Detroit's car makers must have cheered the suburbs. The book's first chapter says that in 1940, only 19.5 per cent of Americans lived in suburbs but by 1950 to 1970, 83 per cent of the population lived in them. Here was a chance for the two-family car, the lady of the house needed wheels for shopping, school runs and local travel. As well as selling to Dad, now car makers would spend ad dollars persuading the suburban ladies that this year's model was just what she needed. Of course, it was the same car whether ma or pa bought it and the editorial of the book just considers car ads aimed at the ladies.
What I enjoyed about the title is the dozens of ads that are a reasonable size, so that the copy can be read. Mad men churned out over-the-top hype about every year's new model that had improved engine performance, interior elegance and trendy exterior colors. The ad photos obviously required a lady at the wheel and what better than a model wearing the latest European couture.
I think it's worth saying that this isn't a book about mid-century design in the broadest sense. Any reasonable book about that probably wouldn't include any of the cars featured in these ads. Well-designed products don't change every year but last year in and out. Detroit's cars were sort of the opposite of good design.
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