I grew up in Chicago and remember those commercials very well. Bert operated a Ford dealership for 40 or so years until the lot was sold to a developer. Dealership declined in its later years, too. I remember my uncle who only drove Fords - he bought a couple from Bert before we went to another big dealer (Schaumburg). He did not have a good opinion about Bert and his dealership. My dad bought Chevrolets from Gateway on Milwaukee (closed a few years ago) and Oldsmobiles and later GMC's from Castle in Morton Grove - still open as a Honda dealership.
Bert was cool. every month, he had a new ailment "January jam up", "February fill up" "March madness" & "Aprilitis" to name a few. HE was an institution on WGN.
I moved to a small lake resort town in Arkansas in 1975. Hooked up to the local cable service...had four channels, the three network stations out of Little Rock...and WGN. Little Rock TV on Sunday mornings were always religious broadcasts so I watched a lot of the old WGN and man do I remember this guy and these commercials. For a guy living in Arkansas back then, I sure knew a lot about the happenings in Chicago from their news broadcasts. Before FM took over, at night there was only one station to listen to down here....W"L"S (double u L s), the "Rock of Chicago". Fred Winston, Larry Lujack and John "Records" Landecker are the ones I most remember. The rock station at night while cruising down here in Arkansas believe it or not was WLS. And before my time cruising, I remember (not much tho) of a guy in the 1960s named Dick Biondi, who I seem to remember got fired for some reason and it really pissed my older brother. UPdate: I just googled WLS and it says Lujack was only on in the mornings/afternoons, one then the other. If thats correct, I have NO idea how I remember his show as the "skip" on AM signals doesnt occur during the daytime..only at night which is how WLS was THE top station for Rock in the 60s and 70s down here. But I remember his show, the promos for his show. Maybe someone can refresh my memory..it was a LONG, long time ago. My listening hours would have been anywhere from say 8 till well into the morning hours central time.
I'm an expat Chicagoan, graduated HS in 1967 so I'm somewhat ancient, and I used to watch the Late Movie on WGN, sponsored by Bert Weinman Ford. Linn Burton's commercials were sometimes the best part of watching the movie as he was quite entertaining. I remember he'd have a rubber dollar bill and start the commercial by pulling the ends and intoning, "Stretch your dollar at Bert Weinman Ford." Sometimes, there was a car on a turntable and while Linn was singing its praises, you could see the wrinkles in the sheet metal quarter panels as it turned...The good old days. Additionally, WLS: Larry Lujack was late drive time, 2PM to 6PM, IIRC in the early '70s, then was the morning drive time guy in the late '70s - early '80s. And Dick Biondi was hired and fired a few times from WLS a few times. Again, IIRC, he was fired once after an on air joke when miniskirts came out. He cracked that "If skirts get any shorter, women will have 2 more cheeks to powder" and, in the '60s, this was verboten. I still remember 1966 when Lou Christie came out with "Rhapsody in the Rain" which had, for the time, suggestive lyrics like "and in this car, our love went much too far..." and the good Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago went positively batsh!t and leaned on both WLS and WCFL to stop playing it. Well, such were the 1960s. Best regards as there aren't many of us who remember Bert Weinman anymore. (BTW, WLS is still in biz, but it's talk radio now. ;^(
The Ribs n' Bibs/Linn Burton/Bert Weinman Ford Auto connection. Many times when I'd walk into RnB in Hyde Park to order one of those $1.25 bags of barbecue fries, I'd be surprised to see Linn Burton from Bert Weinmann Ford working behind the counter.
My sister (1958) and I (1956) grew up in Chicago (533 w 129th Place). We loved Saturday morning cartoons -- and the commercials. However, Sundays were somewhat crummy for us, as school was the next day. That said, we detested "Sunday commercials", including Linn Burton/Bert Weinman. Now, however, they smack of nostalgia, lol.
I’d pick it too. Had a ‘78 coupe in high school. She got me everywhere.. albeit slowly. “Erma Jean” had the straight six and didn’t get even the top anemic 78 horsepower.
Blame the market for why vehicles cost more today. No one wants a vehicle that has only one speaker AM radio with crank windows and manual door locks or no anti lock brakes or many of all the standard equipment that once was optional or not even offered on a car in the 70s
@JamesSmith-wp4um No one? I'm perfectly fine with bare minimum equipment. I blame the auto manufacturers. They profit more from adding these luxury options. I don't need a backup camera either.
@thystaff742 I sold cars and trucks for 20 years. The vast majority of buyers want everything on their new vehicle and the vehicle manufacturers build them that way. It's way too costly for a manufacturer to build .5% of their vehicles without air conditioning or power windows so it's a cost savings for them to build all their vehicles with all the goodies that a buyer now wants. A lot of the blame for the cost of a new vehicle has to due with government safety requirements and regulations such as EPA fuel economy standards.
@JamesSmith-wp4um I been around cars my whole life. I worked in a detail shop then moved to the bodyshpp of a Toyota dealership. You're not fooling me. You as a salesman are pushed to sell vehicles with all the options, not because people want them. I've seen many vehicles go in the bodyshop that were 10-15 years old being fixed cause they didn't want a new vehicle. Also, go look at the new video posted by the Car Wizard. He showed that 20+ year old trucks are now costing 15k+ cause men want basic trucks. Not these plastic circuit boards on wheels.
This had to have been during the winter of 78-79. The oil embargo hit later that year and those long gas lines would have made it impossible for fill up those cars!
The commercials were so much louder than the program I was watching that I had to turn the t.v. down until the commercial went off. I laugh about it now, but it wasn't funny then.
1:25 1977 Plymouth Fury Salon. Top of the line Plymouth Fury for the year. Based on the intermediate size B body chassis from Mopar. More than likely equipped with the Chrysler electronic lean burn fuel system as we're all 1977 Plymouth Fury
Notice how each of those cars LOOKED different from one another? Today's cars all seem to look alike. And the price! Each of those used cars were just a couple of years old at the time, and you could get one for less than $2500 - can you do that at a car lot today? If you find one, make sure it has an engine!
Look at what you could get for your money back then.all you can buy used today.is high milage junk.all loaded up with computers and sensors and recalls.all most every make and model.is under recall.
That wasn’t a Nova, it was its Buick clone, the Skylark. That was the only Nova line that I found attractive. Too bad the engines were so choked and the cars weren’t assembled that well. But ah, the WORST was yet to come, right around the corner..
$2488 for a car in the 70's that won't even make a down payment on a car today, but sending manufacturing over seas will keep the price down right Americans?
Wow… $2488 for a brand new car? You’d be hard pressed to even find a 25 year old “runs and drives” beater for that price nowadays. The value of our dollar has truly been destroyed beyond recognition.
I recall that those Skylarks were rather large. It's amazing what passed for "compact" at the height of the Land Yacht Era. Nowadays, I equate "compact" with a Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, or Ford Focus.
I only have one gripe against the gran Torino and that is the small trunk. If you wanted decent carrying capacity you bought the wagon or you chose a satellite or a matador.
Oh believe me, there are a LOT of $2488 cars still on the road around where I live in Arkansas !!! Problably some of the same kind in this old commercial.
Extremely hard to believe that the Granada and Skylark were considered compact cars then. But they definitely were. The Granada was basically a 15-year-old Falcon with a LOT of Hollywood entertainment-type cosmetic surgery.
I went from one legendary Malaise car to THE Malaise Car - and it was an upgrade!! For graduation, my parents took my ‘76 PACER and traded it on a ‘78 Granada Coupe.. and it even had A/C and a tape deck! I had ARRIVED!! 😂
@ landau top, opera lights, fake wire whls, and of course the ford ad compared it to a Benz! I was driving my pop’s Buick estate wagon 8 pass. to the drive ins with our dates. Amen it was vinyl interior😂😂😂
Bert Weinman, Dave Brubeck Take Five and the Saturday Matinee on WGN early seventies...takes me back to childhood.
How I remember those Bert Weinman Ford ads on WGN-TV back in the 70's.
I grew up in Chicago and remember those commercials very well. Bert operated a Ford dealership for 40 or so years until the lot was sold to a developer. Dealership declined in its later years, too. I remember my uncle who only drove Fords - he bought a couple from Bert before we went to another big dealer (Schaumburg). He did not have a good opinion about Bert and his dealership. My dad bought Chevrolets from Gateway on Milwaukee (closed a few years ago) and Oldsmobiles and later GMC's from Castle in Morton Grove - still open as a Honda dealership.
Really Great Memories. I Love These Commercials. I Loved Them When I Was A Little Girl.
remember this like yesterday growing up in Chicago back then was cool
Man-oh-man, me and Bert spent much of my youth watching the late late show!
The 70's were a wild time! Back when you could really do some wicked donuts in those snowy parking lots!!
Bert was cool. every month, he had a new ailment "January jam up", "February fill up" "March madness" & "Aprilitis" to name a few. HE was an institution on WGN.
Wasn't the announcer's name Linn Burton?
I moved to a small lake resort town in Arkansas in 1975. Hooked up to the local cable service...had four channels, the three network stations out of Little Rock...and WGN. Little Rock TV on Sunday mornings were always religious broadcasts so I watched a lot of the old WGN and man do I remember this guy and these commercials. For a guy living in Arkansas back then, I sure knew a lot about the happenings in Chicago from their news broadcasts. Before FM took over, at night there was only one station to listen to down here....W"L"S (double u L s), the "Rock of Chicago". Fred Winston, Larry Lujack and John "Records" Landecker are the ones I most remember. The rock station at night while cruising down here in Arkansas believe it or not was WLS. And before my time cruising, I remember (not much tho) of a guy in the 1960s named Dick Biondi, who I seem to remember got fired for some reason and it really pissed my older brother. UPdate: I just googled WLS and it says Lujack was only on in the mornings/afternoons, one then the other. If thats correct, I have NO idea how I remember his show as the "skip" on AM signals doesnt occur during the daytime..only at night which is how WLS was THE top station for Rock in the 60s and 70s down here. But I remember his show, the promos for his show. Maybe someone can refresh my memory..it was a LONG, long time ago. My listening hours would have been anywhere from say 8 till well into the morning hours central time.
I'm an expat Chicagoan, graduated HS in 1967 so I'm somewhat ancient, and I used to watch the Late Movie on WGN, sponsored by Bert Weinman Ford. Linn Burton's commercials were sometimes the best part of watching the movie as he was quite entertaining. I remember he'd have a rubber dollar bill and start the commercial by pulling the ends and intoning, "Stretch your dollar at Bert Weinman Ford." Sometimes, there was a car on a turntable and while Linn was singing its praises, you could see the wrinkles in the sheet metal quarter panels as it turned...The good old days.
Additionally, WLS: Larry Lujack was late drive time, 2PM to 6PM, IIRC in the early '70s, then was the morning drive time guy in the late '70s - early '80s. And Dick Biondi was hired and fired a few times from WLS a few times. Again, IIRC, he was fired once after an on air joke when miniskirts came out. He cracked that "If skirts get any shorter, women will have 2 more cheeks to powder" and, in the '60s, this was verboten. I still remember 1966 when Lou Christie came out with "Rhapsody in the Rain" which had, for the time, suggestive lyrics like "and in this car, our love went much too far..." and the good Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago went positively batsh!t and leaned on both WLS and WCFL to stop playing it. Well, such were the 1960s. Best regards as there aren't many of us who remember Bert Weinman anymore. (BTW, WLS is still in biz, but it's talk radio now. ;^(
I am in desperate need of a winterized vehicle. The last one i bought was summerized and I am still recovering.
I learned to drive on a 74 Granada Bogan parking lot. The drivers ed teacher had his own brake.
I bought that last car he talked about when I was in high school
Childhood memories.always liked his voice
"Linn Burton" was the guy's name. Until he led off one of the commercials with "Linn Burton for Burt Weinman Ford," I thought he was Bert Weinman.
The Good Old Day’s
The 1977 Chevy Merrimack! I've been missing those commercials. Seems like they were on forever. No turntable in this one, though.
The Ribs n' Bibs/Linn Burton/Bert Weinman Ford Auto connection. Many times when I'd walk into RnB in Hyde Park to order one of those $1.25 bags of barbecue fries, I'd be surprised to see Linn Burton from Bert Weinmann Ford working behind the counter.
Forget the car. I want his jacket.
Straight!
I want both
I remember these on WGN on Sunday mornings. BW Ford is a new Senior Living community now.
That makes me sad....
Remember Harry?
th-cam.com/video/miKKp7cWl4M/w-d-xo.html
I'll take that snazzy 76 Gran Torino.
If you got it, a private plane could fall from the sky after takeoff from Midway and you would walk away from that crash!
I remember when his commercials were live
My sister (1958) and I (1956) grew up in Chicago (533 w 129th Place). We loved Saturday morning cartoons -- and the commercials. However, Sundays were somewhat crummy for us, as school was the next day. That said, we detested "Sunday commercials", including Linn Burton/Bert Weinman.
Now, however, they smack of nostalgia, lol.
I am in for the Ford Granada.
I’d pick it too. Had a ‘78 coupe in high school. She got me everywhere.. albeit slowly. “Erma Jean” had the straight six and didn’t get even the top anemic 78 horsepower.
love it
I sure remember these on Sundays.
Me too… We watched from Beloit,Wi. on WGN 9
Calculated for inflation these cars would cost under 15k today. There's something seriously wrong with how much they charge for cars today.
Blame the market for why vehicles cost more today. No one wants a vehicle that has only one speaker AM radio with crank windows and manual door locks or no anti lock brakes or many of all the standard equipment that once was optional or not even offered on a car in the 70s
@JamesSmith-wp4um No one? I'm perfectly fine with bare minimum equipment. I blame the auto manufacturers. They profit more from adding these luxury options. I don't need a backup camera either.
@thystaff742 I sold cars and trucks for 20 years. The vast majority of buyers want everything on their new vehicle and the vehicle manufacturers build them that way. It's way too costly for a manufacturer to build .5% of their vehicles without air conditioning or power windows so it's a cost savings for them to build all their vehicles with all the goodies that a buyer now wants. A lot of the blame for the cost of a new vehicle has to due with government safety requirements and regulations such as EPA fuel economy standards.
@JamesSmith-wp4um I been around cars my whole life. I worked in a detail shop then moved to the bodyshpp of a Toyota dealership. You're not fooling me. You as a salesman are pushed to sell vehicles with all the options, not because people want them. I've seen many vehicles go in the bodyshop that were 10-15 years old being fixed cause they didn't want a new vehicle. Also, go look at the new video posted by the Car Wizard. He showed that 20+ year old trucks are now costing 15k+ cause men want basic trucks. Not these plastic circuit boards on wheels.
@@thystaff742 backup camera was a federally mandated by law that every new vehicle starting in 2018 was required to have it as standard equipment.
When you think about it, that is a REALLY LOW price, even for the 1970s!
I need to find the WGN Saturday morning movie intro with the sun card and "Happy Feet" playing.
... for certain!
If only those prices were like that today. I could pay that car off in 2 paychecks
Multiply each price by 100. That would be today's price. $38,000 for used Gran Torino!
Just remember, all the Trumpers say he’s gonna magically make everything affordable again! 🤣 Yeah, THAT will be the day..
SeXy Cars
This had to have been during the winter of 78-79. The oil embargo hit later that year and those long gas lines would have made it impossible for fill up those cars!
The commercials were so much louder than the program I was watching that I had to turn the t.v. down until the commercial went off. I laugh about it now, but it wasn't funny then.
1:25 1977 Plymouth Fury Salon. Top of the line Plymouth Fury for the year. Based on the intermediate size B body chassis from Mopar. More than likely equipped with the Chrysler electronic lean burn fuel system as we're all 1977 Plymouth Fury
No the Gran fury fullsize was still available in 77 on the c platform.
I agree, however, for my money, I would take the white four-door Ford Gran Torino. I would consider the Plymouth Fury a close second.
Something tells me the white four-door Ford Gran Torino would be the best long-term investment.
Complete with radio, heater, and whitewall tires!
MAROON CAR, MY ASS!! THIS MOTHERFUCKER'S RED!!!!!
For a while ford was making cars that looked the same with a different name.
Anyone experience this, back then, when my dad got a new car, it was a 3 day affair back and forth to finally make the deal....
@@Kevin-mp5of jeez, you're dad too huh....yep....then he'd complain about this phantom wind noise and bring it back to the dealer 42 times in a week
Notice how each of those cars LOOKED different from one another? Today's cars all seem to look alike. And the price! Each of those used cars were just a couple of years old at the time, and you could get one for less than $2500 - can you do that at a car lot today? If you find one, make sure it has an engine!
Take each price and multiply that by 100. That would be today's price.
Your TV Ford man.
I'll take the fury.
Those '70s cars look sharper than any car built today - especially the ones by Ford.
1970 price for a new car $2500, 2025 Average price for new car $40,000
$9900 was avg household salary in 70’-
Now?? $60k. Good point…..
The full price is damn near a car payment on some of this modern stuff!!!😮
Lynn Burton for certain!
The prices of these cars were around half of the average dealer markup on a basic car today. 😢
How was he open on Sundays? When I was growing up in 60s and 70s, nothing was open, especially car dealerships.
Excuse me. Do any of these cars have air conditioning, and are any winterized?
I think this commercial is from January of 1978.
3535 N Ashland just a big apartment building today.
Look at what you could get for your money back then.all you can buy used today.is high milage junk.all loaded up with computers and sensors and recalls.all most every make and model.is under recall.
back in the day my grandparents gotten alot of cars from dis dealer ship...
I will take them all
The Nova then the Torino.
That wasn’t a Nova, it was its Buick clone, the Skylark. That was the only Nova line that I found attractive. Too bad the engines were so choked and the cars weren’t assembled that well. But ah, the WORST was yet to come, right around the corner..
But are they 100 percent winterized? And why doesn't he reveal the full delivered price?
'Winterized'? I bet those cars disappeared after 3 years of Chicago Street salt and pot holes 🕳
But I need to have Air Conditioning & 100% Winterized!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
$2488 for a car in the 70's that won't even make a down payment on a car today, but sending manufacturing over seas will keep the price down right Americans?
“Winterized”😂
$2488 Good Lawd that’s a lotta money.
Just gimmie one that’s 98 percent winterized and the drivers window rolls down in summer !!
Its a kick to see it again ... but zounds, they'd run it over and over back in the day, every commercial break and sometimes twice ... let it be gone.
Between innings of a Cubs game on WGN
I remember on Sundays, those commercials would be on every 5 minutes it seemed. I loved watching Linn Burton advertising the great deals for the day
Wow… $2488 for a brand new car? You’d be hard pressed to even find a 25 year old “runs and drives” beater for that price nowadays. The value of our dollar has truly been destroyed beyond recognition.
0:50.........that Skylark was a compact, not an intermediate.
I recall that those Skylarks were rather large. It's amazing what passed for "compact" at the height of the Land Yacht Era. Nowadays, I equate "compact" with a Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, or Ford Focus.
Are they 100% winterized?
Winterized? Haven't you heard -- There's a new sun rising up angry in the sky?
I only have one gripe against the gran Torino and that is the small trunk. If you wanted decent carrying capacity you bought the wagon or you chose a satellite or a matador.
I called and was going to buy all those car's but no answer
LOL...what does winterized mean? that the heat works
I’ll take the Skylark.
Hmm
I wonder if he has any left. Ill take em
Average yearly income was probably around 13k to 15k then.
I’ll take all your inventory plus your dealer ship
You cannot even spend $2488 on a wardrobe these days much less a used car.
Oh believe me, there are a LOT of $2488 cars still on the road around where I live in Arkansas !!! Problably some of the same kind in this old commercial.
The skylark and granada are compacts you liar. The torino and satellite are midsize.
Extremely hard to believe that the Granada and Skylark were considered compact cars then. But they definitely were. The Granada was basically a 15-year-old Falcon with a LOT of Hollywood entertainment-type cosmetic surgery.
Yes, but what I want to know is, were they all air conditioned and one hundred percent winterized? He never made that clear. 😆
Cars of the Malaise Era
Boy u got that right!!
Granada😂😂😂😂😂
I went from one legendary Malaise car to THE Malaise Car - and it was an upgrade!! For graduation, my parents took my ‘76 PACER and traded it on a ‘78 Granada Coupe.. and it even had A/C and a tape deck! I had ARRIVED!! 😂
@dma124 oh hell yes
@ landau top, opera lights, fake wire whls, and of course the ford ad compared it to a Benz!
I was driving my pop’s Buick estate wagon 8 pass. to the drive ins with our dates. Amen it was vinyl interior😂😂😂
@ what I would give to have a gremlinX or a pacerX with the v8 option😂🏆
Sounds cheap but then I recall making $1.75 and hour back then
Man, I didnt know how good I had it. I was making around $3.00 an hour.....high paid and didnt realize it.
Ford Granada commercials said they were mistaken for a Mercedes. Not so much...
He's from Chicago?? Sounds a little new yawkish at times
99% winterized and the deal is off !!!
I forgot how bad US cars used to be!
The spokesperson was Linn Burton in these commercial - NOT BERT WEINMAN - he was an actor..... and WWII Veteran
Yes. I just wrote something similar on this thread. Reminds me of people saying, "I like Robin Trower's singing voice", when it's really James Dewar.