For the 1972 model year, Pontiac had ten models for sale in the US, covering six types. Those types and models were compact (Ventura II), mid-size (LeMans), full-size (Catalina, Catalina Brougham, Bonneville, and Grand Ville), station wagon (Safari and Grand Safari), personal luxury (Grand Prix), and muscle car (GTO and Firebird). In addition to the various print and TV ads for those models, Pontiac seemed particularly proud of its bumpers this year.

Here is a gallery of advertisements and advertising images for each of those models, as well as some generic ads.

1972 Pontiac (general)

1972 Bonneville

1972 Catalina

1972 Firebird

1972 Firebird Formula 455

1972 Grand Prix

1972 Grand Ville

1972 GTO

1972 LeMans

1972 Luxury LeMans

1972 Safari

1972 Ventura Sprint II

Soft lighting, feathered hair, and a giant automobile that would never fit in your garage. It must be the 1970s! 1977 to be precise, in the form of a dealer postcard for the 1977 Lincoln Continental Town Coupé.

This was one of two full-size Lincolns for the 19777 model year, the other being the fabled Town Car. This particular car was also used in one of the company’s sales brochure, so if I’m not mistaken this gorgeous paint color was called “cinnamon gold moondust.” Outstanding.

Detroit, Michigan, April 24, 1969 — CLASSY CHASSIS — Anne Burr of Ann Arbor, Mich., watches over the Astro III during the annual sports car show at Cobo Hall in Detroit. The one passenger tricycle is a General Motors prototype designed by William L. Mitchell.

Testing cars on the roof of the Fiat factory in 1929.

 

It’s hard to believe that I’m almost 10 entries into this series and haven’t shared any car brochures. Luckily I found a real gem for the first one. This brochure highlights the new 1937 Willys, with the slogan “The Surprise Car of the Year.” The typeface and color scheme are very much of their era, and are a pure delight.

The first image breaks down (OK, unfortunate phrasing) the cost of ownership over 35,000 miles. Can’t say I’ve ever seen a car brochure give a depreciation amount before.

Next up is the money shot, a pretty nice looking pre-war car that boasts up to 35 miles per gallon.

Next we get several exterior and interior shots, with some very well-dressed people looking very approvingly at the beautiful bench seats, roomy interior and spacious trunk.

This slide is purportedly an image of the Pentagon parking lot, but is not dated. The seller indicated that other slides in the same batch were dated 1949, which seems plausible given the design of the cars I can see. As always, if any car experts can chime in with some makes and models that would be a huge help.

In past ad galleries I’ve typically stuck with a particular theme or product, such as holiday-themed ads or new car lineups. I’m going to try something new and product an ad gallery from a single year, covering a wide range or products and services. Basically, a sort of visual shorthand to see what someone would’ve seen in print or TV ads in a particular year. Think of this as a virtual department store of sorts.

For the first edition I thought I’d travel back exactly 50 years to 1967. Let’s browse!

Automobiles

Consumer Electronics

Entertainment

Fashion

Food and Beverage

Health and Beauty

Household Goods

Travel

 

It’s been a looong time since my last new car ad gallery — just over three years in fact since my 1970 Dodge post. For the return of this series, let’s fast forward one decade to the dawn of the ’80s and the lineup for GM’s Pontiac make.

The theme for these ads was a pretty clever twist on the MPG initialism. In this case it stood for:

• More Pontiac to the Gallon
• More Pontiac Excitement to the Gallon
• More Pontiac Excitement for the Great Ones

The only model I wasn’t able to find a good print ad for is the Sunbird, so if anyone can help me out please let me know.

(To see other car lineup advertisement galleries, click here. Got a request for other years and makes? Let me know in the Comments section.)

1980 Pontiac Compacts

1980 Pontiac Mid-Sizes

1980 Pontiac Full-Sizes

1980 Pontiac Station Wagon

1980 Pontiac Muscles