10 Car Commercials That Have Not Aged Well
Updated: May 21, 2019
Maybe it would've been better to forget some of these car commercials.
1986 Dodge Lancer
The performance sedan that will thrill you all the way to the red line is how Dodge marketed the Lancer in 1986 in this video. The Lancer wasn’t a bad little car but it seems a tad silly in retrospect that consumers still wanted some power with a five-door hatchback.
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1986 Chrysler Laser
James Earl Jones doing the voice over? What could go wrong for Chrysler with this ad? The competition is good. We had to be better is what Chrysler said in its ads and boy this could’ve been better. The graphics from the ad haven’t aged well at all, like many of the things everyone had in their homes in the ’80s.
1967 Chevy Camaro
The Camaro shouldn’t need some kind of ridiculous ad like this to sell, it’s the Camaro after all. But when the ad hit, the Camaro hadn’t become the car of lore that it is now. In fact, this was the first TV spot for the car.
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1980 Datsun 280ZX Black Gold
The year was 1980, but the music was still firmly in the ’70s disco era. You’ll have to watch the ad on YouTube to get a feel of the song. Datsun proclaimed the 280ZX Black Gold so rare that that each one came numbered on an engraved plaque. This old ad included a line about the car having so many luxuries that there was scant room for options.
1970 Chevy Nova
A long time ago O.J. Simpson hawked a number of products, including one of the most infamous lemons ever produced—the Chevy Nova. Here’s a clip of the ad on YouTube featuring the former Hertz Rental Care pitchman. Of course, The Juice later made another vehicle infamous. In commercial, the ’70 Nova is compared with O.J. Simpson in terms of horsepower and padding.
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1978 Ford Futura
The 1978 Ford Futura had eyes to the future but looking back on this clip on YouTube, it’s tough to see how it’d get there outside of an alien abduction.
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1978 Mercury Cougar
This Mercury Cougar ad on YouTube features Cheryl Tiegs inside a 1978 Mercury Cougar, accompanied by an actual cougar. Who’s the insurance carrier who signed off on that? The classic disco music in the background cemented the fact that the commercial wouldn’t age well.
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Toyota Trucks
Upside down trucks around the neighbourhood will get somebody’s attention but it comes across as really cheesy in an ad. (Check out the ad spot on YouTube.) The Toyota “Oh, What a Feeling” ad campaign became one of the more well-known in advertising.
Peugeot 205 GTI
Boy, oh, boy, this car ad from Peugeot seems like a James Bond film with its production quality. It begins with the car parachuting in, surviving a blown up parachute, escaping a series of bombs dropped by a military plane and dodging a helicopter. All in a hatchback. It’s hard to imagine a James Bond type going for such a vehicle.
1988 Pontiac
Ride, Pontiac, Ride will ring in your ears for a long time after watching this commercial, provided that your ear drums haven’t burst from the obnoxious drumming and the, let’s say, soaring vocal spots. From 1988 to 1993, the Le Mans was German designed and built in South Korea and it became one of the most reviled cars around. Comments on the web have called the car a “deathtrap” and “Dumpster on wheels.” The 1990 model faced recalls for potential seat-belt failures and a fuel system problem that could cause a fire.
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