Busy day at the Mercedes-Benz dealership

"fintail" (fintail) 03/05/2020 at 20:46 • Filed to: None

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I thought this was amusing - l ots going on here. I don’t have a source or context, but I suspect it was made in 1960 by the cars shown in the illustration. I don’t see many dealerships with indoor open ponds these days, not to mention birds or tigers.

AestheticsInMotion > fintail 03/05/2020 at 21:04

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I bet you could still find some pin-up calenders at one of the domestic dealerships on Aurora!

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > fintail 03/05/2020 at 21:04

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I think the early Mercedes dealers, at least under Max Hoffman in US, were pretty “boutique” looking. I believe this is a picture of his Manhattan showroom, co-habitating with Porsche (starting in 1950) and VW later... Imagine going to buy a car in a formal suit???

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fintail > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish 03/05/2020 at 21:13

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Nice pics, looks like a car show. By the VWs and the earlier Adenauer in the background along with a split window Beetle, I bet those pics are no newer than 1954 or so.

All the women are wearing hats and dresses/skirts, too.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > AestheticsInMotion 03/05/2020 at 21:13

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Heh. I love the design vibe of this view ...

fintail > AestheticsInMotion 03/05/2020 at 21:15

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No doubt, maybe the smoking too.

In 2004 my sister bought a new Focus from Bill Pierre (not on Aurora, but similar traditional dealership). It was what one would expect, going back in time compared to anything close to today. I remember the salesguy was elated when he learned my sister qualified for most of their inventory, and I seem to recall him openly flirting with her.  She just had to have a black ZX5, and the dealership was close to where she lived, so she wanted to buy there.  It served her well, she parted with it at close to 200K.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > fintail 03/05/2020 at 21:15

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This almost seems a little too critical of the car industry as a whole (pinup calendars , accidents, unprofessional employees) to be officially licensed, yet it obviously promotes Mercedes. I’m mystified yet intrigued by this plucky image.

fintail > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 03/05/2020 at 21:17

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It appears to be a European market image, maybe they had a little more leeway with logos.

I like the smoking too, but everyone smoked then anyway.

Chariotoflove > fintail 03/05/2020 at 21:19

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This looks like one of those “find how many things are wrong with this picture” pictures.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > fintail 03/05/2020 at 21:23

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It might be a different showroom too, as he (famously) had Frank Lloyd Wright design the Park Avenue location. This link has some details on that one.

http://www.steinerag.com/flw/Artifact%20Pages/PhRtS380.htm#Sales

I’d forgotten that Wright got paid in Mercedes cars for that design gig — which makes it all the more puzzling as to why he made the annual Wisconsin-Arizona trips in the late 1950s in not-a-Mercedes. Parts availability in Kansas, perhaps?  He had a Lincoln Zephyr too...

AestheticsInMotion > fintail 03/05/2020 at 21:25

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Bill piere Ford is my least favorite dealership I’ve been to so far, even behind the buy-here pay-here . The salesmen I was dealing with sent a cute girl over to try getting me to agree to about $3000 worth of dealer * add-ons*. She said she was in sales, but she knew absolutely nothing about any of the vehicles that Ford sold. This, despite the fact that I was representing a large company and looking to start up a relationship with numerous vehicle purchases down the road.

Ended up going to Chevy in Kirkland, buying a brand new Silverado on the spot, and sharing some horror stories of Bill Piere with the awesome fleet manager . Last I heard, the company I was representing has bought six new vehicles from Chevy...

fintail > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish 03/05/2020 at 21:32

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Cool stuff.  I also recall seeing his Continental, and I think a Crosley Hot Shot.

Fun to find pics like this, I am sure he appreciated the daring design:

fintail > AestheticsInMotion 03/05/2020 at 21:35

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They have a BHPH vibe, or at least did over 15 years ago when I last visited.  Old habits die hard, I remember they advertised impossible incentives etc for years back in the day.  Probably fishing for those who don’t know better, I was there to ensure my sister didn’t get hosed.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > fintail 03/05/2020 at 21:42

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But even then, would they have ashtrays resting on the paint itself? It almost seems like a parody of the car industry where the cars maintain self restraint where their patrons and employees cannot. 

Some of the cars (middle right and left corners) aren’t even compatible with the early sixties stuff in showrooms, so I really want to know the context. 

fintail > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 03/05/2020 at 21:43

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That’s a fun way to look at it re: restraint. The customers and employees both in the illustration are being goofy.

Middle/lower right appears to be a service area - I notice the dark fintail over there is missing a hubcap, which is on the ground.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > fintail 03/05/2020 at 21:49

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Even the dealership itself is illogically laid out (plants in front of main doorway, open pond, etc)

b ut the cars are still beautiful and elegant. I love it, but has high level societal criticism ever sold a car?

Good spot on the hubcap. I think I’ve found my new wallpaper.

Do you have the source where I can get it uncompressed?

fintail > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 03/05/2020 at 21:57

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It does appear to be saying something.  Another fun one, the guy running into the plant near the pond.

I found the image on a fb MB group, no source or context and I find nothing in a GIS.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > fintail 03/05/2020 at 22:06

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Too bad, since there is sure to be more satirical advertising where that came from. That cannot be a one-off advertising tactic.

The guy stuck between the cars at the bottom right and the salesman holding the cigarette way too close on the left by the truck is also good.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > fintail 03/05/2020 at 22:08

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I did find this “auto wash bowl” in the GIS. I can’t imagine that it worked.

Textured Soy Protein > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 03/05/2020 at 22:08

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This gif is obviously an outtake from the beginning of the party at Nakitomi Plaza.

fintail > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 03/05/2020 at 22:16

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Yeah, it would be a fun series with multiple brands.  Kind of fun looking for all of the different problems in the pic.

fintail > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 03/05/2020 at 22:17

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In the days of wood framed bodies and a lack of protection , I’d expect that’d make cars age faster.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > fintail 03/05/2020 at 22:20

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I don’t want to know what dealerships for domestic brands would have looked like to this artist’s eyes, but I suspect it would have been worse.

ranwhenparked > fintail 03/05/2020 at 22:24

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Supposedly, it was good for wood wheels to get soaked now and then, kept them from drying out and shrinking

fintail > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 03/05/2020 at 23:12

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I imagine lots of smoking and questionable ethics.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > fintail 03/05/2020 at 23:31

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He and his girlfriend client’s wife eloped to Germany at one point. He may have developed a taste for German machinery between the wars during that period abroad. Despite doing the Imperial Hotel project (oh, gawd, was it beautiful...) I don’t know that he dabbled in Japanese autos. He died about 10 years too early for the Japanese auto invasion, but I can sure picture him in a JDM Toyota Crown— perfectly imperious, while being “everyman” for Frank-the-Talented-Cad.

They saved the facade of the Imperial, btw. Here’s a pic of the reclaimed lobby section. Apparently the original hotel was one of the few structures to survive the Great Quake...

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > fintail 03/06/2020 at 09:56

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Foot off the bumper, man!

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 03/06/2020 at 09:58

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Got mud off the wheels, anyway.

And salt off the undercarriage?

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 03/06/2020 at 11:02

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I guess so, if they mixed some sort of detergent in with it. There clearly are wash bays behind it to get the main body, but the whole “bowl” idea seems unnecessary and low capacity compared to the wash bays.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 03/06/2020 at 11:20

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If they go in there first, before the wash bays, then there wouldn’t be a bunch of leftover crud in the bays like there often is...

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 03/06/2020 at 11:25

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Unless they cleaned it out often, the water would actually add crud after just a day or so in service. I just think that is the least efficient way possible, even with contemporary technology

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 03/06/2020 at 11:34

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Oh, yeah, it’s not a great idea - ha! Just trying to determine the rationale.

fintail > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish 03/06/2020 at 12:11

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I remember reading that about the Imperial - I was very interested in that kind of thing and FLW material when I was a kid.   Quite a checkered past, but an interesting figure no less.