Did You Know? Dodge LaFemme: A Car for the Ladies!

[@joermnyc]

My mom went to college later in life. I can’t recall what class she did this for, but I wound up going with her to a Fashion Institute of Technology event on cars like this as well as car interior’s with fasionable designers, including matching outfits. Because who doesn’t want to match their car’s bench seat?😅

[@do5425]

I mean i mostly would do if i had a beige interior

[@Rob.DB.]

Ok did you or your mom find anything interesting at all or what?

[@joermnyc]

@@Rob.DB. She got on A on her paper for it, and it was fun seeing all the cars. Some had a lot of extra things like a picnic kit that didn’t take up a lot of space in the trunk. Others did try to add make up kits like the original La Femme.

[@joermnyc]

@@do5425 I remember white, teal and light green were pretty well used. Plus the fabrics used had a lot of patterns and variety.

[@Rob.DB.]

@@joermnyc cool. Thanks for replying back. And yeah, i bet the make-up kit was 1st. outta the mans mouth when asked what do women want in a car! LoL! Didn't even have to be sexist to say that back in the day. Heck! I bet if you asked a woman that back then, "What do women want in a car these days?" She probably say:" How about a drivers license?"

[@buckshot6481]

My cousins, my dude cousin, first car was a 9yr old la femme. He was so clueless, he never knew what guys were laughing at.

[@Ldrago9262]

His parents did him dirty

[@OLDS98]

Thank you Ed. We will not cancel you. You have done a great job with your series. I know it takes great effort to put the footage and videos together. It is appreciated.

[@bshingledecker]

1957. Lionel introduced the Girls Train. Pastel colors. They couldnt give them away. Many were repainted traditional black and sold that way.

[@Freddybear437]

They’re now crazy expensive for some reason. Like who wants a bright pink steam locomotive?

[@obelic71]

@Freddybear437 There was a REAL pink Spitfire, P51 Mustang, B17 bomber, Jeep/landrover and a as seen on tv in the 70's a "submarine" Pink is a perfect desert camouflage collour, at sunrise and sunset. So as the loco goes there is only a very small group model railroaders who have a "desert warfare" theme 😉

[@Rob.DB.]

@@obelic71 nice quality comment ! 5/5 !

[@Freddybear437]

@ you learn something new every day!

[@RobertJarecki]

After selling vintage small appliances on line, I can say that if it's pink and from the '50s, it's more valuable than the other colors. Telephones, transistor radios, dishes, if someone is doing a "Mid-century" look they need it in pink. I think turquoise may be second.

[@alfinpogform4774]

"Is Ed's Auto Reviews the best car video series on KZbin?" "hmmm...hmmmm...yeah...yeah....right...hmmmmm...hmmmm....yeah yeah yeah........"

[@hattree]

I saw a LeFemme at a car show when I was a kid. It was nice, and it was that Lilac and white with the gold LaFemme badge. That one had that 50's record player in it.

[@davidboysel4509]

Thank you and Merry Christmas

[@gokulkrishna4456]

A quite similar looking car was popular in India called Dodge Kingsway during 50s-60s period. my family used to own one of those.

[@michaelpfaff6009]

This was hilarious!! Loved it!!! Makes me sad that there is only one more car'rol.... keep it up for the rest of the year!!!!!!!!

[@fitnesswithsteve]

They didn’t try this again until 1999 when they introduced the F Series for Women aka the Canyonero.

[@kclefthanded427]

Came with a lipstick holder that Marge Simpson approves

[@shawnn6926]

OMG that diabolic laugh was hilarious!

[@Freddybear437]

0:32 this cursed video in the background is of a man who fell in love with his daily driver. You don’t want to know what he does to his car and I wouldn’t search for it either.

[@12pagani]

And being a car obsessed teen so many people referenced that video trying to make fun of my love of automobiles

[@SuperNoviceDriver]

Those tv shows about "freak obsession" is too sleek it might be all acting and bait. If a mentally challenged person wants to eat asbestos foam out the walls the footage and interview wouldn't be so sleek and tv friendly.

[@rexjolles]

i saw jontron make fun of him

[@Flies2FLL]

Fascinating. I'm surprised that this is not a massively expensive collectors item, considering the overt sexism of the design. The people involved back then had the best intentions, but can you imagine today if Chever-Lay came out with a special edition Corvette called "LaFemme", sold in Barbie Pink? Great video!

[@faeinthebay]

It reminds me of those Bic "for her" pens that I'm only in feminine colors with a slim barrel. They were ridiculed and instantly flopped. I guess they're not worth collecting when theute seen as a joke or a mistake.

[@benjaminrobinson3842]

Rarity alone doesn't make for a collectors' item -- a lot of people need to want this car at once. I suspect that what holds the La Femme back is (a) not many people know about it and (b) it doesn't look all _that_ different to the casual observer. Then again, a mint '56 Dodge couple, La Femme or not, would be a desirable car ...

[@vidsbychazzle2056]

I love you Ed! i've trolled because of your Dutch heritage because my wife is a Dutch descendant. I look forward to everything you do! Thanks for the Car-rols

[@automatedelectronics6062]

I have a friend who has a 1954 Dodge which I suspect, may be a LaFemme prototype. Still wearing it's original paint, it is pink with a white top. Kind of an unusual color combination outside of an Imperial or Cadillac. The car originally belonged to the wife of a Dodge dealer. My friend's father bought it from the Dodge dealer, maybe when it was a year or 2 old. My friend doesn't think they got all the extras but it did have a glovebox-mounted flashlight, which became part of the LaFemme package. It is fairly well equipped with a Hemi V8 and PowerFlite column shifted automatic. Maybe this car was pushed off on the Dodge dealer, probably at a special price and maybe to gauge the public's reaction. It ended up being a kid's car and my friend drove it to highschool. He would park it a couple of blocks away so no one saw him driving it. Before I knew my friend, I remember seeing it in the college parking lot and his older sister driving it.

[@melissaroscher1080]

In the 80s, I was a kid and Ford had Taurus and the Mercury Sable, which was considered by "Car Week" to be the male and versions of the same car.

[@Gianopolus]

I enjoy all your articles thank you Ed.

[@Wild-Dad]

That was actually educational. I'll have to watch for them at classic car shows to see if any are still around.

[@danielulz1640]

I knew a lady who was still driving a nearly ten year old, 1956 la Femme. She had bought it brand new herself. Wishing a very merry Christmas to you, your family and friends and to all of your viewers.

[@fordtruxdad5155]

My great aunt had a purple/white '56 that she drove until the late 70's. Wish I could've got my hands on it!

[@danielulz1640]

​@@fordtruxdad5155if she was from Baton Rouge, I may have known her.

[@kfnfjcjf]

Ford marketed the Model A heavily to women in 1927 with a large range of colors and body types. There are even newsreel "pieces" on how women loved the new Fords.

[@goose4150]

1:11 killed me there with that laugh 😂

[@Rob.DB.]

That little red & white Dodge is one of the best looking or most appealing to me ,cars of that era. Even the Pink "two- toned " wouldn't embarrass me!

[@seiph80]

Yes, the short I've been patiently waiting for! Thanks, Ed. (I said to myself, "I can wait for the eleventh episode!")

[@sergioleone3583]

The LaFemme "Goes to e-LE-ven"...

[@bigcrowfly]

In the Simpsons, Homer bought a Canyonero F-Series (a trim intended for Females).

[@noscwoh1]

I once owned a '56 Dodge Custom Royal. Bought it in the early 2000s for $2500. Fantastic car, I never should have sold it. Prices have gone crazy since.

[@bretthewitt3890]

I saw one of these in original condition on the street in the mid 80s when I lived in NJ!!

[@juansaladzar]

Yo homie that Lafame looks like a pimps ride so dope I would totally roll them colors brah

[@Jfleshman1209]

I'd like to see a Damsels of Design episode. Happy Holidays. 🎄

[@sirtrently77]

I went to a car museum two weeks ago and there was a Dodge La Femme on display. My mom did like the car, especially the interior, but she much preferred the purple 1961 Cadillac convertible.

[@DTD110865]

I just realized, you now only have one "Christmas Car'rol" left for us. I'll miss them when this is over, even though I'm sure you're still going to keep them on your channel.

[@thisoldbelair]

This series is definitely one of my favorites you’ve done. Sad we only get one more! 🙂

[@benjaminrobinson3842]

The series was so well-received that I won't be surprised if Ed does another set next Christmas season.

[@DouglasMcLaughlin-kq7hk]

My family had one, pink, white and black. Mom worked at Chrysler at Marysville plant, when workers got a discount for buying their own product. Dad was cousins from GM founding fathers that built the McLaughlin -Buicks in the 'Teens. Best part: Mom never learned to drive or ever had a license.

[@jakeprimak]

I’m extremely upset that the car’rol is almost over 😭 but these have been an amazing little holiday treat. Thank you Ed!!

[@bshingledecker]

Car-Roll......Ho-Ho-Ho....................

[@gsigs]

That was a pretty sweet purse... btw, "his" and "hers" are pronounced more like "hiz" and "herz." "His" (hiss) is what snakes say and "hers" (hearse) is a vehicle for carrying coffins. Just letting you know because I care and I know you want to be correct.

[@kirdot2011]

You probably didn't know but he made an entire video about hearses

[@TommyChardonneret]

So, at minute 3:15 of this video you did actually say, "growing and showing a pair," Ed? Hilarious, man, and thanks for helping to make my Yuletide a more Merry Christmas!

[@MrSloika]

Automatic transmission, power steering, power brakes were all developed to encourage women to drive.

[@Richewhite-g1h]

One of my former clients has one of the lavender ones. He also has the raincoat and umbrella on display in a glass cabinet

[@klauskillski3881]

"You don't see many men driving the F series"

[@rustbeltrobclassic2512]

You probably don't live in the midwest US.. because i see men in trucks daily, though most are older F series.. who has 6 figures for a pickup anyway?

[@Indigenous51]

This really got me. Showing a woman opening the drivers door and loading the shopping into the cabin and not in the trunk/ boot ! 🤯

[@michaelogden5958]

3:45 I literally paused the video and said to myself, "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot." There are good-looking cars, ok-looking cars, and bad-looking cars. This thing falls outside of my classification scheme. Seriously. At any rate, this has been a nice little video series. Take care, Ed!

[@jamesslick4790]

My mother was the one who had the final say in what car our family had. Ironically (in the context of this video) she was partial to the Chrysler New Yorker. we had 3 over the years, none were pink. LOL

[@gretalaube91]

My grandpa thought women should never drive cars, so in 1947, my mom saved for and bought a nice big ford. She never told "daddy", but one day, she went down the farm lane, did a "peel-out doughnut" (her words) while he was in the field, and burned rubber back down the lane. Times were definitely changing during WW2. Grandpa never said a word.

[@TerryComo2010]

Great videos Ed, and your humor is terrific!

[@davidcoudriet8439]

Another home run, Ed! Merry Christmas to you and your Family.

[@larryfine6865]

I love this channel! Ed Rocks. My 1st car white 79’Celica st. Make haste not waste was its tagline

[@tetedur377]

I don't blame the designers. For thousands of years, men have been trying to figure out what women really want, with no success. We have concluded, however, very recently, that even women don't know what they really want. Don't believe me? Ask that special someone what they want for dinner.

[@rovervitesse1985]

Pontiac had the 1977 and 1978 Skybird version of the firebird. The skybird also was for women

[@stephenmoxley3004]

Great video, Ed. I've actually one of these cars at the San Diego Automotive Museum in Balboa Park. It's a pretty good-looking car. The one I saw had the makeup case and all. Keep up the great work.

[@markbigbadbear]

Thanks Ed! And honestly, that first year La Femme paintjob with the pink & cream looked better than that hard red & white it was based on. Especially funny if you realise pink was considered a boy's colour right up until the 1940s.

[@dindog22]

I think that pink is the last color I would want for a car. my current car is red

[@redemptionjack4657]

A woman choosingnred gasp preposterous!. .. lol just kidding red is a grear choice.

[@Joe-j2p3o]

Not that you have much choice with today's limited colors

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

​@@Joe-j2p3oYou can have any colour you want! * As long as it's a shade of grey

[@Rob.DB.]

@@Joe-j2p3o limited??? There's soo many! Take "White" as an example . First you have "white" , then , "egg shell", titanium, "snow", & the newest, "Bird-Poop" . Now you can simply add a name to describe a 'different ' color of white. Like "Brilliant ", "Pearl", "Premium ", Northern ", or "Plain-Assed". Thats 10 just off the tip of my head. Now im off to inform others of the "truth", in my beautiful car painted in "Brilliant Pearl Plain-Assed Bird-Poop White". Only sometimes lost in the parking lot, & I no longer fear parking under a power line. Happy to find a color that best represents me, while not being too "outlandish". I could never see myself driving a car with something as "LOOK AT ME! " as "Sky Blue", or,... heaven forbid,... "Canary Yellow" !!! This is only comedy. No person should be offended reading this . Just nice clean laughs. Good Bye.

[@Rob.DB.]

@@OntarioTrafficMan Or the "hundreds" of White varieties. LoL! Modern folk are becoming more like passive uninteresting "sheeple" every day!

[@lopejoh]

English Daimler also produced a " Ladies Model" on the 104 chassis in the late fifties.

[@neildickson5394]

I never understood why any 1956 car buyer would even look at a Dodge. IMO, there were far more attractive designs from every manufacturer then including GM. Ford, Chrysler, AMC, and Studebaker-Packard. They were particularly homely as Police cars as seen on old Highway Patrol episodes.

[@TNAarchives]

To each his own. I have a 56 Dodge in my garage right now.

[@TNAarchives]

...or her own of course :)

[@scottenser464]

This was the best narrative episode ever

[@popsfereal]

Awesome as usual.

[@mudgetheexpendable]

Both my 19th-century born grandmothers owned their own cars in the teens.

[@theprinceofsnj]

Another car in pink would be the 1958 and 1959 Edsel. And Edsel had 2 pinks in 1958. Chalk Pink (Corsair and Citation) and Sunset Coral (Ranger, Pacer and wagons) 1959 Talisman Red.

[@patrickn.7669]

This was a very funny episode. Love ur humor.

[@MTODbasics]

I knew GM had a motion to employ lasses, I was however totally unaware of "La Femme". Thank you kind sir and Merry Festivus!

[@MichaelOKeefe2009]

The AUTOMOVIL para MUJER!

[@Sonny_McMacsson]

Chochamóvil

[@johnmuller4014]

There is a publicity shot of a dolled up Betty Skelton (race car driver, pilot, and overall daredevil) with the La Femme. I hope she got paid well.

[@bobpierce115]

I've seen some Chevrolet print ads from 1927 (30 years older than me) that prominently featured women driving the cars in these artwork ads. In the 20's women had recently gotten the right to vote, and were if not taking over, were taking control, and the auto industry then acknowledged it. By the '50s though, it had reversed itself until the '70s.

[@RoadRunnergarage8570]

Merry Xmas!!

[@TAVOAu]

Datsun tried it again on a lesser scale, in 1963 with the Bluebird 312 "Fancy DeLuxe"

[@williamscoggin1509]

A custom car purse containing makeup equipment! 😂👍🏻

[@stephenwarhurst6615]

I remember back in the 1990's the first wave of 4x4 SUV's where marketed at Women e.g. Mothers as the family school taxi. Toyota had a He's and Her's Landcruisers 80 series aimed at men and the Prado was the womens Landcruiser

[@fearsomebeard4290]

The La Femme is one of my faves. Would love one!

[@luizcam3017]

Happy Xmas and New Year, Ed🎉

[@kirkaplin234]

@ 3:21, the tall good looking gentleman walking toward the camera is, I believe, William Lundigan, who did a lot of advertising working for Chrysler Corp. but also acted in a lot of popular TV shows including a favorite of mine.. Men Into Space.

[@rkmbnt]

Happy and gay colours on the inside LOL😂😂😂😂 made my day

[@stevejohnson1321]

I remember the plymouth scamp was promoted chiefly to women. It was just a trim level of the valiant, therefore not much risk.

[@M_M_J]

First Comment!!! Merry Christmas everyone.

[@benjaminrobinson3842]

Richard Langworth (an auto historian) pointed out one big reason why the La Femme wasn't quite a stunning success: In the mid-50s you could get any number of cars painted with historically "feminine" colors. As a bonus, most of them cost less than a LaFemme. So that's what women bought (or had their husbands buy for them).

[@Paulydude2000]

"growng and showing a pair" lol he ha

[@johnnyduplantis]

I KNEW IT! When that pretty young lady asked, “What kind of car do you have?” Young Karl smartly replied, “A Benz, of course.” And the rest is history. Young men have been using Karl's invention to capture the hearts of young women ever since. 😄 Dodge's mistake with the LaFemme was thinking that women then cared about what car they drove. Chrysler did manage to get it right when mothers began to care. They invented the minivan. However, I'm not sure which came first.

[@jasminezickefoose577]

The fact there where electric cars before tesla or the 50s is insane

[@idaho4586]

ngl.... as a woman.... i kinda want it...

[@ricksaint2000]

Thank you Ed

[@jetsons101]

The car manufactures should come out with a car called the "Trans" HEY...... I'm talking about the transmission..............

[@EdwardCheek]

A Plus for the board room audio!

[@NathansMoparGarage]

There is one that I have seen at a few car shows.

[@KimSE4]

Rosebud Cloth is my new drag name.

[@carsrlife]

Gm even had a feminine version of the camaro and transam

[@banpeinet]

Toyota did a similar thing with their Lime and Lissé editions of their cars in the 1980s. Imagine the AE86 being sold with a driver side vanity mirror, 2 way adjustable steering wheel, power steering (because steering a sub 1000 kilogram car is heavy), power windows (because winding down windows is heavy), power mirrors (because adjusting mirrors is difficult), adjustable height seats (because women need adjustable seats) and an automatic gearbox as standard. And i forgot to mention that the 16 valve 4AGE engine was downgraded to the 8 valve 3A engine (because women probably can't handle all that power). Optional parts included shoe storage compartments for in the passenger side foot well. As you can see, Toyota repeated Chrysler's stereotyping of the female driver a little over 20 years later. 😂

[@lohenriksson9698]

yassified dodge

[@jons.6216]

Well, a few years later in the 50s, Ford was promoting the two affordable Fords for the household - usually the second one being a wagon for the Mrs!

[@stephendavidbailey2743]

Oh, Ed, you are way to cynical - and FUNNY!

[@Detah_]

My friend has a Honda Today Pochette kei car he imported from Japan and it's a relatively similar concept. Came with features like a makeup mirror. Btw Pochette means little purse in French

[@RetroAutoMN]

They also came with a full set of luggage matching the interior.

[@kevbecker672]

Ed's the shorts are working better for me.....Keep them short and on point....Just sayin

[@deepred6502]

It's basically how to design & market a car by committee.

[@kevinstrupp3183]

The LaFemme reminded me of the hideous 1978 Buick LeSabre Palm Beach!

[@faerieSAALE]

Women like fashion - they like things comfortable - they like performance - they like to be up with the times - they want to be safe - they want something with the ease of access and to be user friendly - they want a great sound system, video systems, and Bluetooth capabilities - they want their children protected - and sometimes, they want to be a bit daring and adventuristic. This is why, most women prefer a SUV vehicle that has all the bells and gewgaws in the right places. With an SUV, they can do just about anything and go anywhere. As for myself - I drive a Lincoln MKX AWD SUV. Women like White, Black, and Silver colors.

[@patrickclaeys6512]

growing and showing a pair....😂

[@T.h.e__T.r.u.t.h]

That was great tyvm

[@jerrywood4508]

I've also seen print advertising for the 1957 Dodge that was aimed at women specifically. I wonder if anyone compiled information on what percentage of customers of various makes were women. Probably not.

[@ajax700]

This reminds of Tex Avery of the future series cartoons, the women's car, the mother in law car, etc. very funny. I think many cars were marketed for women, like pinto and competitors while their real target were the poor, because selling the cheapest car is a marketing strategy that tends to fail. I don't like short videos.

[@o8thman812]

Read somewhere Maxwell was the first American car brand that had a go at trying to appeal to women drivers...

[@someonecalledeulogio2280]

I saw in a "hotversion" video talking about the toyota passo, a kei car targeted toward women

[@UncleJoeLITE]

Happy Christmas! 🇦🇺 🦘

[@a9ball1]

I think that car was so beautiful. I love the way old cars had personalities. You can tell that looks was more important than a wind tunnel. I want to go back please. But on the other hand I want to go back with all the rights women have now. I mean they couldn't even rent an apartment by themselves.