One of two traffic stoppers of the 50’s and 60’s.
Mama Mia !! The snug-fitting capris worn by Mary Tyler Moore who played Laura Petrie, the young housewife in the Dick Van Dyke TV show, turned many a head and caused a fashion sensation. Censors screamed to sexy for TV viewing demanding wardrobe approval before tapings. Show to many curves and Laura is banished to modest attire. Censors eventually backed down. Viewers demands boosted ratings and females imitated Laura-capri look..
Then almost 40 years later, and the movie “Pulp Fiction“, Uma Thurman resurrects this phoenix fashion statement, without as much as a censor’s ban.
Not quite the end….Usher in….
The LINCOLN CAPRI, the ’50’s car, with "the race-on-Sunday sell-on-Monday "motto and philosophy.
If you were a few of the lucky BABY BOOMERS with rich parents, this luxury car was the ultimate status symbol.
Remember cars in the 50’s had no options.
Affordable, hardly.
$4000, twice the price of a close cousin, the Ford Custom and a reputation as the safest car in ’55 by Life Magazine.
What a traffic stopper--
Full-size, V-8 , 3-speed auto-trans, leather interior, a 130 mph speedometer, air conditioning, power windows …. the 1st automatic headlight dimmer, and
READY FOR THIS OPTION, “Multi-Luber“, a device that allowed the driver to send grease to components with the push of a button from inside the car. After all what well-to-do rich parents had grease under their nails even if Ronald Reagan commercialized the cleaning power of Lava Soap on TV.
Lincoln-Mercury, showcased its Capri in a most unusual way.
The Carrera Pan-American Endurance Race.
A 5-day, 2000 mile road show from the southern edge of Mexico to the U.S. border.
To quote Jack Parr…“I kid you not….“ standard mileage was 4 to 5 miles per gallon. So a little smoke-n-mirrors trick covered for fuel “guzzled” with a 55 gal. tank installed behind the front seat to back-up the standard 23 gal. tank.
The Capris’ one fault, hard to handle on rough curves but luxurious highway riding comfort. Sweeping the first 4 spots in the stock division in ‘52 and ‘53; but
‘54, the final year for the big race, it was disaster-after-disaster, named, “Lincoln engine failure“. One independent amateur, Ray Crawford, carried it to its last Carrera Pan-American victory and the end of both luxury racing and the infamous motto.
By today’s standards automakers couldn’t afford, ad agencies wouldn’t consider or bookies give odds for the likes of such a hyped-advertising stunt. Ralph Nader where are you!
So Ladies, the winner, our classic capris. Still takin the curves and turnin heads!!
No comments:
Post a Comment