Topic: Oh, the good life, full of fun, seems to be the ideal - Solved!

[Otto Puzzell]

In this puzzle, I've cropped a number of automobile print advertisements run in the 20th century. They harken to a time when the good life was an ideal, and the automobile was your point of entry.

To earn points, you must ID the brand of automobile, and the year in which the advertisement was in print. Once they are solved, I'll post the adverts in their entirety.

Enjoy!

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

1   Cadillac / 1957 - hugo90
2   Plymouth / 1957 - K5ING      
3   Opel / 1959 - ImpishGrin         
4   Studebaker / 1937 - ImpishGrin         
5   Ford / 1951 -   ImpishGrin         
6   Dodge / 1963 - ImpishGrin         
7   Chevrolet / 1960 - K5ING      
8   Mercury / 1951 - Ehhxekt   
9   Studebaker / 1950 - ImpishGrin         
10   Buick / 1962   - ImpishGrin         
11   Dodge / 1949 - Ehhxekt   
12   Lincoln / 1966 - ImpishGrin         
13   Studebaker / 1959 - ImpishGrin         
14   Chevrolet / 1955 - ImpishGrin         
15   Jeep / 1967 - Ehhxekt   
16   Ford / 1957 - K5ING      
17   Pontiac / 1963 - ImpishGrin         
18   Buick / 1960 - ImpishGrin         
19   Studebaker / 1955 - hugo90
20   Dodge / 1960 - K5ING

[ImpishGrin]

#3 - 1959 Buick Opel
#4 - 1937 Studebaker Sedan
#9 - 1950 Studebaker
#12 - 1966 Lincoln Continental Coupe
#14 - 1955 Chevy Station Wagon

[Ray B.]

That one was meant for me, if I had still been around you experts!!!

[K5ING]

#2    '57 Plymouth Suburban
#7    '60 Chevrolet
#10  '66 Buick Electra?
#11  '49 Olds 88
#16  '57 Ford
#19  '53 Studebaker
#20  '60 Dodge

[Ehhxekt]

#8 is a 1951 Mercury I guess.
#11 looks like a 1950 Dodge Wayfarer to me.

[Otto Puzzell]

A couple of stumbles, but mostly good guesses, so far.

[ImpishGrin]

A couple of stumbles, but mostly good guesses, so far.

Any details?

[Otto Puzzell]

Scroll up.

[ImpishGrin]

Scroll up.

Oops, sorry. Gotta change my glasses

[Ehhxekt]

#06 – 1964 Dodge Polara
#11 – 1949 Dodge Wayfarer?
#15 – 1967 Jeepster Convertible

[hugo90]

1. 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham
10. 1962 Oldsmobile Cutlass
13. 1961 Studebaker Lark
17. 1964 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu
18. 1959 Pontiac
19. 1955 Studebaker President

[Otto Puzzell]

A few more hits, and a handful of near-miss guesses. Hang on Ray - there may be some Pro points to eek out yet!

[ImpishGrin]

Wouldn't count on that 

Oh, I guess you mean the weird system of american model years? Then I should probably just backdate the ads by a year? Let's try:

#5 - 1941 Ford
#6 - 1963 Dodge
#10 - 1962 Buick Skylark
#13 - 1959 Studebaker Lark
#17 - 1963 Pontiac Le Mans
#18 - 1960 Buick

[Otto Puzzell]

It would seem that you have not read the introduction to this puzzle. 

[ImpishGrin]

I think I've killed this one for good

[Otto Puzzell]

Yes, minus the moxie and savvy of the storied and rich Polish automobile industry's history, the Americans were reduced to "weird" model year designations. This trait is shared with the American fashion industry, which also cannot hope to compete with the high-style mecca that is Poland. 

Third time's the charm.

[Otto Puzzell]

[Otto Puzzell]

Points:

ImpishGrin   11
K5ING   4
Ehhxekt   3
hugo90   2

[ImpishGrin]

I'm not quite sure I understand the whole of your rambling and ranting above, but that certainly didn't change my opinion about the logic of cars being produced earlier than their model year would indicate.

And as for the storied and rich Polish automobile industry's history, I'm currently working on a series of articles about it's post-war tales, which I hope can be featured on AutoPuzzles. Unless of course, this history is not rich enough?

[Otto Puzzell]

Are model year designation quirks unique to the American market?

[ImpishGrin]

I'm not sure, because manufacturers from other countries don't always update their cars every year. So the MY system is more difficult to be observed there. But I find it a uniquely American trait that, let's say, in September 2008 everyone presents the MY2010 cars. 2010 cars are for me cars produced in 2010, not at the end of 2008

Oh, BTW: I only got 10 points added instead of 11.

[Otto Puzzell]

Clarification - model year 2010 cars may be exhibited, but they cannot by law go on sale, before January 2, 2009.

Early releases, cribbed by GM to mimic the fashion industry in th 1920's, later took on the added benefit of coinciding with the traditional spate of fresh programming that debuted in the late summer and autumn in the US. The January 2 convention allows for the promotion of 'new' vehicles during the Superbowl US football championship. Phased introduction of new cars also makes business sense, allowing the spreading of production-change and marketing costs over a longer time frame.

[K5ING]

Just my 2 cents worth here.  Bringing out, say, 2010 models in late 2008 is a fairly recent advertising gimmick.  But back when these ads were run, the car makers might have teased the public with covered versions of the cars in, say, late August or early September, but it was always a big deal to unveil their new models for the first time in late September so they were only a couple of months early.  As for the changes from one year to the next, I think most cars had changes from year to year.  They might range from obvious (like American cars) to very subtle such as an extra chrome strip or signal light shape that only sharpies like us can spot.  But a '59 Buick is still a '59 Buick no matter if it was built in December '58 or July of '59. 

I used the model year of the cars in my guesses because there is no way of knowing if the ad ran in November (pre model year) or March (current model year).  Indeed, the same ad may have run in both months giving two correct answers. 

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not complaining about the puzzle.  I thought it was very good.  I'm just trying to clarify the model year thing. 

[Otto Puzzell]

Stick a fork in this puzzle concept - it's done.