automotive brands Archives

Trip to Marysville

Posted on January 12, 2026January 12, 2026by Chris Lezotte

The Wills Sainte Claire Auto Museum is a small museum located in the out-of-the-way city of Marysville, Michigan, separated from Canada by the St. Clair River. It is devoted to the history of C. Harold Wills and the automobile he created – the Wills Sainte Claire – and their impact on auto history and the city of Marysville. The small building holds 20 Sainte Claire automobiles – the largest collection in the world – as well as original photos, color advertising, and other artifacts relating to the company’s brief history. The automobiles on display are include ‘survivors’ as well many that are impeccably restored. The museum is only open one Sunday afternoon a month; our visit included a short video as well as peek behind the scenes into the museum’s storage facility.

Wills Sainte Claire workers, which included women

C. Harold Wills was Henry Ford’s first employee. He served as chief designer and metallurgist; he was responsible for the design of the Ford script logo, still in use today. Wills desperately wanted to make changes at Ford; unable to do so he left the company – with his $1.5 million severance pay – to build a car in Marysville along the banks of the St. Clair River. His plans also included a housing development – the “City of Contented Living” – for Sainte Claire employees.

1926 Wills Sainte Claire Roadster, marketed to upper class women

The automobile Wills envisioned was the polar opposite of Ford’s affordable, mass-produced, Model T; rather, it was a somewhat futuristic vehicle that used state of the art engineering concepts and materials. He hoped to compete with luxury automakers such as Packard, Lincoln, and Pierce Arrow. The first car rolled off the assembly line in the spring of 1921, by November 1922, the Wills Co. was $8 million in debt and forced into receivership. Although beautifully crafted and ahead of its time, the car did not do well. It was too expensive, and Wills continually interrupted production to implement every conceivable improvement. The company did not survive the 1926 recession and after producing 12,000 cars, was liquidated. Wills subsequently joined Chrysler as a metallurgical consultant; Chrysler purchased the former Wills Sainte Claire factory which is still in use today.

Throughout its short history, Wills Sainte Claire advertised extensively, always promoting the automobile’s luxury. As one advertisement read, “How can classic be defined? Sleek, stylish, perfection, unique, timeless, and valuable are words of articulate, lasting design. If you assemble these words in the form of a tangible object you have defined the unique and beautiful Wills Ste. Claire automobile.” What is unusual for this time period is that many of the advertisements – on display at the museum – feature women behind the wheel.

As women rejected the electric automobile in favor of the faster and more affordable gasoline-powered car, automakers – recognizing a growing consumer base – developed strategies to lure the female driver. Marketing plans shifted from “discussing merits of products to constructing promises for, and listing the expectations of, those who consumed the products.”^[1] Relying on the rise in readership of popular women’s magazines, one of the more prominent sales tactics to emerge was advertising that “invited women to seek social status via the purchase of an automobile.”^[2]

Wills Sainte Claire wholly embraced this strategy in its advertising. As a 1926 advertisement in the Saturday Evening Post read, “plain, blunt transportation can be purchased for less than Wills Sainte Claire. There are those, however, who demand and are willing to pay for a plus element called style. And these constitute the Sainte Claire clientele – as they constitute Bendel’s and Pierre’s.” The ad includes an illustration of two fashionably attired women travelling – with scarves flying – in a bright red Wills Sainte Claire roadster. An ad published in National Geographic, accompanied by an illustration featuring a woman seated in the driver’s seat with two children behind her, informs its female audience that the 1926 Model T-6 5-Passenger Sedan, “is something genuinely new, and better…and smarter…and sturdier… will become more impressively obvious as the weeks go by.”

Society women out for a spin in a Wills Sainte Claire Roadster

The strategies employed by auto advertisers were constructed, in part, as a response to Ford’s early domination of the automotive market. By 1921, Ford produced over half of all cars in the world. Fords were not only plentiful, but affordable; “growing cheaper by year, the Model T opened new vistas for ordinary people,” which included the growing population of women drivers.^[3] Unable to compete head-to-head with “Everyman’s [and Everywoman’s] Car,” manufacturers set out to distinguish their automotive offerings by including an intangible benefit – status – with vehicle purchase. As Ford’s dominance began to erode – due primarily to the company’s unwillingness to move on from the Model T – the automobile as representative of women’s social standing became a popular, effective, and longstanding strategy among luxury cars manufacturers.

Unfortunately for the Wills Sainte Claire, the association of the automobile and social status was not enough to save it. However, the advertising of this little known manufacturer – on display at this small museum on the Michigan-Canadian border, provides insight into the efforts of luxury auto manufacturers to attract the female consumer.

^[1] Michelle Ramsey. “Selling Social Status: Woman and Automobile Advertisements from 1910-1920.” Women and Language 28(1) Spring 2005: 26.

^[2] Ibid.

^[3] Virginia Scharff, Taking the Wheel: Women and the Coming of the Motor Age (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1991), 55.

Car Culture Car Stories

December to Remember

Posted on December 31, 2025December 31, 2025by Chris Lezotte

Every year around this time, Lexus runs a version of its ‘December to Remember’ Christmas commercial. Originally designed as an end-of-year promotion, the spot features a ‘heartwarming’ holiday story, which invariably ends with the unveiling of a shiny new Lexus wrapped in a big red bow. Considered a ‘cornerstone of Lexus marketing,’ the campaign has run for over 25 years; its obsequious presence has been parodied to great effect on Saturday Night Live. Although the commercial has never encouraged me to put a Lexus on my gift list, it did make me wonder if not a Lexus, what automobile would I love to find under my Christmas tree?

I have been fortunate in my later years to be able to own the automobiles I admire. But that wasn’t always the case. When I was younger I used to imagine myself behind the wheels of cars that were very much unattainable, which made them all the more desirable. So I thought it would be fun, in the spirit of the holiday, to remember the cars that I would have loved to have received for Christmas, or any other time of year.

When I was in college, driving my rusting VW Beetle, I would gaze longingly at the occasional Triumph TR6 convertible that passed me on the highway. With its distinctive wedge shape and Lichfield Green exterior, it was, to my mind, the iconic sports car. Its impracticality for Michigan winters never crossed my mind. I only imagined my younger self with the top down, leaving beat up VWs in the dust. Unfortunately my infatuation with the Triumph led me to eventually purchase a similar vehicle – a Fiat Spider convertible – which was a disaster of a car. So much for that dream.

The 1960s and 70s romanticized the vagabond hippie life. Although I was as straight arrow as they come, I thought it would be fun to own a VW Westfalia Camper and spend the summer touring the USA. Since I had to work to put myself through school that was never an option, but it didn’t stop me from thinking about the possibility. I had an opportunity to drive a VW bus when visiting California, and with the engine in the back, the lack of a hood coupled with the right-on-the-road experience of driving took some getting used to. Unfortunately I got in a bit of an accident with the bus which put a bit of a damper on my desire to own the ‘box on wheels.’

As a fan of Volkswagens, I always imagined trading in my Bug for a sporty Karmann Ghia. One of the single female co-workers at my first full time job had one, and it seemed to represent freedom and fun, something that was lacking in my newly [and short lived] married life. As noted on a classic car site, the Karmann Ghia was an instant success when it was first introduced, especially among ‘starry-eyed Americans who wanted to cruise around in something cool.’ As I was neither stylish nor cool, nor did I have the funds to achieve such status, I continue to pine after my co-worker’s Karmann Ghia as I watched my VW slowly rust away.

The 1978 Vietnam drama Coming Home featured Jane Fonda driving a 1957 Porsche 356 Speedster. Fonda’s character, Sally Bender, acquired the Speedster while her US Marine husband was deployed. When in California on a commercial shoot around the same time, I had the opportunity to see a similar vehicle up close and personal. As one of the crew members pulled up in the classic vehicle, I was star struck. by its simplicity and timeless design. Nearly 60 years later, my heart still goes a flutter whenever I come across a Speedster at a car show.

Christmas has come and gone, and unsurprisingly, there was no gift-wrapped automobile waiting for me. But it’s fun to remember the cars that I wished for so very long ago.

Happy Holidays, and may your car wishes come true.

Car Stories

What’s Your [Car] Color?

Posted on November 9, 2025November 9, 2025by Chris Lezotte

A number of years back, as I pulled up to a stop light, I noticed a long line of vehicles in the next lane – four or five at least – that were almost identical in appearance. Although the cars represented different manufacturers, they were all small SUVs, and they were all black. Black, as it turns out, is the second most popular car color in the United States, representing 22% of the automotive market. White cars constitute one quarter of cars sold, with grey and silver contributing another 34%. During the golden age of car culture – the 1950s and 1960s, cars were not only bigger, but came in a wide variety of hues. The muscle cars of the 60s and 70s introduced us to colors that were bright and bold; Panther Pink, Vitamin C Orange, Grabber Blue, Plum Crazy Purple, and Rallye Red described the car, and the person who drove it, as outgoing, outrageous, and fun.

On the road today, cars that are not white, black, silver, or grey stand out, not just because there are so few of them, but because it makes one wonder what makes an individual go against the grain with such an unusual or bold color choice. Arm chair – and legitimate – psychologists have often contributed to stories that ask “what does your car color say about you?” 40 years ago, psychologists Peter Marsh and Collett discussed car color [as well as other automotive characteristics] in Driving Passion: The Psychology of the Car. The pair argued that the economic climate – booms and recessions – often affect the color of cars on the road. Booms feature cars of primary tones and bright colors – yellows, light blues, and reds – whereas when the economy is in decline, there is a tendency for people to select somber colors like greys, browns, and dark blues. Marsh and Collett also suggested that the aspect of personality a car reveals most accurately is “the person’s need for achievement.” Those with a high need for achievement will select cars with subdued colors; folks with relatively low levels of ambition will opt for bright colors including red and yellow.

The connection between car color and human personality remains a subject of interest today. In a recent article, Jaloponik notes how many people consider red to be an exciting color that lets others know “you’re passionate, intense, and ready for adventure.” The Today show goes a step further, asserting that the person who owns a red car is “sensual, dynamic, and outgoing.” Yellow cars, states Jalopnik, is associated with happiness, as it inspires people to “feel happier and more optimistic.” Today attests that the owner of a yellow car is likely to be joyful, has a sense of humor, and is young at heart. Today also suggests that an individual who chooses a dark blue car is confident, credible, and authoritative. If you find yourself attractive to blue cars, writes Jalopnik, “there’s a good chance you’re trustworthy, reliable, and calm.”

In my own car history, I have owned a lot of red cars. My first car was a red Beetle; other vehicles have included a maroon Fiat convertible, burgundy Sirocco, bright red Rabbit, and a brilliant red Audi. In this regard I go against stereotype, as I am anything but outgoing and ready for adventure. It is likely I chose red vehicles to project the persona of who I would like to be, rather than the shy and reticent individual that I am. Of my most recent cars, two out of three – both Golf Rs – have been Lapis Blue. Blue has always been my favorite color. I suspect I choose blue not only because it matches my eyes, but because it projects the confidence and authority I lack. Perhaps by choosing colors that are so against type, some of the qualities associated with them will rub off on me.

I have owned a couple of silver cars, and the only positive thing I can say about them is that they were less likely to show dirt. Although they were attractive in their own right, such color conformity was never something I wanted to embrace. Although I am what you would call an older woman, I am not yet ready to succumb to the neutral, unimaginative, and dare I say boring, black, white, and silver cars that populate the roads today. I’ll continue to enjoy surprising folks when they see me, a small, silver-haired woman, behind the wheel of a rumbling Lapis Blue-Black Edition, hot hatch Golf R.

Auto Industry Car Culture Women & Car Advertising

Short People Got No Reason to Drive

Posted on October 27, 2025October 27, 2025by Chris Lezotte

During the 1980s I was working in the creative department at McCann-Erickson on the Buick account. Although the import market had been promoting smaller vehicles for a least a decade, American manufacturers were hesitant to enter the compact car market. Buick, especially, was known for its rather large vehicles; in the classic film Annie Hall, Woody Allen’s character Alvie proclaims, “there’s a spider in your bathroom the size of a Buick.” Thus when the 1984 Skyhawk was introduced, the smallest vehicle in the Buick lineup, I thought a unique strategy would be to cite it as the perfect vehicle for short people. As someone who is barely 5’ 2”, I was tired of sitting on cushions to see over the steering wheel or propping pillows behind my back to reach the clutch in behemoth American cars. However, my idea was quickly shot down; perhaps the popular Randy Newman 1977 hit with the lyrics “short people got no reason to live” influenced the creative director’s decision. Or more likely it was because promoting a sporty vehicle as appropriate for individuals of shorter stature, primarily women, was considered a marketing nightmare. At any rate, Buick, like the majority of US car makers, continued to sell the mantra “bigger is better,” which no doubt contributed to their eventual decline.

The 1984 Skyhawk ad that eventually ran.
No short people mentioned!

Fast forward forty years, and the automotive site Jalopnik produces an article titled “The Best Cars for Short Drivers.” As auto writer Collin Woodard notes, “sometimes it feels like automakers just completely forget that short drivers exist, too.” The article goes on to provide a list of eleven vehicles that Consumer Reports deems suitable for the vertically challenged. The selection includes not only compacts, but also SUVs, minivans, crossovers, sports cars, and luxury sedans. Woodard explains how each vehicle has the capacity to adjust for shorter drivers, particular in seating and steering wheel positioning. The vehicles run the gamut of automotive needs, including functionality, affordability, roominess, and the elusive “fun-to-drive” vibe.

The Kia Soul. Recommended for the short among us.

Although I have owned a few larger vehicles to accommodate very big dogs, I have preferred smaller daily drivers since I purchased my first car – a Volkswagen Beetle – in 1970. I have stuck with VWs throughout the years and have owned a series of Golf GTIs and Golf Rs, which are easy to park, a blast to drive, and fit my smaller body perfectly.

2025 VW Golf R Black Edition – Just my size!

Yet despite the positive spin on cars that accommodate a slighter frame, the Jalopnik comment section leaves no doubt as to how the automotive population feels about these cars. As one poster snarkily remarks, “Old lady cars are great for short people. Who knew?” As the comments suggest, although cars have adjusted to accommodate all body types, including that of the smaller driver, the disparaging attitude toward women and cars remains, sadly, the same. Proclaims another Jalopnik reader, “short people got no reason to drive.”

Car Chicks Car Culture

Pink Cadillac

Posted on July 31, 2025August 3, 2025by Chris Lezotte

As legends go, in the late 1960s, a young woman by the name of Mary Kay Ash approached a Lincoln dealership to request a custom car to help promote her growing cosmetic business. When rebuked by the dealer, who told her to go home and get her husband, Ash took her business to a Cadillac dealer across town. She asked for, and received, a custom new Cadillac in a color to match the blush of her compact. When, after seeing the gleaming Cadillac, a number of Ash’s sale directors requested pink cars of their own, an idea was born. Beginning in 1969, the top five Mary Kay sellers each year were rewarded with a brand new, blush-colored Cadillac Coupe de Ville. The tradition – through model changes and various shades of pink – has continued for over five decades. For 2025, the iconic Mary Kay Cadillac is going electric; top salespeople are now offered a pink pearl Cadillac Optiq, the first fully electric vehicle awarded by the cosmetic company. The automobile’s current advertising themeline – ‘Drive Your Ambition’ – cleverly combines the personal motivation of Mary Kay and its representatives with the prestige and affluence associated with the Cadillac brand.

Mary Kay’s Pink Cadillac program has always been somewhat controversial. Critics argue the Mary Kay model and allure of the Cadillac mask a structure that resembles a pyramid scheme. Others find the color of the car problematic; the pink hue stereotypically marks the luxury automobile as a ‘woman’s car,’ a label that is devalued in masculine car culture. The longstanding association between pink and femininity also suggests adherence to traditional gender roles, which conflicts with contemporary notions of business acumen and female empowerment.

However, supporters view the pink Cadillac as a symbol of women’s financial independence and success. To Mary Kay champions, the pink Cadillac is not a symbol of feminine submissiveness; rather, the flashy automobile represents women’s achievements in the business world, a culture long dominated by men. The Mary Kay organization is often commended for inspiring women’s entrepreneurship in a landscape that has historically presented barriers to female advancement. As for the pink-is-for-girls association, Ash brilliantly coopted the stereotype and transformed it into a recognizable and valuable brand identity. The automobile has a longstanding association with male identity and power; by rewarding associates with Cadillacs that are uniquely pink, Ash transformed a masculine symbol into one of female empowerment.

The Cadillac has always had cultural significance, particularly among those who held a less-than-dominant position in American society. During the 1950s and 1960s, if a woman drove a Cadillac, it was assumed a man purchased it for her. A woman behind the wheel of a pink Cadillac, earned through hard work, perseverance, and a bit of moxie, would stand out as someone who had made it at a time when female success in any endeavor was difficult to attain.

Certainly there is something ultimately intriguing about the Pink Cadillac. To Aretha Franklin, the pink Cadillac served as a self-propelled ride to romance on the ‘Freeway of Love’. Bruce Springsteen also wrote a song about it, expressing his admiration for the car while wondering just what a woman could be doing in it. Of the new EV version, Jalopnik journalist Logan Carter writes, ‘I’m happy to see that the most driven cosmetic-wielding Capitalists now have the option to go all-electric without compromising their allegiance to Mary Kay.’ As for the women who drive them, the pink Cadillac shows the world they are successful, ambitious, and empowered. They are, in the words of Springsteen, ‘cruising down the street, waving to the girls, feeling out of sight’ in a shiny, ostentatious, and hard-earned Pink Cadillac.

Car Chicks Car Culture

From People’s Car to Chick Car

Posted on June 30, 2025July 3, 2025by Chris Lezotte

As a longtime Volkswagen fan, I recently discovered a book on its history that garnered a little bit of positive attention when it was published in 2012. In Thinking Small, an “auto” biography of the Volkswagen Beetle, Andrea Hiott traces the trajectory of the famous auto from its conception as the “people’s car” in Nazi Germany to its emergence as an anti-establishment icon in 1960s America. While the book is ostensibly about the strange car, Hiott also focuses on the people who made it happen – Ferdinand Porsche, whose imaginings served as the inspiration for the Beetle’s eventual production, Heinrich Nordhoff, the German Industrialist who created the positive environment for its manufacture, and Bill Bernbach, whose advertising campaign created the American market for the little German car.

As Hiott notes, the Beetle, initially launched in 1938, was not an instant success. Although as an automobile it had little in common with the Model T, Nordoff, after taking the Volkswagen reins in 1947, adopted Henry Ford’s business philosophy to the struggling German car. In the introduction of the Model T, Ford’s objective was to manufacture an affordable car for “everyman”; the tycoon’s famous “$5 a day” promise to automotive workers assured that the people who built the cars could also afford them. Under Nordhoff’s guidance at the Wolfsburg VW factory, workplace conditions improved and benefits to workers increased; consequently, the reliable and affordable Beetle grew increasingly popular with the masses, eventually becoming the “people’s car” that Porsche had originally imagined.

When the German car came to the United States, the funny-looking little car became the foil to the big, brash behemoths coming out of Detroit. The Bug was embraced by the counter culture; it became the car of choice for strapped-for-cash college students and members of the Woodstock generation. As one of those broke college kids, I purchased my own Beetle in 1970; it was one of dozens that could be found on Detroit’s Wayne State University commuter campus. Although I was hardly the anti-establishment type, as a Detroit native growing up in a community of autoworkers, the VW parked in my driveway no doubt marked me as a “traitor” in my neighbors’ eyes. However, as someone who aspired to work in advertising, VW’s marketing strategy, created by the advertising stars at Doyle Dane Bernbach, convinced me that I was driving the coolest car on the planet.

The last Beetle that evolved from Porsche’s original design, manufactured in Mexico, drove off the production line in 2003. However, affection for the funny little car never really died. In 1994, at the New American International Auto Show, the retro-inspired New Beetle concept car was unveiled. The production model arrived in 1997, “just in time to catch a wave of nostalgia and surf in all the way to sales success’’ (McAleer). The New Beetle was initially met with great enthusiasm and attained modest sales numbers. However, the retro version was not without controversy. Although, Hiott asserts, it was embraced by the hipster generation, descriptors such as “cute,” “playful,” and “fun” led to the New Beetle’s perception as a “chick car,” which was believed to turn off potential male buyers.

The chick car, as I defined in a 2012 article, is a small, sporty car designed for men but appropriated by women for their own use. They are affordable, quick, nimble, easy to handle, and most importantly, “fun to drive.” The chick car is the antithesis of the “woman’s car”, a sturdy and practical vehicle – i.e. station wagon, minivan, small SUV – used to transport kids and cargo. As I discovered, to the women who drive them the chick car represents personal freedom, independence, agency, and a sense of empowerment.

During the height of the chick car’s popularity, Terry Jackson of Bankrate.com wrote, “Carmakers recognize the powerful influence women have today in the auto marketplace while they simultaneously have to avoid sending a message to men that they shouldn’t be caught dead driving these cars.” While automakers welcome the female consumer, the “chick car” label creates a good amount of anxiety and concern among them. Car manufacturers are uneasy when automobiles become associated with femininity and the female car buyer.

Automakers responded to chick car dilemma in a number of interesting ways. Volkswagen “beefed up” the offending car to be more masculine. As auto writer Doron Levin wrote, “VW has attempted to ‘male up’ the New Beetle over the years by adding a turbocharger to the engine and a spoiler to the rear.” In 2012, VW introduced a “bigger, less ‘cute’, and sportier Beetle” in an attempt to ditch the “girl” car image and attract more male buyers (Healey).

Apparently the efforts to masculinize the little car were unsuccessful. As Anthony Capretto argues, “People weren’t able to move past this image, and these and other factors caused sales to drop substantially by the end of its life.” Whether or not the car’s downfall can be explained by its association with the woman driver seems an easy out as there are still plenty of “chick” cars – e.g. Mini Cooper, Miata – on the road in 2025. Regardless, in 2016, VW discontinued the nameplate after its nearly 80 years of existence.

Published in 2012, Thinking Small ends on an optimistic note. As Hiott wrote, “the car is still an object we want to love. Its story is still being written” (424). While the New Beetle is no longer being manufactured, it is has gained new appreciation among the collector set. As McAlleer exclaims, “More than a decade after the New Beetle left showrooms, it’s starting to become a choice for younger enthusiasts. […] because it’s such a whimsically adorable design, seeing a modified New Beetle can’t help but put a smile on your face.” Although Hiott couldn’t predict the car’s ending, she exhibited an astute understanding of the car’s effect on generations of drivers.

As a previous owner of two Beetles – 1970 and 1979 Super Beetle cabriolet – I have a strong affection for the odd little car. And after learning of the Bug’s early struggles to gain footing in post war Germany, its unlikely emergence as a cultural icon in the United States, and its stint as a popular albeit controversial chick car, I have a new appreciation for the Beetle’s history and its incredible sustainability over nearly 8 decades. Although this post comes over 10 years too late, I would recommend Thinking Small to anyone who has ever had a bit of a love affair with the Volkswagen Beetle.

Capretto, Anthony. “It’s Time We Gave the Volkswagen New Beetle the Respect it Deserves.” CarBuzz.com 19 Dec 2024.

Healey, James R. “2012 VW Beetle Gets Bigger, Ditches ‘Girls’ Car’Image.” USA Today. 10 Apr. 2011.

Hiott, Andrea. Thinking Small: The Long, Strange Trip of the Volkswagen Beetle. New York: Random House, 2012.

Jackson, Terry. “Top Five Chick Cars.” Bankrate.com. 1 Nov. 2007.

Levin, Doron. “Are You Man Enough to Drive a Chick Car?” Bloomberg News. 18 Apr. 2006.

Lezotte, Chris. “The Evolution of the ‘Chick Car’ Or: Which Came First, the Chick or the Car?” Journal of Popular Culture 45/3 2012.

McAleer, Brandon. “Volkswagen’s New Beetle is Finally Growing its Own Following.” Hagerty.com 24 Jan 2025.

Auto Museums

Ask the Man Who Owns One

Posted on August 5, 2024August 14, 2024by Chris Lezotte

Last week I made a trip to Dayton, Ohio to visit America’s Packard Museum. Housed in a former Packard dealership, the museum claims to have the largest collection of Packard autos and memorabilia in the world. The Packard Car Company which the Dayton museum celebrates originated in Detroit; the Packard Automotive Plant, now under demolition, was a massive structure that occupied 38 acres in the downtown area. Packard was known for its production of luxury automobiles; owning a Packard was a visible sign that one had ‘made it.’ The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899; the last came off the line in South Bend, Indiana in 1958.

The mission of the APM is “to educate present and future generations about the Packard Motor Car Company, its products, and philosophies.” The museum is one I would consider ‘old style;’ there is little tech and the display cards appear to be somewhat old. However, like many other automotive museums, the placards include a couple of short historical “bites” that place the automobile in a particular time and place. Glass cases containing women’s fashion pieces also serve as a period reference.

Despite its somewhat old fashioned exhibition style, the museum has made some attempt to include representations of women. This is accomplished primarily through stories on placards, as well as hood ornaments, unidentified photographs, and promotional materials.

The Packard hood ornament is perhaps the most visible female representation. Hood ornaments, sometimes referred to as motor “mascots,” were used to identify an automotive brand and differentiate it from others. Hood ornaments on Rolls Royce and Packard models, for example, often served as symbols of luxury. Packard featured three distinct hood ornaments on its vehicles – the cormorant [a flying bird], Adonis [representing youth and beauty], and Nike, the Winged Goddess of Victory. In Mascots in Motion, Steve Purdy writes, “Packard’s goddess of speed mascot, created by Joseph E. Corker and patented in 1927, is based on a sculpture of Nike in the ancient city of Ephesus. Colloquially the ‘Donut Chaser,’ she first adorned 1926 cars. […] Designer Corker replaced her laurel wreath with a wire wheel. […] In Greek lore the laurel wreath was given to the victor of a competition or conflict.”

Packard advertising frequently featured women as a means to associate the automobile with luxury, status, and class. An ad for the Dietrich Convertible Sedan reads, “Cultured women instinctively recognize and appreciate fine work – whether it be the decorator’s, the modiste’s, or the motor car designer’s.” The entire ad equates women’s “good taste and discrimination” to the Packard’s reputation as a car of good quality and distinction. Although the Packard theme line reads, ‘Ask the Man Who Owns One,” women were often called upon to express the finer qualities of the automobile. Promotional material often incorporate women to demonstrate the automobile’s distinctive features, particularly those assumed important to female Packard drivers. As a beautifully illustrated Packard brochure states, “handy space is provided for Milady’s accessories.” There are also a number of photographs in the museum that feature women behind the wheel – while many are unidentified, famous women in Packards also make an appearance.

There are a number of cars on display with women-centered stories. The 1934 Super Eight Sport Phaeton on the showroom floor – in the unique shade of “Orello” (a combination of orange and yellow) was originally purchased as a birthday gift for the daughter of Herbert and Agnes Greer. Apparently the 16-year-old “hated the color” so it is not known how much she actually drove the automobile. Another interesting story is that of a 1934 Super Eight Club Sedan owned by Mrs. Maude Gamble Nippert, the daughter of the inventor of Ivory Soap. She always drove the car herself, and as a firm believer in the hereafter, stipulated upon her death that the car was to be regularly maintained to be ready for her return. Each of these car stories are important reminders that the automobile often held a special place in a woman’s life, whether as an object of opposition or devotion.

As I made my way through the exhibits, searching for female images in printed material and photographs, I was reminded how auto museums have the ability to incorporate women into automotive history if they look beyond the male-defined definitions of what is significant. I’m not sure what leads to the absence of female representation – is it a lack of relevant donations or is it because both donors and archivists have limited notions of exactly what constitutes women’s automotive history? But I am encouraged that museums such as the Packard have taken the first step in expanding the idea of what automotive history is, through the incorporation of women’s stories, influences, and contributions as part of the company’s automotive heritage.

Auto Museums

A Trip to South Bend

Posted on July 31, 2024August 3, 2024by Chris Lezotte

I took a trip to South Bend, Indiana this past weekend to visit the Studebaker Museum. The museum is part of a larger complex which includes The History Museum, an institution dedicated to preserving the region’s heritage through exhibits and educational programs. The Studebaker Museum’s mission also focuses on the region, as it shares the story of the automotive and industrial history of South Bend and the greater area ‘through the display and interpretation of Studebaker vehicles along with related industrial artifacts.’ The museum not only features an impressive display of Studebaker vehicles, but special exhibits call attention to other aspects of automotive manufacture and culture. My visit to the museum was planned around one of these exhibits – the ‘Family Hauler’ display featured a collection of station wagons from a wide variety of automotive manufacturers. Center stage was a 1957 Chevy Nomad, one of my personal favorites [particularly since we have a 1956 model stored in our classic car garage].

Although the focus of the museum is on a specific area and the automobile it produced, it appeared that a conscious effort had been made to include the influence of women in the Studebaker industry and automotive culture. This was achieved primarily in four areas: women as automotive workers, women as icons of style, women as Studebaker drivers, and women as members of charitable organizations with industry affiliations.

The women who worked at Studebaker were featured in photographs and interactive displays throughout the two-story museum. Photos of female factory workers in the 1920s revealed that although women were valued employees, they worked in a gender-segregated environment. Although other museums often feature photos of factory men and women working side-by-side, I suspect that wasn’t a common practice in any automotive workplace during the years [1897-1966] of Studebaker production. The museum also features a number of photos of women employed in clerical positions. As the caption to a 1952 photo of a female clerical worker reads, ‘many people who worked at Studebaker did not build vehicles. The company employed hundreds of clerical workers, like this woman processing production orders.’ Another display focuses on sisters Elizabeth Hahn Mast and Rosa Hahn who worked as administrative assistants, and, as the caption reads, ‘connected to the company in many ways including many that extended outside of their offices.’ Exhibits that featured women as union members were also in evidence.

Notable in the category of Studebaker workers was a display featuring Helen Dryden, an artist and industrial designer who lent her talent to automotive interior and instrument panels design. An advertisement for the 1936 Studebaker President reads, ‘In its singularly beautiful, lavishly roomy interior, the genius of that famed industrial designer, the gifted Helen Dryden, has been expressed in fine fabric, beautifully tailored, and in fittings of advance motif that are of impeccable good taste.’ The mention of Helen Dryden by name – as a female in the masculine auto industry – was certainly unusual for automotive advertising of the time.

Promotional materials for higher end vehicles often feature women to lend an aura of style and class; those included in the Studebaker were no exception. And like many other museums, there are female mannequins throughout the museum adorned in the fashion of the day, to place the vehicles in a particular era as well as to suggest the type of woman who would be associated with a Studebaker automobile. Women were prominently featured in advertising for the Studebaker Lark, a compact car produced from 1959 – 1966. Although the ads didn’t specifically refer to the automobile as a ‘women’s car,’ the vehicle’s smaller size and lower price point suggested it was an appropriate vehicle for the woman behind the wheel.

There are also many photographs of driving women, most unidentified, on the museum walls and in display cases, suggesting that the Studebaker was enjoyed and appreciated by men and women alike.

There are also a number of items that refer to the Mary Ann Club, which was a social organization for the women who worked in the Administration Building. As noted in the literature, the Mary Ann Club ‘became one of South Bend’s most prominent charitable organizations.’

The special Family Hauler exhibit featured a number of advertisements from multiple car manufacturers; most featured women as the primary drivers. This conflation of women with the ‘family vehicle’ became solidified during this era; it was picked up by minivan and SUV manufacturers in subsequent decades to describe the perfect vehicle for ‘soccer moms.’

Other references to women include Studebaker women with influence, goddesses in the form of hood ornaments, and stories featuring female Studebaker owners. Encouraging signs included an interactive display narrated by the female programs and outreach manager, as well as a special section in the gift shop devoted to women and automobiles.

I found my visit to the Studebaker Museum to be both educational and enjoyable. In the context of my current project on the representation of women, the Studebaker Museum demonstrates how – through small additions and attention to female contributions – women can, in fact, be incorporated into the history of the automobile.

Auto Industry Auto Museums

A Visit to the Pontiac Transportation Museum

Posted on June 29, 2024July 10, 2024by Chris Lezotte

The Pontiac Transportation Museum is the newest entry into the Southeastern Michigan automotive museum collective. Housed in a former elementary school in Pontiac, Michigan, it will officially open to the public in mid July 2024. As a member of the MotorCities National Heritage Area, I was able to attend a private tour and presentation this past Wednesday evening. The museum will be constructed in stages; while phase one is currently complete, there are three more phases scheduled to be developed over the next few years. Our group not only toured the completed section, but were also offered a ‘sneak peek’ at what’s to come.

The Pontiac Transportation Museum is an institution of both place and auto manufacturer. While the museum tells the story of the auto maker’s rise and fall, it also endeavors to connect to the community and is involved in energizing its development and revitalization. As noted in a story in the Detroit Free Press, the intent of the museum is to reflect the ‘place, people, and its stories.’

As a new museum with limited artifacts on display, I did not expect to find many representations of women in the automotive exhibits. My first encounter with such images was in, of all places, the women’s restroom, which displayed three oversized color photos of women driving Pontiac vehicles from the late 1950s and early 1960s. I was later told by one of the tour guides that much consideration was given to the restroom as ‘that is what is most important to female visitors.’ I had to squelch a guffaw.

Other representations in the museum included advertisements, photographs, and promotional materials. There were interactive displays which featured photos of women in various decades of the automaker’s history as drivers, consumers, and workers. As was mentioned during the tour, the majority of vehicles on display are donated and are primarily ‘one owner’ cars. There were a few automobiles with female donors that included stories of how the car was acquired as well as personal automotive histories. While touring one of the yet-to-be developed sections, our attention was brought to three Pontiac Firebirds specifically developed for the female market. As our guide explained, the Skybird [blue] was offered from 1977-78, the Red Bird for 1978-79, and the Yellow Bird in 1980.

While there weren’t a lot of examples of women’s relationship to cars on the floor, the slide presentation provided a philosophy of the museum that was very much geared toward diversity and inclusion. As is noted on the museum’s website, ‘a very significant part of the PTM’s mission involves educational outreach to the community – particularly STEAM-related education in Pontiac primary, secondary, and vocational schools.’ The museum is positioning itself as not just a collection of cars, but as a source for Pontiac’s social history; i.e. how the car manufacturer affected the city in which it existed as well as the people who drove its cars and made its products. The presentation also made note of the PTM’s ‘female empowerment mission’ and included photographs of visiting girls and women’s groups as well as influential women within the industry.

Living in the auto-rich area of Southeastern Michigan has provided me with unique opportunities to not only visit a number of automotive museums, but to attend special events such as this private tour of the soon-to-be-opened Pontiac Transportation Museum. I look forward to watching the PTM’s progress over the next several years.

Auto Museums Conferences

Trip to Chicago and the PCA

Posted on April 2, 2024April 2, 2024by Chris Lezotte

It’s been a while since I have attended the Popular Culture Association Conference. With the conference going online for two years due to COVID, and cancelations in subsequent years because of air travel complications, I have missed out on the opportunity to present at this annual gathering of nerdy pop culture students and scholars. This gathering in Chicago was almost a no-go as well. Because the session day and time was changed after hotel and plane reservations were made, the majority of presenters, including the Vehicle Culture area chairs, bailed, leaving just two of us to present to each other. Fortunately I was able to move my presentation to a session centered on Libraries, Museums, and Archives. The change, as it happens, turned out to be fortuitous. The many in attendance were attentive, asked lots of good questions, and most importantly, provided helpful feedback. I ran into one of my former BGSU cohorts, had a nice conversation with the BG School of Cultural and Critical Studies chair, and was approached by a respected publisher who expressed interest in developing my project into a book.

Although it was a quick trip – I drove into Chicago Friday afternoon, presented Saturday morning, then headed back home in time for dinner, it was well worth the trip [and the sleepless before-presentation night]. I don’t know how many more PCA conferences I have in me, but I enjoyed the opportunity to be surrounded by young and enthusiastic scholars who are making important and interesting contributions to the field of popular culture studies.