the Ford Pinto and Chevy Vega worst among them. The first time I drove a Toyota, a Carina, I was amazed by how well built and responsive it was. The manual transmission was smooth and crisp, and nothing like the clunky gears on a VW. An unlike a Pinto, that couldn’t get out of its own way, the Carina could really get moving from a dead stop and into second gear.
“Planking?” As in, “walking the plank?” Har, me buckos? (insert the annoying face of Albert Salmi from “Lost in Space” here) Or does Carol whack with your with a 4 x 4 plank? Say, maybe if your actual vertebrae can MOVE, maybe I won’t need surgery. The enviably exotic, relatively young and beautiful Jordanian doctor said I would be going to rehab after I saw her next week. Wasted on a heterosexual middle-aged woman, right, Dougie? 😉
I don’t recall the photo, but if it’s either red or white, it’s one of Dad’s. He had to sell the old six cylinder XKE when he and Mom split (and bought what we called a Pintdog, (slowest car I ever drove – barely hit seventy on a three miles road). Then he went to the Jaguar dealer to buy a new XKE V-12, was told there weren’t any yet for sale, and bought a Lotus Elan +2S130, which he sold once a red XKE came in. He drove Jaguars for about six years then until he became a Mercedes fan.
Monte,
Congrats on “This Side Of Jordan”! Looking forward to it. Knowing Fantagraphics, I’m sure the cover will be fantastically graphical.
In “Peanuts Jubilee,” from ’75, there’s a photo of an XKE parked in front of 1 Snoopy Place.
Back surgery? This is the first I’ve heard of it.
My back problem was a vertebrae that had moved in front of another, as the result of doing some stupid things, starting with a 100-lb air conditioner that I picked up and hauled to a scrap yard. After the vertebrae popped back into place I was left with pain from the muscle spasms. I have a different warm-up routine now before I run, that includes a lot of planking. For one week I was a cripple, but now it’s just a memory.
The Ford Country Squire wagon we had was a ’56, and by the standards of those times it was indeed old by the time we got rid of it. Bismo just bought a ’74 Dodge Monaco that he’s going to restore and turn into a Bluesmobile.
Hi, Monte! I’m a bit woozy from a back procedure this morning.Hope this post is coherent! If the epidural doesn’t work, it’s surgery for me. I’m glad Doug’s recent back injury was only muscular and he’s back training for the Boston Marathon.
I had no idea the Peanuts gang were animated before 1965! I love it when Snoopy dances. I made up a saying: “Joy is Snoopy Dancing,” and may use it for a book one day. I guess I’d have to get your permission first! 😉
Yes, except for the Volkswagen minibus my parents used for the short-lived floral business, the Pratts were totally Ford all the way. I loved the Ford Falcon, too, but especially loved my mother’s 1959 (which year, Dougie?) turquoise Ford wood-paneled station wagon. She called it “The old girl,” and would cajole it into starting by talking to it. Much later, Dad had a HUGE Ford Monterey at one point that was like navigating an ocean barge. I drove all over New England in it looking for a teaching job when I graduated from college. Didn’t get one! You know, of all the car-minded guys I dated, not ONE drove a Ford; they said they were ****! I have to admit I dated on guy in college only because he had cherry 50s Corvettes, THREE of them!
Thanks for the heads up on “This Side of Jordan!” New books to look forward to are like a little piece of Christmas Eve.
Wow, thanks for posting these! Takes me back many, many years. We were a Ford/Lincoln/Mercury family when I was young. Dad owned a Thunderbird and we had a Falcon and later on some Mustangs. Dad drove a couple of Lincoln Continentals and my grandmother drove a huge LTD. That all ended, mostly, when Dad got a willow green XKE in about ’68. It’s funny, too, because we never owned any GMC cars. I guess you were either a Ford guy or Chevy.
By the way, the cover for This Side Of Jordan is being designed now at Fantagraphics Books. Gary’s description of my novel will be in their catalogue soon.