"STEPPING UP WITH THE JONESES" 1951 PONTIAC CAR PROMO FILM HYDROMATIC DRIVE 95964

[@jbreakstone]

The acting is so awesome!. Sounds just like an ordinary conversation between a modern day car salesman and an ordinary family. So natural!

[@styldsteel1]

Your just oozing with sarcasm lol.

[@nateforrester435]

They ARE exactly the same - the guy is screwed even before he gets home!

[@TheGbeecher]

Jimmy probably thinks the Oldsmobile 88 has real rockets! 😮😂

[@steveb9151]

1:49 Little known fact: 1950s Hollywood regulations required at least one boy named Jimmy in every film.

[@hagbard72]

Heading down to my local Pontiac dealer to buy this fine automobile.

[@beezertwelvewashingbeard8703]

Chances are that neither exist.

[@hagbard72]

@@beezertwelvewashingbeard8703 No problem, I'll use my DeLorean .

[@styldsteel1]

I'm putting on my hat and tie and headed right down to my local Pontiac dealer to purchase one of these fine, outstanding automobiles.

[@dansmusic5749]

See you there.

[@MrJoeybabe25]

The car salesman is probably a radio announcer in real life.

[@jonhohensee3258]

I heard he was a dollmaker.

[@MrJoeybabe25]

@@jonhohensee3258 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@styldsteel1]

Well, the thing about your statement is that is probably actually true. TV or Radio. you can tell he is a professional announcer. The way he annunciates the words and his tone. he knows when to pause and continue. I do believe you need to be trained for these kinds of things. I can listen to this guy all day long.

[@almostfm]

@@styldsteel1 It doesn't necessarily need "training", but it does take a lot of practice. I was on the air a couple of years before I figured out exactly what worked for me as far as style.

[@styldsteel1]

@@almostfm I'd imagine it certainly does require loads of practice as this certainly isn't a "normal" way of speaking for sure. But I do know there are colleges that offer these kinds of classes. But I'm glad you found your niche.

[@MrJoeybabe25]

This and all of your videos are GREAT! Keep 'em coming! Thanks!

[@michaelmorrison6540]

The General Motors “cousin” of Pontiac was Buick. My grandparents only drove Buicks their entire adult lives (1920s - 1976). Every Buick they purchased was from the same dealership in Canton, South Dakota. They always got a fair deal and were treated like family at the dealership… customer loyalty.

[@dansmusic5749]

I love this dude's shoes and socks.

[@Nunofurdambiznez]

FANTASTIC video - a new favorite!! Thanks for posting this gem!

[@PADADDIE]

The car didn't have a 'P'ark only 'N'utral. And, the 'R' was Wayyyyy at the end! OMG Love these old beauties!

[@dondesnoo1771]

As I recall reverse became park when off.. bought one once 50$ about 1960 .dad used it to sell fish bait 🤗

[@chrisstoddard1144]

Yeah, R worked as Park with the engine off. You had to select N to start the engine.

[@pcno2832]

I believe the current PRNDL layout was mandated for 1965 cars in the USA. Rolls Royce continued to make and sell 4 speed Hyrdamatics with the old layout outside of the USA until 1970, while buying THM-400s from GM for the USA market.

[@johncholmes643]

@Brian Salomon *brake*

[@dansmusic5749]

The Hydra Matic was the first fully automatic transmission. The shift order was intentional for rocking the car out of mud. Roads were not as good then, no interstates. Different design for different times. You could actually push start the car, as well, with the Hydra Matic. Other, later design, brands of automatics had different features than the Hydra, touting simpler design, lighter weight and better fuel economy. The Hydra was rugged and worked well but was very complex and required more maintenance than the later designs, but the Hydra Matic was the first fully automatic trans and showed the way forward.

[@thevictorianworkshop8660]

Richie Cunningham ( Ron Howard) happy days

[@MrPither999]

Ron Howard wasn't born until 1954.

[@alexcarter8807]

Holy shit a 19-inch TV screen was really big for those days. It would be black and white of course. We had one in the late 60s.

[@djdon60]

I enjoyed this so much, I'm going to check out some other Periscope offerings; I can see some promising films, on the right of my screen.

[@PeriscopeFilm]

Thanks for being a sub! Love our channel? Help us save and post more orphaned films! Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/PeriscopeFilm Even a really tiny contribution can make a difference.

[@steveb9151]

16:15 Snork pipe? I think Jimmy's been hanging around that Eddie Haskell kid too much.

The lady is the real saleswoman. What an ambush she set up to make her husband buy a Pontiac 😂.

[@capriracer351]

"I never did hear him called Barney Oldfield Jones".......... Just about anyone under 65 is googling that name right now, LOL. Amazing how people that were once household names become almost forgotten.

[@marctronixx]

googling....

[@postal_the_clown]

Oh, Also what about the folks who are so young as to think Ron Howard was even born yet.

[@genehart261]

Old 999

[@CarminesRCTipsandTricks]

Ahhh that Straight 8!! Known for TWISTING crankshafts, due to torque load over a long shaft, with few main Bearings... Intriguing Engines, but it's NO surprise that you haven't seen any since the early 50's!!

[@pcno2832]

They were also a huge waste of space. By the late 1950s, the shorter hoods were fashionable to show off the more modern V8s. Ironically, long, pointy hoods came back in style in the late 1960s with cars like the Pontiac Grand Prix and got longer during much of the 1970s with increasing crash and bumper requirements, leaving cars like the Thunderbird and Mark V with hoods that were nearly twice as long as the engines under them.

[@steve-ph9yg]

PC No The 429’s and 460’s in the 67-76 TBird’s and Mark’s filled the engine compartment.

[@CarminesRCTipsandTricks]

I'm a Retired Lincoln Auto Tech... Big Block Marks in the late 70's filled the Engine Bay WIDTHWISE, but definitely not the length of those gargantuan Hoods!! 😳

[@leaturk11]

got me sold

[@paulcheek5711]

cant wait to get a 20in tv

[@johnnyhawkins43]

I can dig it!!!!!!!

[@steveb9151]

6:19 "That car's got scat!" No worries... A little steam cleaning and an air freshener should take care of that.

[@TheGbeecher]

You're just not 'hip to that jive'...squaresville daddy - o...

[@193322009]

Note the side "quarter windows", or "wind wings" to let in fresh air without the air-conditioner on. I really wish we had these on the latest cars also. I had these small wind wings on lots of my old cars and loved them, until a bumble bee flew in and landed on my upper leg and then stung me ;o(

[@JasonFlorida]

It seems like they were really smokers windows

[@jimmyday9536]

There's enough metal in that car to build 5 Toyotas!

[@bloqk16]

That era of proper wardrobe attire etiquette when the family stepped out to shop: The husband with suit and fedora hat; the wife with hat and gloves, with a conservative dress or skirt; and the son with a suit jacket, slacks, and hard-soled leather shoes . . . and it could be like that in the hottest weather to be had back then, too. My parents lived in that era, where, as they aged, they were most appreciative of the acceptable etiquette being a lot more casual when it came to wardrobe apparel in the late 1970s into the '80s.

[@gcfifthgear]

Dual-Range Hydra-Matic made its appearance on the 1952 models, so this was filmed in 1951 to introduce the new '52 models...

[@maxi-me]

You had ma at "good-looking trunk door handle" WHERE DO I SIGN?!?!

[@Daledavispratt]

Next thing you know, they will be wanting indoor plumbing...

[@styldsteel1]

What? We can't afford such things. The outhouse works just fine.

[@DAUltimateSACRIFICE]

Im headed to the worlds fair to see John Crapper's snazzy new invention this weekend... hope im not in for a shit show!

[@markreeter6227]

Some guy named Kohler bought Crapper out.

[@styldsteel1]

@@DAUltimateSACRIFICE don't be bamboozled into indoor plumbing. Such things will never work! It's a scam.

[@zxtenn]

20 inch TV!!

[@paulcheek5711]

I drove a 51 Pontiac with hydomatic drive, awesome

[@pcno2832]

3:10 That shifty Pontiac dealer slipped by when hubby was at work to show off his modern, up-to-date transmission-lever??

[@gabeblender379]

😂😂😂

[@BaronVonPurp]

Indeed! He had to show the wife how to tune and lube...

[@allencrider]

There's even a song for that by Billy Paul, _Me and Mrs. Jones._ kzbin.info/www/bejne/hIqygnekjKuLj6s

[@rapman5791]

He showed her how to put it into overdrive 😎

[@steveb9151]

8:30 Did you ever feel such a smooth opening trunk lid? Wow! Say no more...just show me where to sign !

[@RivetGardener]

The wife looks like Mary Wickes, the nosy receptionist in the film White Christmas. And the salesman early on looks like a very young, very skinny Raymond Burr. Beautiful car, wow the tu-tone is nice, and all that chrome.

[@tomservo56954]

No on both...but perhaps the salesman is veteran announcer Bill Wendell

[@ChadtheHammer]

I don't like Pontiacs, but I'd own this one.

[@Richard_K1630]

Who needed fresh air ventilation? Back then those people smoked 4 to 5 packs a day..

[@chrisantoniou4366]

Hence the heavy duty chrome plated ashtray.

[@beezertwelvewashingbeard8703]

That would mean every waking moment of their lives they would have a lit cigarette.

[@isaaclee3793]

And it's still probably better than vaping lol

[@ekimnnim3508]

Had to laugh at your comment. I was watching some old "Highway Patrol" videos, and it seemed as if everyone was smoking in the show. Why I even think I saw a dog and cat pulling a drag on a Lucky Strike.

[@michaelmerck7576]

That's why it's needed

[@steveb9151]

3:03 Such language at the dinner table!

[@Modeltnick]

People drove these tanks very differently than the way they drive today. People today wouldn’t have the patience to drive a car with no power steering or brakes. Note no Park position on the shift quadrant; you had to set the hand brake when you parked.

[@gcfifthgear]

The early Hydra-Matics didn't have a parking pawl that locked the transmission into PARK--so you had to put the car in REVERSE and set the hand brake to park!

[@Modeltnick]

@@gcfifthgear Quite correct! The reverse was an actual gear engagement, on the early versions.

[@frankgiaquinto1571]

Correction - The reverse gear was Park when the engine was turned off - it locked the transmission,the same way that the Park position did on the later Hydramatics ( starting in 1956)...

[@JasonFlorida]

15:30 yes, but even Mom Jones can figure out how to park it and she obviously is the brightest.... typical woman. Lol. They couldn't say anything like that now

[@potgieterhuis1469]

When looking at these types of films from the 50's and onwards (although idealised) in comparison to the quality and selection of good, or rather lack thereof in the USSR. it is no wonder America won the cold war and that the Soviet Union was unsustainable and eventually collapsed. What the western world had on offer was just not matched by the communists. capitalism is by a long, long shot not perfect and exploitative. it just offers a better experience than the Soviets ever could The Soviets showed the film Grapes Of Wrath to show the Soviet people how supperior the Soviet system was, but the film was pulled from theatre in short order as the Soviets watching were amazed that in the US even a family as poor as the one shown in the film, with all the hardship, still had a car

[@martinusher1]

There was a significant difference between the war experiences of the USSR and the USA. The war cost the USSR big time -- 20+ million dead (by the end of the war less than 5% of the young people between the ages of 17 and 21 survived) and an unbelivable scale of destruction in western Russia. The Germans didn't just invade the country, they trashed the place -- they destroyed about 1700 towns, 70000 villages, 60,000Km of railways (and 4100 stations), about 60% of coal and steel production facilities, 3600 telephone and telegraph exchanges, 40,000 medical facilities -- the list goes on. WW2 was a good time for the US because it provided war materiel for everyone without them suffering the level of destruction that everyone else did. The Grapes of Wrath came out of the per-New Deal US where poverty was endemic -- if you were well off times were good, if you were poor you were screwed. The New Deal tried to fix a lot of this and succeeded for the most part (despite fierce and unrelenting opposition from the usual suspects) but it needed the stimulus of the war to really get the economic ball rolling. In recent years we seem anxious to return to those good old days.

[@cprolland1539]

this is an add for Pontiac cars ...and now some are talking about Russia,and communism. …….

[@mookins45]

@@cprolland1539 high wages (enough to buy a Pontiac) were noted then to show the superiority of the free market system...

[@bob733333]

It's all staged theater to scam us in many ways. Tv is a weapon being used to control people.

[@bob733333]

@markjohnson7488Ya, you're free to actually use your brain any day now.

[@mikegehre570]

Either the salesman is really tall, or ol Mr Jones is a shrimp. Salesman towers well over the shrimp. I love these old car commercials - sure it's bad acting and a corny, but gotta admit they're fun nostalgia. Me? Heading over to check out the new '51 Caddy

[@michaelmerck7576]

He was twice their height

[@mynameislenny2441]

Good thing for Olivers' old lady that she can cook.

[@gm12551]

Not like she could probably work

[@styldsteel1]

Where and when would a video like this would have originally been shown and intended for. Thanks.

[@styldsteel1]

@@schoolmaster1945 ok thanks.

[@danielulz1640]

@@schoolmaster1945 in movie theaters between the features.

[@RivetGardener]

@@danielulz1640 They need to bring back these "shorts" and cartoons before the main movie like they used to have.

[@danielulz1640]

@@RivetGardener agreed.

[@albear972]

That kid is and old-tymey ungrateful little punk, Hey Jimmy. How would you like to walk 3 miles to school in the snow instead of having the shame of getting in an older car? But no, stupid consumerism like this sucks. I don't give a heck what the Joneses' have. Good for them and being in constant debt.

[@erastusturnipseed1097]

I agree and old Oliver needs to keep his pimp hand strong and slap that hen-pecking misses of his. Oliver gets lambasted by these two children the second he gets home from a hard day's work. Mrs Jones and Jimmy shouldn't have even been allowed to go along to shop for the new car. Are they going to be the ones paying for this new car? This is the point at which America began its free fall into the modern day Babylon it has become.

[@garymckee8857]

I also agree that's why I always buy older vehicles and pay cash for them.

[@chrisantoniou4366]

Ah, the Jonses! Spending money they don't have, buying things they don't need, to impress people they don't like...

[@jonhohensee3258]

@@chrisantoniou4366 - Joneses

[@jonhohensee3258]

albear972 - I too suffer from tight underwear.

[@pcno2832]

14:10 Even with a straight 8, I doubt that car was going to win any stop-light-derbies with a 2 speed slush-O-matic driven normally. But, with torque-braking and a switch-pitch torque converter, two-speed automatics (especially PowerGlides) eventually became a favorite of drag racers. I wonder what they would have been able to make of that Pontiac.

[@OldsVistaCruiser]

I thought that Pontiac used the 4-speed Hydramatic in the 1950s.

[@frankgiaquinto1571]

This car would have had a four speed hydramatic transmission,which provided better acceleration than a Chevrolet Powerglide or Buick Dynaflow - but.the engine was not very powerful ....

[@unconventionalideas5683]

This would have been a four speed automatic, as all of the early GM cars were.

[@woodlandwonders6887]

Meanwhile, Daddy is still coming home late. He's busy picking up whores in his new Pontiac. Jimmy is dreaming of the day he'll be old enough to drive and get his stick shift polished in the backseat. Finally, Mom is going out with the milkman who drives a Buick.

[@AnthonyEvelyn]

Didnt know Ron Howard was that old! That film was done in late 1950 for the 51 model year.

[@johnwinkelman3964]

actually the car is a 1952 Chieftain

[@DAUltimateSACRIFICE]

Why does the teenager look like Ron Howard.. lol

[@lawrencesmith.]

No....actually Ron Howard looked like the teenager, not being born until 1954. In reality the 'teenager' may possibly be Ron Howard's FATHER Rance Howard. Rance was an actor as well and was roughly 23 yrs. old at the time of this film. There is an amazing similarity. Not only facially but voice as well.

[@alfabeech]

@@lawrencesmith. Googled this. Didn't know all this. Definite similarity to Ron. Could be?

[@oneoffour63]

It comes with Bluetooth, built in GPS Navigation too!!!!

[@miholju]

"Gee Wally, why is Eddie Haskell such a creep?"

[@vinnydaq13]

“ Well gosh Beav, ain’t it obvious? Eddie’s a Ford guy!”

[@lawrencesmith.]

That's 'funny'...Wally & the Beave were in 1960 Ford commercials. (I guess they were Ford guys like Eddie Haskell, huh?)

[@dondesnoo1771]

We had a 6 cyl one rather limp performance.🤗

[@markreeter6227]

My wife complains of the same thing.

[@dondesnoo1771]

@@markreeter6227 was a young kid sitting on the curb crying said he wanted to do what the big kids do.old man sat down next to him started crying too.🤗🤗

[@badcompany-w6s]

The only part of the car I like is the hubcaps.

[@tomservo56954]

I've never understood car salesmen making house calls...

[@chrisstoddard1144]

Well, if the family car's at work, how else is he going to get things going?

[@Nunofurdambiznez]

@@chrisstoddard1144 that's exactly right css28! I remember when I was a kid, my Dad would take the car and leave mother and us kids stranded out in the suburbs.. if it weren't for our kind neighbors or relatives giving us lifts here and there, we'd have NEVER gone anywhere unless Dad was with us. Wasn't until Dad bought a brand new truck back in the '60s, that we got his car for mother to drive.. was a like a present from Heaven!

[@paulcheek5711]

I drove a 51 Chief-tan

[@MC-vo7vt]

Wouldn’t you really rather have a Buick?

[@SkipSpotter]

The ending should've been...dad was late because he stopped by the Pontiac dealer and bought mum her own Pontiac, and took some savings out the bank to buy little Jimmy a do-er-up-er so he can impress his lovely school pals.

[@WoNkY_DoG]

It was all a ploy between mum and Pontiac dealer. She was having an affair with dealer and needed a way to get dad out the way so convinced him to buy car so he had to work late every night to keep up payments and little jimmy got a toy car for keeping it all quiet hahahaha!

[@craigjorgensen4637]

At the time, Pontiac was a cheap upgrade from a Chevrolet. A sensible upgrade.

[@kellanhills1972]

Did people really drink coffee with dinner??

[@bennetfox]

Yes yes yes but it has too many doors. What do you have in a coupe?

[@drfalcon4102]

power and zoom??? it had a flathead stright 8 with 108 horses, with Hyrdamatic, it was a dog, had one

[@BaronVonPurp]

Well for the time. Horsepower wouldn't really pick up until '55 or so when the hemi hit the scene hard. Back then the fastest you could get was a Duesenberg; and even those were somewhat rare at the time. Still...would rather a Chieftain than a moderm sedan anyday. But that's just my preference.

[@BaronVonPurp]

@jamie ericcon Oh those two were very well respected for their time, sure. The new raw tenacity of a V8 motor made for the young sporty crowd, and the excellent handling and nimbleness of the straight 6 hornet which would - at times - over power the raw strength of the V8 with the ability of being able to handle turns well. Still though, the Rocket 88 of the same year produced 135 horses, and the Hornet produced 145, now I'm well aware that racing (especially these days) is about more than Horsepower (Torque, drag and other factors) but compare that to the raw 320 horses of a Duesenberg? And you see my point. Luckily, even back then, Duesenbergs werent a common site so the chance of a race between the two in their prime would have been a relatively rare site. Still, all quality vehicles for their day that've stood the test of time, make no mistake on that.

[@donaldblankenship8057]

Even Jimmy would be 87 and has likely been worm food for years.

[@donaldblankenship8057]

My 85 Pontiac would look great today if in good shape. That 51 Pontiac would be more embarrassing today than wearing dog crap on your head even if dealership new.

[@stephenvelden295]

But, how many cup holders does it have?

[@frankgiaquinto1571]

Short answer - none....

[@BaronVonPurp]

Ironic since it was the 50s - the king time for drive in movie theatres. Still...must have been the late 70s when cupholders became popular? I've owned a '75 Caddy and she had no cup holder. My '86 Trans Am and '85 XJ-S had no cupholders either - but then again those cars were more performance oriented and sporty, so it makes sense why a cup holder wouldn't be at the fore front of concerns.

[@Ctrl-XYZ]

It’s Hydra-Matic. Not “Hydromatic.”

[@unconventionalideas5683]

They said hydramatic. It has the loud, brassy voicing of old recordings and old recording distortion.

[@miffedmax]

Why yes, everyone on our design team did work on tanks during the war. Why do you ask?

[@davidcampbell1899]

Oh boy! Now the old man will have to work late every night doing over time to pay for the car. That teenaged son, well he is going to wrap that Pontiac around a tree with his cocky attitude, yes sir eee! I can just see it, no good is going to come from buying a Pontiac, should have bought a 52 FORD! probably cheaper and not as fast as that damn "wiz bang" Pontiac! That car is going to bring nothing but MISERY to the family!!!!!

[@lancetheman28]

David Campbell no back then car didn’t require a mortgage

[@steve-ph9yg]

David Campbell You don’t seem to reap that the 52 Ford had the flat head V8 the standard engine in the hot rods of the time and had the most racing parts available. The son is talking about modifying the car and seems knowledgeable with a large supply available of inexpensive performance parts the kid has a far greater chance of wrapping the Ford around a tree than the Pontiac.

[@donaldblankenship8057]

It's funny as heck. She's bitching to get them in debt for a new car. And it's a commercial!

[@nlpnt]

Just bought a brand new 2020 car with a "hand-shift" transmission, had to go to a dealer 100 miles away to find it. Jimmy's an interesting study, you can tell he (the actor) really wasn't into it.

[@tjlovesrachel]

jason9022 loll I’m gunna go with that

[@MC-vo7vt]

The milk isn’t homogenized.

[@paulcheek5711]

51 pontiac too expensive

[@ekimnnim3508]

Jimmy 'I'm going to ride in the trunk!'

[@cmason5203]

Perhaps he has a crappy job, and no jing..? They are making him feel like a looser. Ouch!

[@Jasona1976]

Jimmy turned out to be GAY and moved to SF, CA!!

[@fairfaxcat1312]

B. Allen Lol.

[@Nunofurdambiznez]

and what makes you think that?

[@free2choose80]

100,ooo miles.... they cant actually respect that even by todays standards lol

[@allencrider]

Don't do it! Those flathead engines are gas hogs!!

[@ManiaMusicChannel]

100,000 miles!? Wow and that's dependable in the 50s, they were made to last 100k. No wonder the Japanese outsold them later on

[@danielulz1640]

100,000miles was very long-lasting in the very early 1950s. Early Japanese imported cars were simply Dreadful. Check out the 1957 Toyopet crown.

[@lawrencesmith.]

In 1970 the Chrysler Corp. offered an unheard of warranty (at the time) of: "50K miles or 5yrs." whichever came first!

[@danielulz1640]

@@lawrencesmith. The Five-Year 50,000 Mi warranty was introduced by Chrysler Corporation for the 1963 model year.

[@robgrear1142]

Steak!!! Ahhhh, gee...pops...buy a new Chevy...same car, basically, and you’ll save money for real cream!!!!

[@jonhohensee3258]

This is the worst commercial ever.

[@chrisantoniou4366]

I take it you haven't seen the one for the Edsel?

[@jonhohensee3258]

@@chrisantoniou4366 - I take it you haven't seen a grown man ... naked.

[@chrisantoniou4366]

@@jonhohensee3258 Not in a car ad, no.

[@fairfaxcat1312]

This is not a commercial in the traditional sense of direct selling to the consumer. It is instead a dealer information movie. The idea is to help the dealer sell the automobile. The motor company knows the dealer will sell more automobiles with a good pitch. The movie is teaching the dealer the advantages of the car to help the dealer learn his pitch. The better he learns his pitch the more automobiles he will sell and the more money he and the motor company will make. The automobile the dealer will be selling is the Pontiac product. It is a solid car in the General Motors line. It is named after an Indian tribe and conveys the notion of an “honest Injun.” Junior is particularly fascinated with the car’s performance possibilities and Mrs. Jones is attracted to the car’s beauty and comfort. Mr. Jones is worried about whether he can afford the payments.

[@styldsteel1]

@@chrisantoniou4366 lol!

[@NickPeters-ug7vk]

Yankee cars have always been a hunk of junk ...

[@Nunofurdambiznez]

and of COURSE you have the best car ever made... riiiiiiiiiiiight

[@styldsteel1]

In terms of what? Reliability? integrity? Please explain and do tell of your personal experiences with cars of this era?

[@markreeter6227]

Yes - everything built by man is ultimately junk.

[@badcompany-w6s]

The only part of the car I like is the hubcaps.

[@jonhohensee3258]

No, you also like the roominess of the glove box.

[@frankgiaquinto1571]

This Pontiac actually has relatively nice styling,by the standards of its time..the Chrysler Corporation cars of that year were much less stylish....