Buick '67: For the In Crowd

Automobile dealers have passed out a lot of brochures in their 97 year history, but we can honestly say that few automotive brochures in history can come close to the Buick Deluxe 1967 brochure. It was an outstanding offering at the time, and remains a singular effort today.

It wasn't just that the 1967 Buick models were singularly exciting, although they were- it was that such effort went into the piece to make it outstanding and memorable. It was billed as "The Magazine for the In Crowd," and was produced in the style of a magazine, with features and articles.

Here is the table of contents. Instead of being arranged by model, it is organized into articles about each body style. There's an article about convertibles, using renderings done in an interpretation of a turn of the century Art Nouveau style of rendering that was popular in the day.

The next article reviews all of the two door offerings, as seen with six of the major fashion models of the day. The Wildcat is shown with the glamorous Wilhelmina. Wilhelmina Cooper was an icon of the day and the first woman to start her own modeling agency. Willie didn't come cheaply.

The Skylark Sport Coupe is shown with Delores Wettach

The GS 400 is shown with Jean Shrimpton, a supermodel of the era who is credited with popularizing the miniskirt. Here she practices what she preaches.

And the Electra 225 Coupe is paired with none other than Suzy Parker. She was the first supermodel and this was a big coup for Buick. Other fashion models shown in the brochure were Dolores Hawkins and Penny Ashton. It's worth noting that each of the models were identified by name, something that was highly unusual in the day.

Next the wagons are pictured in a setting that resembles a family photo album. Very charmingly done.

Note how the photos have "handwritten" captions (SportWagon shown)

Next article features the four door hardtops. In this section, each of the cars is shown with a sports legend- Buick called it the Sports Hall of Fame. It features Sam Snead, Joe Schmidt, Ted Lindsay, Bob Cousy, Frank Crosetti and Rocky Marciano each alongside a new Buick four door.

Here's Ted Lindsay of the Detroit Red Wings on the ice with a new 1967 Buick LeSabre.

But Buick saved the best for last- they went all out on their giant Interiors section. Hosted by movie Actress Diana Lynn, Buick showed each interior with a Hollywood celebrity behind the wheel.

Diana Lynn steps out of the new Riviera

Robert Taylor shows off the Riviera Custom Interior.

Cornell Wilde is forced to make do with the standard Riviera.

Charleton Heston looks comfortable in the Electra 225 Custom.

Cliff Robertson tries on the brocade seats in the brand new Electra 225 Limited Sedan.

Gardner Mc Kay looks good in the Electra 225 with base trim.

Bill Bixby looks great in the Wildcat Custom Convertible.

Stuart Whitman relaxes in the Wildcat 4 Door Hardtop.

Tony Franciosa smiles behind the wheel of the Le Sabre.

And Fess Parker does his best Daniel Boone in the western themed Sportwagon.

Van Heflin had just made a movie called "Stagecoach", so the Special Deluxe wagon was a good fit.

Bob Cummings smiles in a GS400- who wouldn't?

Lloyd Bridges picked the wrong week to give up Skylark. (Think about it, Airplane! fans)

Robert Lansing chose the Special Deluxe- pretty snazzy.

And David Janssen got the Special Deluxe. I wonder if he felt like a Fugitive.

The a special section showed colors and options, again grouping all the models together.

And finally a section on powertrains including a glamour shot of the 1967 430-4 bbl V8 in 360 HP tune.

And the back cover with the classic slogan:

So there's the revolutionary 1967 brochure- an unforgettable 60 page full color spectacular featuring just about every graphic style of the day in a shockingly different format, featuring the top sports figures, fashion models, and Hollywood Celebrities of the day. A classic from the first day.

One question remains- how did they get all of those celebrities into the interiors?

We'll save that one for next time. It's a great story.

(Cross posted on the Reynolds Buick GMC Blog)

Secrets of the Buick Bible

There are almost fifty years worth of history in this worn ledger. It was used to keep track of the Buick Company Owned cars in service, which means that every time the Los Angeles Zone put a company owned vehicle on the road, it is recorded in this book. Most of the entries were made by Phil Vogel, Buick's longtime Company Car Coordiantor. Phil called the notebook his "Buick Bible", and never let it out of his sight.

Inside the front page were telephone numbers for everyone at the Buick Zone office- even the IBM computer room. When this log was began in 1962, the Zone was located in the Miracle Mile on Wilshire. Phil was based nearby at Gunther-Langer Buick. All the company cars were shipped there. After they were used, they would be sold through local dealers. Reynolds Buick handled many such sales.

Each car was logged by model, color, trim, key numbers, license number, delivery date and driver. A glance above shows some of the drivers that Buick provided cars for. Jack Entratter owned the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas. Dick Van Dyke you've probably already heard of.

Here's where we start to unravel last week's mystery of the celebrities in the 1967 Buick interiors- company car entries for Robert Lansing and Charleton Heston. Lansing was given an Electra convertible, Heston a Riviera. Both cars were hard plated as opposed to sporting Manufacturers plates.

And here it starts to add up. Cliff Robertson and Van Heflin both got Sportwagons. Fess Parker got a Riviera and David Janssen must have looked great in an Electra Convertible.

Bill Bixby and Lloyd Bridges were both furnished with new Rivieras. And now we understand- every celebrity that appeared in the brochure sitting inside a new Buick was given a brand new Buick. By today's standards, it was a pretty inexpensive way to obtain endorsements. But I'd love to see who approved the budget.

There are more fascinating entries in the Buick Bible. Who was furnished with the most Buick courtesy vehicles? None other than Old Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra. Electra Limiteds for himself, and Sportwagons when he owned the Cal-Neva Resort, all on Manufacturer plates. Mr. Sinatra and Buick were close friends in the sixties.

The entries end in June, 1998, when Phil Vogel was hospitalized for surgery. He had a stroke shortly after and died. The Buick Bible was returned to Buick by his family and has been preserved for history. It's a treasure of information and an interesting insight into how the automobile business was conducted in Tinseltown in an era gone by.

(Originally posted on the Reynolds Buick GMC Blog)