Volkswagen obtained the trademark to the International Scout name a few years ago and, on October 24, the new Scout Motors will officially reveal an all-electric Scout vehicle. In the meantime, they have been leaning into International Harvester Scout history on their website.
Witness their recent post on the 1979 International Scout Four-Wheel-Drive Trail Guide, a thick (224 pages!) combination atlas and collection of essays on 4×4 trails across America, including, based on the photo below, at least one in New Jersey that may no longer be off-road.
Save the date and get in the Christmas spirit with these vintage designs created by the Herman Miller Company for their 1978 Employee Christmas Party.
Design: Linda Powell. Source: West Michigan Graphic Design ArchivesDesign: Linda Powell. Source: West Michigan Graphic Design ArchivesSmack? Yeah, like under the mistletoe. Design: Linda Powell. Source: West Michigan Graphic Design Archives
Featured image: Jingle Christmas Party Poster, Linda Powell, Herman Miller, Inc. Source: Western Michigan Graphic Design Archives
Before it was a compact pickup truck, the Ford Maverick was an import-fighting’ vinyl-clad compact car. Introduced in the late 60s, original colors included Anti Establish Mint, Hulla Blue, and Thanks Vermillion.
Following Jimmy Carter’s victory in the 1976 presidential election, Time magazine looked towards what a Carter presidency would be, and advertisers began looking towards the Christmas season.
The Pinto Cruising Wagon exists somewhere between – or beyond – the Safari station wagon and the Dodge Street van. A compact two-door wagon with colorful stripes and a bubble window, the cruising package was introduced in 1977 and abandoned after 1978. If you wanted the silhouette of a wagon and the shagtastic style of a van without the cargo capacity of either, the Pinto wagon was made for you.
It is a small wagon. Source: oldcarsweekly.com
Not quite the same vibe with only one pinstripe. Source: bringatrailer.com
During the heyday for customized and airbrushed vans, Dodge capitalized on the trend by offering hip options straight from the factory. While the custom van craze faded by the early eighties, the Dodge B-Series cargo van soldiered on until 2003, when it was replaced with the Sprinter van sourced from Mercedes.
Source: Dodge/caranddriver.com
The Street Van, offered from 1976 through 1980, was advertised as an “Adult Toy,” alongside other full-size Dodge offerings like the Ramcharger SUV and Lil’ Red Express pickup. It featured factory options such as chrome, chrome and more chrome, wide five-slot mag wheels, custom interiors and wild graphics packages, plus the psychedelic “Street Van” logo on the passenger and driver side doors. Even better, Street Van buyers got a “Customizing Idea Kit,” which included suggestions for paint schemes and interior choices, as well as a listing of aftermarket suppliers that could outfit your boss rig with spoilers, fender flares, sunroofs, vents and, of course, portholes of nearly every shape under the sun. By 1977, membership in the “Dodge Van Clan Club” was also included.
Enjoy that basement rec room vibe no matter where you park it. 1977 Dodge B200 Tradesman. Source: barnfinds.com
The seller notes that all of the carpeting was recently professionally cleaned, which is likely one of the biggest concerns/fears of anyone looking to get into a van of this style and vintage.
When James Garner passed away, obituaries mentioned not only his movies (The Great Escape, Grand Prix) and TV Shows (Maverick, The Rockford Files), but also commercials he made for Polaroid cameras. Polaroid partnered him with actress Mariette Hartley, who had done mainly guest star appearances on TV shows (Gunsmoke, Star Trek, Mannix) up until then.
The ads were so successful that Garner reportedly made over 300 of them between about 1977 and 1983. He and Hartley had such a winning chemistry in the spots that viewers presumed that the two were actually married to each other. They were not.
Here’s a bunch of the Christmas-themed ads that Garner and Hartley did for Polaroid.
So we were just talking about Holiday Inn (the movie) and now here’s a CNN feature on the Holidome – the indoor pool/amusement park/party center that was a feature of many Holiday Inns (the hotel chain) in the 1970s and 1980s. Yes, the actual hotel chain was named after the inn in the Bing Crosby movie.
Tiki bar, pool, and the other type of pool in South Dakota. Source: IHG/CNN.
