I totally agree. I’ve been looking for one for a year and a half… I can’t believe how hard they are to find. I found a couple collections that had them, but it was too hard to get a hold of the owner to see if there’s any way to feature that car. Happy you dig this episode
Would like to agree but I have always thought the late 50s Ford cars... all of them... are just plain ugly. This one is no exception. Compared to GM or even Chrysler (before 1959), they're just off.
My uncle had one of these when I was a little boy, and I was enthralled by all the gizmos. Dazzling tech for the time, and to me it was the next best thing to a spaceship.
I WAS 12 years old when this car came out. The parents of a kid in my class bought a brand new red and white TURNPIKE CRUISER. It was like a car from outer space ! I LOVED IT !
What an awesome memory thank you so much for sharing that with us... five years old would be absolutely incredible. There's nothing like it. The windshield and top vent gave me Ghostbusters vehicle vibes
the device above the right air vent is the seat memory control unit called "SEAT-O-MATIC". I first saw one on a 1957 Thunderbird in the great T-bird book published in the 70s. The letters referenced one plane of travel, the numbers were the other. This makes it a 4 way power seat. When the car shuts off, it returns to the rear-most and lowest position. At some point after you get in, it moves the seat up and forward to the preset letter/number.
They were serious about engineering the Turnpike thing. I bet those vents were wonderfully. Why rob horsepower if vents are much more queite an a viable alternative to running a power theiving pump?
So many design details on these fabulous automobiles ! It must have been fantastic cruising along the new highways in one of these new beauties!🤩 Another tough choice, but I'd have to pick this one in at least one scenario, second choice would be the DeSoto or 300. 😎
I think that the Desoto has my vote in #1 and the Mercury Turnpike Cruiser is my choice in #2. I really like how the seats are sculpted in the Mercury, was different than any one else, the way the seat bottom and back area comes over the sides of the seat. To me it makes sense from a wear perspective as well as style. I cannot remember anyone else doing this. This started I think in 55 on top line cars. I personally prefer the 1958 over the 1957. What a piece of artwork this is.
Great video as always. Cars of the 50s had so much personality. It used to be that one could sit on a porch and watch the cars go by and one could say, "That's a Ford, that's a Pontiac, that's a Fair Lane, that's a Metropolitan Nash..." Now, manufacturers are afraid to be different... a VW looks like a Honda, a Kia resembles a BMW.... and unfortunately all cars resemble each other in expensive costs of purchase and maintenance..
I totally agree. It sucks that a lot of people from my generation will never truly know what it’s like to have a car that’s built, with quality.. personally, I don’t believe the black plastic as a luxury material I wish that I was alive back then, but there are advantages about living now technology I was talking to somebody else doing this in the 60s would be really hard to do. It would be impossible to do an episode a day because you’d have to film everything and then develop the film , and it would be nearly impossible.. Happy you dig this one
That chassis lube system is cool. I’d thought that was only an old Packard feature. Such flashy excess and fantastic features! This is truly a car for the second half of the fifties. Wish I could try it out on the freeway.
I think this Mercury is the ultimate in modernity for Ford Mo Co in that year and more. Thanks Ed Sullivan for that run down of features in the chassis. I saw very few of these back in the day. A beautiful car of style and gadgetry. I will add, as I have before that I think continental kits ruin rear end styling. Like adding a balcony on ground level. Thanks Jay.
Agreed, the kits are a mistake. I would not add the kit to,a car and if V I found a car to restore I would remove the kit and return the bumper to the normal position.
57 DeSoto, Studebaker Hawk. The 57 Turn Pike Cruiser,in my eyes is such a busy,and a very interesting car and is a great expression of the hope and promise of the fifties.The air vents are a cleaver design,and the car is such a blend of really interesting,and in some ways strange styling ques which is in keeping of the period. Jay, great subject,and a great choice in the Mercury.
That’s an amazing car; I never realized until now all the amazing features it had. One mystery to me is the secondary “clockface” at the center of the actual clock. It’s unclear what its function is. I do love the trip odometer being part of the clock instead of the speedometer. With much reflection on the subject over the years, it appears to me that Mercury was specifically marketed by Ford Motor Company to women - so much of its styling and “aura” just screams that. Ford couldn’t admit that, of course, because then men would stop buying Mercurys. That big Merc engine certainly is pretty manly, though. Back in the day I was a GM fan and didn’t like this car’s styling, but now that I’m much more open-minded I think it looks great. And the “advanced” features are just incredible.
That dial is for a power seat memory. Not sure what each part of the dial actually does, but I remember seeing them installing one on car fix some years ago. They installed it on Lou's Continental
WYR: 1957 Turnpike Cruiser, just because it's so different. Round two - any or all of them. Excellent coverage of an interesting car - thank you as always ~ Chuck
I should’ve done the glove box test. I couldn’t figure out how to open the glove box if I was 100% honest… it’s harder doing these at car shows because it’s like you draw an audience.. in ways I sort of like being by myself doing it Great choices happy you still dig this channel
The "Breezeway" was not an option, it was standard on the Turnpike Cruiser. Wow, the clock is ticky tocking right along, still working! The dial you were referring to was the power seat memory.
Yes, that’s correct I should’ve edited that part out. I mentioned that it came standard earlier on that option when I did the walk around because I didn’t know that it was a standard feature until after the fact, if that makes any sense I thought that was a really cool thing to see the needle move in slow motion. I’m happy you caught that.
Nice car for sure in that Turnpike Cruiser but too much bulk for my taste, especially with that Continental kit grafted on the back! Oh, the excess!!😆 I'd have to go with the Adventurer & the Studebaker Hawk - more to my taste! Thanks for the review of that beautiful car!! 👍
I loved this episode, Jay! I'm a diehard Mercury (and FoMoCo) guy, and I think these '57 Turnpike Cruisers are just Space Age automotive weirdness at its best. Thie is certainly a stellar example (though I could certainly do without that continental spare tire and those awful cruiser skirts0. And I'll take the Turnpike Cruiser in both cases.
I remember seeing these way back when. I always thought they were kind of gaudy, especially compared to the regular Mercs. I never knew those roof scoops were real! And I *really* never knew that they came with a tach! So many cool gadgets on this car. Those Continental kits were not only ugly, but added, what, over a foot of length, and made it hard to access the trunk. Very good episode, Jay. WYR= any of them except the Hash. If I had to pick one, it would be the Chrysler 300.
That Chrysler 300 is super nice probably my favorite 300 I agree I’m not much for the Continental kit I was looking at it, had to of been around 18-20inches deep if I had to guess
He was. Ed was nicknamed "Old-Shock-Absorber-Ed" after doing a series of these commercials. Could have gotten an engineering degree in automotive suspension design, and been a top technician at Ford, but his 10 year contract with the TV network held him back. Who knows what he could have done for the springs and struts supporting America's lust for a plushier ride. We can only dream.
Jay, I think the Turnpike Cruiser is one really neat car with all its gadgets. There is one in the town I reside in and I see it at the annual car show held each year. I never get tired of seeing it. Thanks for the video!
5:22 I think the 57 Caddy Eldorado Brougham has memory seats, too, but at $13,000 a car, not too many people remember that model. 11:38 Like the font on that speedo. WYR: 1. DeSoto 2. Golden Hawk.
Hella nice car. 12:30. Those ceiling vent knobs are perfectly placed, for when you need your forehead creased, during an accident. These cars had optional seat belts, but still.... optional! A friend of mine had a late 50s car, with the steel interior rear view mirror protruding from the ceiling. His girlfriend hit that with her head, after a mild front end collision. It almost gave her a lobotomy. She did get a nice scar, for a keepsake.
The "Gauge" you couldn't identify is the "Seat-O-Matic" which is the position adjustment for the memory seat position. Letters are the seat height and numbers are fore and aft position.
Wow! I had no idea how space-age cool the late 50s Mercs were! All the gadgets are stupendous! This is the kind of car that just makes you want to smile all giddily! WYR: I'd choose the Merc in less than a heartbeat, in both scenarios! I've gone on record praising the Exner-designed Chrysler products, but I'm really not big on the '57s, at least, not as much as this Mercury.
Would have been hard pressed to pass up this 1957 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser new in the Mercury showroom!...imagining the air passing through the front vents, through the interior and out the breezeway while driving down the turnpike!!…don’t know the name of the orchid like color on the two-tone, but it is stunning…I think Mercury had this or a similar color at least through 1960!!!
Coolest car of the '50's, the greatest model name ever and one of my all time favorites. Love the t.c.! 2:36 but strangely still offered dual headlights.
The need for a national highway system in America resulted from the growing popularity of the automobile after WW1 with the creation of the Lincoln Highway from Chicago to San Francisco and Route 66. Up to then most transcontinental travel was by train. The real impetus for this came after WW2 during the Eisenhower administration. He had seen how the Autibahn in Germany facilitated the movement of military resources for national defense and determined that America needed someting similar to that. Canada did the same. That further increased the popularity of cars as personal transportation not only locally but across the country. This also increased air pollution in dense urban areas like LA. If you look at old talk or game shows from that era you will hear people complaining about the increasing “smog” or air pollution. You will not hear or read anything about this before WW2 in America. In the 1950’s Americans were obsessed with “ modernity” and an idealistic , technological future. The cars of the 1950’s expressed this optimism. We are now living in the Post Modern era where those dreams of increasing personal freedom often did not turn out as envisioned. This is why we look back on the 1950’s with nostalgia as a simpler and more nauve time in America when the future looked bright and full of promise. Just wait til we get to the moon and set up a moon base there by the year 2000. Why did we need so badly to go there and have not been back since 1972 over 50 years ago. That’s when the future of the 1950’s died. That time period from 1969 to 1974 created the world we live in now.
The 50's car makers were over the top on styling and design, economy, safety, did not figure into the equation. My choice would be 1. Chrysler 300, 2. Desoto Adventurer, 3. Mercury TC. Keep up the great work, it nice to see someone who enjoys the oldies (from an oldie).😎
The Turnpike Cruiser is very impressive, especially from the rear corner with a Continental Kit. For me, the 1957-59 series Mercurys are the most uniquely beautiful cars Ford ever made, plus extremely capable and reliable. When I was 7-8 my parents had two '59s in white, a sleek two-door Monterey, 312 manual and a massive four-door Park Lane, 383 automatic. Both hardtop. Park Lane replaced the TC that year. My favorite spot was curled up behind the driver using the hump for a pillow.
One of my favorites growing up in the 1950s. Dad had a 57 Monterey. Only reason he traded it was it took premium gas, and he never could get used to the push button gear selector on the LEFT side of the steering column.
My dad had one. As a child I laid up on the parcel shelf because there were 6 children in the back seat. I'm lucky the rear window wasn't down. Oh, it overheated at the drop of a hat, or pin. Vapor lock. I remember my father making me go to a water filled ditch to get water to pour on the hot fuel lines. Fuel line too close to the exhaust pipe.
We would often in the summer drive around with the back window of our ford station wagon down. It had folding kids seats in the back. We thought it was fun, and was great in the absence of ac. I learned a lesson once when on a road trip my Mom dumped some extra coffee out of the right front passenger window, and it flew in the back window and landed on me :)
@@PRH123 I had a near-junk 70's Ford S/W with both sideways and rear-facing seats in back. I had a friend drive while I gave them a try. Facing back I was bit uneasy, and sideways was like a ride at the fair. OK for kids I guess but small for adults. I had to try it once anyway just to say I'd done it!
@@P_RO_ we had the sideways seats, 4 kids could sit comfortably back there, 4 more on the middle bench seat, and up to 3 people on the front bench, up to 11 people, though we usually had six
Remember the power operated back window was standard on the TC. I’m surprised the power lubrication button was so far to the right…almost for the passenger to press. Love the color, like a lavender shade.
It was a different color that is for sure. The owner was telling me that it’s the only known one two door hardtop in that color combination with those options known to exist
It's funny how many options back in the day are standard features now that we take for granted. Back then it was all mechanical, hydraulic or vacuum. I think the gizmo you were asking about was an automatic headlight dimmer switch, but I'm not a for certain. Nice rig though. Mercury was the test bed for new technology @ FMOCO. If it was savvy, they would put it on a Lincoln, same with Oldsmobile with GM/Cadillac. BTW 1957 Chrysler, Desoto, Dodge, Plymouth---- All day long.
This car is not my cup of tea but some of the features are pretty great and this one was beautifully restored. It was probably better going over the miles of expansion joints of the new PA Turnpike in this than in my dad's '55 Chevy. The WYR is easy for me. I'd choose the 1957 Desoto Adventurer and the 1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk.
Awesome episode. I am loving the B roll too. Not fair I know, but if I could delete the skirts and the continental kit, the Mercury would be my choice in any scenario.
New sub here - that is an absolutely magnificent car. The vertical lines on the headlight bezels are carried all the way around such that they’re visible on the side and match those on the RV mirrors. The detailing on the mounts for the sun visors is exquisite and looks so great next to those cool vents. Thanks for posting ❤ BTW what is the car show that you mentioned on the 7th?
Hey welcome to the community =) The car show on the seventh and eighth of September is called the old car festival. It’s at the Greenfield Village in Dearborn Michigan. If your a car enthusiast is definitely a bucket list thing.. it’s an experience, I meant to fix that, but I must’ve forgot to put that in there before publishing it lol
@@What.its.like. I guess you are right. I dont know why your site never hardly shows up, but I am glad to reconnect to you. Your videos are so informative.
We called them Turnpike Crushers. I worked in a gas station back then and saw a few of them. I thought the styling was a bit ridiculous, even for that period of time--'59 Chevy and Cadillac, '58 Buick as contemporaries.
The dial on the dash is the memory seat indicator. A-E and 1-7 are the set indicators of seat height and distance from the dashboard. When entering the car, it would " remember" this position and set the seat to it.
One of my favorite 57 year of birth Mercurys, very bold style. cruiser skirts & Continental Kit. The round switch with the letters and numbers is the memory seat control ,not as complicated as the one on the Eldorado Brougham. First pick 57 Turnpike Cruiser , Second 57 Olds 98. Hate to be the one that have to change the windshield on that Turnpike Cruiser.
5:51 that’s the voice of Ed Sullivan. He had one of the most popular TV shows in the 1950’s with live stage acts of the biggest entertainers at the time including Elvis.
Hahaha I’ll be the first to admit I am not a huge fan of the styling of these cars but I absolutely love the top vent and the breezeway features they’re really cool features. The top vents gave me Ghostbusters vibes. And the way the windshield is designed
For WYR, the first scenario it's the Turnpike Cruiser. For the second, I'll cop out and choose all three, because there's something to be said for all three. There's nothing like this car from this timeframe. Everything from that front end to those taillamps that always remind me of a piece of pie. The closest I came to something like this was my grandmother's '59 Mercury, but as impressive as it was it came nowhere near this car.
1957- Diefenbaker was elected prime minister. The Mercury was available with the opening breezeway window from 1957 to 1965. My cars of choice would be the Hornet and Hawk.
Toyota was originally imported as Toyopet...the name needed some work... All those vents were to evacuate cigarette smoke...it is of the era, almost everyone was killing themselves with them back then. (I grew up in a 1959 version) That is a Seatomatic! LEt's one have a seat porion remembered and automatically set! Factory option no less! 57 DeSoto 57 Stude (but the 300 was tempting)
Wondering how that "Seat-O-Matic" dial controlled the movement. I can see the letters were up & down while the numbers were forward and backward. You only have one control knob. How do you set it on "5 d" if that is your setting. The knob must be a push knob for the letters and pull out for the numbers. Nifty gadget for the time, but glad the controls are on the seat now days.
@@What.its.like. OOPS! I meant Lincoln Y block. I'm sure they had some stock car 368 engines with two four barrel carbs. Which means they would be available from the factory?
I like the add where they are cruising on the HWY and the lady is putting on her lip stick. There is no wind blowing her hair or anyone else in the car. LOL Deceptive advertising?? LOL
Hi Jay! Like the styling or not, the Turnpike Cruiser was a groundbreaking car in a lot of ways. It was VERY feature laden, maybe even more than, say Cadillac. The roof vents should have been adopted by more makes! The breezway rear window stuck around for a few years for Mercury, but never seemed to catch on. Not a real fan of the 1957 styling at the front, but the 1958 had improved styling! WYR. . .1957 Hudson Hornet (I'm Fascinated by that car!) Come on! You know what I'm going to pick for #2! Yes! The Studebaker GOLDEN HAWK!
XM Concept Turnpike Cruiser is the car that Edsel should have been, but still sold through Mercury Dealerships. Imagine the 383 (1.0" oversquare), or 430 MEL (same block, still plenty oversquare). in a 1958 XM Turnpike Cruiser? Now that would have really been competivive to Thunderbird, but in affect, and made Ford and Mercury strive to do even better.
Ah, the "Excess era" of automobiles and quite a well-done example of it. Excess weight, and lots of it which probably gave this car a smooth 'floating' ride over most roads. And excess length with the 'Continental" kit out back. Not mentioned, but it even has a feature in the clock which shows your average speed anywhere along a trip,done by analog of course. . WYR Turnpike Cruiser,and then the Golden Hawk (but the 300 is very tempting).
Not sure if it was the 57 model year or not but an episode of The Twilight Zone (The Hitchhiker) featured a girl driving cross-country in a gorgeous late 50s-era Mercury 😍
I haven’t watched that TV series in years. That was a really good one. Did you ever watch a show like it? I think it was called Ripleys fact or fiction. There was usually three different videos in an episode. That was also a really good TV show.
I do believe it was a 57, altho the 58s were similar. I think Janet Leigh drove a 57 Merc at the beginning of the movie "Psycho", but then she traded it for a 57 Ford.
@@61rampy65 Thanks. I’m not as adept in spotting the subtle differences between the 50s-era models as I am with the 60s-era but those marvelous taillights were the giveaway
I believe that the Mercury Turnpike Cruiser and the Chrysler Forward Look cars were the only '57s that could be had with quad headlights in legal states. Why the high air vents never caught on is a mystery to me. WYR: Anything but the Hudson. The Hudson looks clunky next to the others.
ohhhh, this is like auto-porn for me... LOL... That dial is actually the power seat memory switch. you set the seat where you want, click the bottom button. "I" think the '57/'58 Merc's were the most handsome cars on the road at the time. My dream car is a '58 Commuter 2 door hardtop wagon. The only thing I didn't like, is so many of these had the optional Continental Kit... bleeeech... but that's just my personal taste. I was amazed that the lady put on her lipstick with absolutely no wind buffeting... LOL... Years ago, I had the awesome opportunity to drive a '58 Monterey... it handled just the way you think it would, but on the wide open road? Ohhhhh, child! J, thank you, thank you, thank you for this review! WYR: 1) Merc! (DeSoto a real close 2nd though) 2) Merc!
Heat of the Moment by Asia. Great show. Love to see the Cry. 300
Awesome choice I too want to do a Chrysler 300
Congratulations you got the song and band =)
What a fabulous piece of Americana! You’ll never see such fantastic design enthusiasm for highway motoring again!
I totally agree. I’ve been looking for one for a year and a half… I can’t believe how hard they are to find. I found a couple collections that had them, but it was too hard to get a hold of the owner to see if there’s any way to feature that car.
Happy you dig this episode
Would like to agree but I have always thought the late 50s Ford cars... all of them... are just plain ugly. This one is no exception. Compared to GM or even Chrysler (before 1959), they're just off.
Because they are all city boxes and not highway cruisers.
My uncle had one of these when I was a little boy, and I was enthralled by all the gizmos. Dazzling tech for the time, and to me it was the next best thing to a spaceship.
Awesome, I still can’t get over some of those really cool features
I WAS 12 years old when this car came out. The parents of a kid in my class bought a brand new red and white TURNPIKE CRUISER. It was like a car from outer space ! I LOVED IT !
What an awesome memory thank you so much for sharing that with us... five years old would be absolutely incredible. There's nothing like it. The windshield and top vent gave me Ghostbusters vehicle vibes
the device above the right air vent is the seat memory control unit called "SEAT-O-MATIC". I first saw one on a 1957 Thunderbird in the great T-bird book published in the 70s. The letters referenced one plane of travel, the numbers were the other. This makes it a 4 way power seat. When the car shuts off, it returns to the rear-most and lowest position. At some point after you get in, it moves the seat up and forward to the preset letter/number.
You are 100% correct! It's one of the earliest forms of memory seat too!
I know a lot of people don't like these, but I think they were the bomb! They just have so much to look at! I would take it in both cases.
They were serious about engineering the Turnpike thing.
I bet those vents were wonderfully.
Why rob horsepower if vents are much more queite an a viable alternative to running a power theiving pump?
I had a 1964 mercury Monterey with a electric roll up rear window . And factory A/ C and a 352 police interceptor engine .
Awesome =) thank you so much for sharing your car with us it sounds like it was pretty cool
That was Ed Sullivan describing Mercury's shock absorbers.
Yes, I recognized his voice right away.
@@PS-js9oh A really big shoe tonight ladies & gentlemen! 😁
He was sponsored by Mercury and in 1957 gave away 80 Mercury's.
Yes it was; you can't miss that distinct voice!
So many design details on these fabulous automobiles ! It must have been fantastic cruising along the new highways in one of these new beauties!🤩 Another tough choice, but I'd have to pick this one in at least one scenario, second choice would be the DeSoto or 300. 😎
Awesome choices what I would give to go back in town for a week and see all these cars driving around as just cars
As a resident of New Jersey, I can definitely see this 'Turnpike Cruiser' cruising down the Turnpike!
This car screams 50s style, excess, and elegance. Who wouldn't love it.
Totally agree lots of cool gadgets and features on this car some that you won’t find on any modern car like chassis lubrication..
I think that the Desoto has my vote in #1 and the Mercury Turnpike Cruiser is my choice in #2. I really like how the seats are sculpted in the Mercury, was different than any one else, the way the seat bottom and back area comes over the sides of the seat. To me it makes sense from a wear perspective as well as style. I cannot remember anyone else doing this. This started I think in 55 on top line cars. I personally prefer the 1958 over the 1957. What a piece of artwork this is.
Great video as always. Cars of the 50s had so much personality. It used to be that one could sit on a porch and watch the cars go by and one could say, "That's a Ford, that's a Pontiac, that's a Fair Lane, that's a Metropolitan Nash..." Now, manufacturers are afraid to be different... a VW looks like a Honda, a Kia resembles a BMW.... and unfortunately all cars resemble each other in expensive costs of purchase and maintenance..
I totally agree. It sucks that a lot of people from my generation will never truly know what it’s like to have a car that’s built, with quality.. personally, I don’t believe the black plastic as a luxury material
I wish that I was alive back then, but there are advantages about living now technology I was talking to somebody else doing this in the 60s would be really hard to do. It would be impossible to do an episode a day because you’d have to film everything and then develop the film , and it would be nearly impossible..
Happy you dig this one
That chassis lube system is cool. I’d thought that was only an old Packard feature. Such flashy excess and fantastic features! This is truly a car for the second half of the fifties. Wish I could try it out on the freeway.
Loads of 50s cars had them and it was also a thing in the 30s
I think this Mercury is the ultimate in modernity for Ford Mo Co in that year and more.
Thanks Ed Sullivan for that run down of features in the chassis.
I saw very few of these back in the day.
A beautiful car of style and gadgetry.
I will add, as I have before that I think continental kits ruin rear end styling. Like adding a balcony on ground level.
Thanks Jay.
Agreed, the kits are a mistake. I would not add the kit to,a car and if V I found a car to restore I would remove the kit and return the bumper to the normal position.
Hahaha like adding a balcony to a ground lever… which would be a porch =) the continental kit does sort of look like a back porch
@@Irishfan
Thanks, from a Polish fan.
@@What.its.like.
Yes. Just my preference. There's no accounting for taste, someone once said. 😂
So many wonderful features, but amongst them those seats are awesome. Seats nowadays are so uncomfortable, gimme a good old vinyl seat :)
57 DeSoto, Studebaker Hawk.
The 57 Turn Pike Cruiser,in my eyes is such a busy,and a very interesting car and is a great expression of the hope and promise of the fifties.The air vents are a cleaver design,and the car is such a blend of really interesting,and in some ways strange styling ques which is in keeping of the period. Jay, great subject,and a great choice in the Mercury.
If it was a 58' with a 383 or 430 MEL, I'd take it over everything, even the 57" Chrysler 300, although that's a close one, lol.
@@Johnnycdrums Can't argue with that.
That’s an amazing car; I never realized until now all the amazing features it had.
One mystery to me is the secondary “clockface” at the center of the actual clock. It’s unclear what its function is. I do love the trip odometer being part of the clock instead of the speedometer.
With much reflection on the subject over the years, it appears to me that Mercury was specifically marketed by Ford Motor Company to women - so much of its styling and “aura” just screams that. Ford couldn’t admit that, of course, because then men would stop buying Mercurys. That big Merc engine certainly is pretty manly, though.
Back in the day I was a GM fan and didn’t like this car’s styling, but now that I’m much more open-minded I think it looks great. And the “advanced” features are just incredible.
That dial is for a power seat memory. Not sure what each part of the dial actually does, but I remember seeing them installing one on car fix some years ago. They installed it on Lou's Continental
Awesome thank you so much =)
I know im a lil late to the party but that turnpike cruiser is a fabulous piece of engineering history !
I almost forgot to say thank you Jay always great content
Thank you so much for watching =) happy you dig the channel
WYR: 1957 Turnpike Cruiser, just because it's so different. Round two - any or all of them. Excellent coverage of an interesting car - thank you as always ~ Chuck
I should’ve done the glove box test. I couldn’t figure out how to open the glove box if I was 100% honest… it’s harder doing these at car shows because it’s like you draw an audience.. in ways I sort of like being by myself doing it
Great choices happy you still dig this channel
Wow, Steve's Turnpike Cruiser is spectacular. For WYR, all of them!
Yeah, it was =)
The "Breezeway" was not an option, it was standard on the Turnpike Cruiser. Wow, the clock is ticky tocking right along, still working! The dial you were referring to was the power seat memory.
Yes, that’s correct I should’ve edited that part out. I mentioned that it came standard earlier on that option when I did the walk around because I didn’t know that it was a standard feature until after the fact, if that makes any sense
I thought that was a really cool thing to see the needle move in slow motion. I’m happy you caught that.
Nice car for sure in that Turnpike Cruiser but too much bulk for my taste, especially with that Continental kit grafted on the back! Oh, the excess!!😆
I'd have to go with the Adventurer & the Studebaker Hawk - more to my taste!
Thanks for the review of that beautiful car!! 👍
I loved this episode, Jay! I'm a diehard Mercury (and FoMoCo) guy, and I think these '57 Turnpike Cruisers are just Space Age automotive weirdness at its best. Thie is certainly a stellar example (though I could certainly do without that continental spare tire and those awful cruiser skirts0. And I'll take the Turnpike Cruiser in both cases.
Awesome happy you dig this episode =)
@@What.its.like. Quit saying dig. This isnt 1970.
My picks would be the De Soto and the Golden Hawk.
Sweet choices
I remember seeing these way back when. I always thought they were kind of gaudy, especially compared to the regular Mercs. I never knew those roof scoops were real! And I *really* never knew that they came with a tach! So many cool gadgets on this car. Those Continental kits were not only ugly, but added, what, over a foot of length, and made it hard to access the trunk. Very good episode, Jay. WYR= any of them except the Hash. If I had to pick one, it would be the Chrysler 300.
That Chrysler 300 is super nice probably my favorite 300
I agree I’m not much for the Continental kit I was looking at it, had to of been around 18-20inches deep if I had to guess
That sure sounds like Ed Sullivan narrating that promo ad at 5:40. I'm sure he was quite the authority on shock absorbers.
He was. Ed was nicknamed "Old-Shock-Absorber-Ed" after doing a series of these commercials. Could have gotten an engineering degree in automotive suspension design, and been a top technician at Ford, but his 10 year contract with the TV network held him back. Who knows what he could have done for the springs and struts supporting America's lust for a plushier ride. We can only dream.
Jay, I think the Turnpike Cruiser is one really neat car with all its gadgets. There is one in the town I reside in and I see it at the annual car show held each year. I never get tired of seeing it. Thanks for the video!
Thank you so much for watching =) happy you dig this episode the gadgets are super cool
5:22 I think the 57 Caddy Eldorado Brougham has memory seats, too, but at $13,000 a car, not too many people remember that model. 11:38 Like the font on that speedo. WYR: 1. DeSoto 2. Golden Hawk.
Awesome I was thinking the Cadillac but same year
Sweet choices
Hella nice car. 12:30. Those ceiling vent knobs are perfectly placed, for when you need your forehead creased, during an accident. These cars had optional seat belts, but still.... optional!
A friend of mine had a late 50s car, with the steel interior rear view mirror protruding from the ceiling. His girlfriend hit that with her head, after a mild front end collision. It almost gave her a lobotomy. She did get a nice scar, for a keepsake.
The "Gauge" you couldn't identify is the "Seat-O-Matic" which is the position adjustment for the memory seat position. Letters are the seat height and numbers are fore and aft position.
Awesome thank you so much for that information
The end of just long steady shots of the car is a great idea. Like the channel keep it up.
Thank you so much for the feedback everyone car I've ever done had all that walk around footage just never showed all of it
@@What.its.like. you are welcome
Wonderful presentation & tour of an apogee American automobile. Amazing engineering. Would love to drive on Turnpike or Autobahn.
Awesome
Happy you dig this episode
Wow! I had no idea how space-age cool the late 50s Mercs were! All the gadgets are stupendous! This is the kind of car that just makes you want to smile all giddily!
WYR: I'd choose the Merc in less than a heartbeat, in both scenarios! I've gone on record praising the Exner-designed Chrysler products, but I'm really not big on the '57s, at least, not as much as this Mercury.
Would have been hard pressed to pass up this 1957 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser new in the Mercury showroom!...imagining the air passing through the front vents, through the interior and out the breezeway while driving down the turnpike!!…don’t know the name of the orchid like color on the two-tone, but it is stunning…I think Mercury had this or a similar color at least through 1960!!!
Coolest car of the '50's, the greatest model name ever and one of my all time favorites. Love the t.c.! 2:36 but strangely still offered dual headlights.
When real men had whiskey drinks at lunch and went back to work to design something DIFFERENT 😂
Hahaha nice
Beautiful Car! Thanks for featuring it.
Thank you so much for watching happy you dig this video
The need for a national highway system in America resulted from the growing popularity of the automobile after WW1 with the creation of the Lincoln Highway from Chicago to San Francisco and
Route 66. Up to then most transcontinental travel was by train. The real impetus for this came after WW2 during the Eisenhower administration. He had seen how the Autibahn in Germany facilitated the movement of military resources for national defense and determined that America needed someting similar to that. Canada did the same. That further increased the popularity of cars as personal transportation not only locally but across the country. This also increased air pollution in dense urban areas like LA. If you look at old talk or game shows from that era you will hear people complaining about the increasing “smog” or air pollution. You will not hear or read anything about this before WW2 in America. In the 1950’s Americans were obsessed with “ modernity” and an idealistic , technological future. The cars of the 1950’s expressed this optimism. We are now living in the Post Modern era where those dreams of increasing personal freedom often did not turn out as envisioned. This is why we look back on the 1950’s with nostalgia as a simpler and more nauve time in America when the future looked bright and full of promise. Just wait til we get to the moon and set up a moon base there by the year 2000. Why did we need so badly to go there and have not been back since 1972 over 50 years ago. That’s when the future of the 1950’s died. That time period from 1969 to 1974 created the world we live in now.
Great insight and information thank you so much for sharing that =)
The 50's car makers were over the top on styling and design, economy, safety, did not figure into the equation.
My choice would be 1. Chrysler 300, 2. Desoto Adventurer, 3. Mercury TC.
Keep up the great work, it nice to see someone who enjoys the oldies (from an oldie).😎
The Turnpike Cruiser is very impressive, especially from the rear corner with a Continental Kit. For me, the 1957-59 series Mercurys are the most uniquely beautiful cars Ford ever made, plus extremely capable and reliable. When I was 7-8 my parents had two '59s in white, a sleek two-door Monterey, 312 manual and a massive four-door Park Lane, 383 automatic. Both hardtop. Park Lane replaced the TC that year. My favorite spot was curled up behind the driver using the hump for a pillow.
One of my favorites growing up in the 1950s. Dad had a 57 Monterey. Only reason he traded it was it took premium gas, and he never could get used to the push button gear selector on the LEFT side of the steering column.
My dad had one. As a child I laid up on the parcel shelf because there were 6 children in the back seat.
I'm lucky the rear window wasn't down.
Oh, it overheated at the drop of a hat, or pin. Vapor lock.
I remember my father making me go to a water filled ditch to get water to pour on the hot fuel lines.
Fuel line too close to the exhaust pipe.
Thank you for sharing that memory and your experience
@@What.its.like. Wow. I've spoken to the real Kyle Blofvoski. Total respect Kyle.
I love your channel.
I only call you Kyle because of your hair.
Haha I’m just a regular guy =)
I’ve been called ed Sheeran, Prince Harry lol
Happy you dig this channel
I can't unsee it. You're Kyle.
That rear window scared the stuffing out of me as a kid 🤤 I still shudder worrying about little me getting sucked out through the back window! 😅
We would often in the summer drive around with the back window of our ford station wagon down. It had folding kids seats in the back. We thought it was fun, and was great in the absence of ac.
I learned a lesson once when on a road trip my Mom dumped some extra coffee out of the right front passenger window, and it flew in the back window and landed on me :)
@@PRH123 I had a near-junk 70's Ford S/W with both sideways and rear-facing seats in back. I had a friend drive while I gave them a try. Facing back I was bit uneasy, and sideways was like a ride at the fair. OK for kids I guess but small for adults. I had to try it once anyway just to say I'd done it!
@@P_RO_ we had the sideways seats, 4 kids could sit comfortably back there, 4 more on the middle bench seat, and up to 3 people on the front bench, up to 11 people, though we usually had six
Gotta love the excess. Imo, the TC takes the prize.
=)
Interesting car beautiful ride the build quality is far better than anything today . Mercury - 300.
WYR: all of them!😁❤️
Very classy car for its time
❤Golden Hawk❤❤❤
Awesome choice
Remember the power operated back window was standard on the TC. I’m surprised the power lubrication button was so far to the right…almost for the passenger to press. Love the color, like a lavender shade.
It was a different color that is for sure. The owner was telling me that it’s the only known one two door hardtop in that color combination with those options known to exist
It's funny how many options back in the day are standard features now that we take for granted. Back then it was all mechanical, hydraulic or vacuum. I think the gizmo you were asking about was an automatic headlight dimmer switch, but I'm not a for certain. Nice rig though. Mercury was the test bed for new technology @ FMOCO. If it was savvy, they would put it on a Lincoln, same with Oldsmobile with GM/Cadillac. BTW 1957 Chrysler, Desoto, Dodge, Plymouth---- All day long.
This car is not my cup of tea but some of the features are pretty great and this one was beautifully restored. It was probably better going over the miles of expansion joints of the new PA Turnpike in this than in my dad's '55 Chevy. The WYR is easy for me. I'd choose the 1957 Desoto Adventurer and the 1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk.
Fabulous!
Studebaker is smaller 👍
DeSoto Adventurer for the Hemi 🤪
Great Episode
Happy Motoring ✌️ 🤠
Awesome episode. I am loving the B roll too.
Not fair I know, but if I could delete the skirts and the continental kit, the Mercury would be my choice in any scenario.
=)
New sub here - that is an absolutely magnificent car. The vertical lines on the headlight bezels are carried all the way around such that they’re visible on the side and match those on the RV mirrors. The detailing on the mounts for the sun visors is exquisite and looks so great next to those cool vents. Thanks for posting ❤
BTW what is the car show that you mentioned on the 7th?
Hey welcome to the community =)
The car show on the seventh and eighth of September is called the old car festival. It’s at the Greenfield Village in Dearborn Michigan. If your a car enthusiast is definitely a bucket list thing.. it’s an experience, I meant to fix that, but I must’ve forgot to put that in there before publishing it lol
@@What.its.like. Thank you! Happy to see it’s in September rather than August so maybe I’ll be able to go 👍🏻🚗
That Cont'y kit looks _soooooo_ J.C. Whitney!
De Soto & 300, no doubt
Awesome choices =) I think that’s my favorite year for 300
Where have you been? I'm glad to see you back! I really like your videos!
I’ve been here posting just about everyday where have you been lol
Welcome back =)
@@What.its.like. I guess you are right. I dont know why your site never hardly shows up, but I am glad to reconnect to you. Your videos are so informative.
Yeah, I don’t know why a lot of people aren’t getting the notifications… go figure.. I’m not going away will be here for the long haul
We called them Turnpike Crushers. I worked in a gas station back then and saw a few of them. I thought the styling was a bit ridiculous, even for that period of time--'59 Chevy and Cadillac, '58 Buick as contemporaries.
''T'was the will of Walt''
straight out of ''Tomorrow Land'' in 57.
Also how to get all that cigarette smoke out of the car....
Ha =)
The dial on the dash is the memory seat indicator. A-E and 1-7 are the set indicators of seat height and distance from the dashboard. When entering the car, it would " remember" this position and set the seat to it.
What a great find, Jay! This is such an joyous creation from an era that demanded exuberance in car design...
I’ve been looking for one for a while
W Y R, all five of them!
absolutely beautiful!! Is that 368 a two or four barrel?
I would want the 1957 Chrysler 300, and the Studebaker.
Sweet choices
One of my favorite 57 year of birth Mercurys, very bold style. cruiser skirts & Continental Kit. The round switch with the letters and numbers is the memory seat control ,not as complicated as the one on the Eldorado Brougham. First pick 57 Turnpike Cruiser , Second 57 Olds 98.
Hate to be the one that have to change the windshield on that Turnpike Cruiser.
5:51 that’s the voice of Ed Sullivan. He had one of the most popular TV shows in the 1950’s with live stage acts of the biggest entertainers at the time including Elvis.
The styling looks like it was in a competition for highest possible drag coefficient !!! Regardless, it's growing on me... darn you, Jay!😅
Hahaha
I’ll be the first to admit I am not a huge fan of the styling of these cars but I absolutely love the top vent and the breezeway features they’re really cool features. The top vents gave me Ghostbusters vibes. And the way the windshield is designed
For WYR, the first scenario it's the Turnpike Cruiser. For the second, I'll cop out and choose all three, because there's something to be said for all three.
There's nothing like this car from this timeframe. Everything from that front end to those taillamps that always remind me of a piece of pie. The closest I came to something like this was my grandmother's '59 Mercury, but as impressive as it was it came nowhere near this car.
As you like having all your facts. Toyota in 1957 was called the Toypet, and the company was called Toypet Loom.
1957- Diefenbaker was elected prime minister. The Mercury was available with the opening breezeway window from 1957 to 1965. My cars of choice would be the Hornet and Hawk.
WYR: As cool as the Merc TC was, I have to go with DeSoto AdventurERRR, and the 300!
Great choices =)
Mercury wins the Wackematic pushbutton transmission prize with that convenient parking brake release "built right in!" They thought of everything.
Right =)
Those high level vents? How cool are those?
Well, refreshingly cool, I suppose. I hear they leak rainwater.
Toyota was originally imported as Toyopet...the name needed some work...
All those vents were to evacuate cigarette smoke...it is of the era, almost everyone was killing themselves with them back then. (I grew up in a 1959 version)
That is a Seatomatic! LEt's one have a seat porion remembered and automatically set! Factory option no less!
57 DeSoto
57 Stude (but the 300 was tempting)
Awesome insight
Thank you for the insight on toyota name
Great choices
Wondering how that "Seat-O-Matic" dial controlled the movement. I can see the letters were up & down while the numbers were forward and backward. You only have one control knob. How do you set it on "5 d" if that is your setting. The knob must be a push knob for the letters and pull out for the numbers. Nifty gadget for the time, but glad the controls are on the seat now days.
Didn't Mercury have the Super Marauder 368 MEL engine option in 1957? With two four barrel carbs?
The MEL engine came out 1958.. 1958. Definitely had more engine options. They just got thirstier.
@@What.its.like. OOPS!
I meant Lincoln Y block. I'm sure they had some stock car 368 engines with two four barrel carbs. Which means they would be available from the factory?
I like the add where they are cruising on the HWY and the lady is putting on her lip stick. There is no wind blowing her hair or anyone else in the car. LOL Deceptive advertising?? LOL
Hahaha right must have been filmed in a vacuum
Golden Hawk!
Nice :)
Hi Jay! Like the styling or not, the Turnpike Cruiser was a groundbreaking car in a lot of ways. It was VERY feature laden, maybe even more than, say Cadillac. The roof vents should have been adopted by more makes! The breezway rear window stuck around for a few years for Mercury, but never seemed to catch on. Not a real fan of the 1957 styling at the front, but the 1958 had improved styling! WYR. . .1957 Hudson Hornet (I'm Fascinated by that car!) Come on! You know what I'm going to pick for #2! Yes! The Studebaker GOLDEN HAWK!
Awesome choices. Thank you so much for sharing all of that insight.
MERCURY…
The BIG “M”!!
XM Concept Turnpike Cruiser is the car that Edsel should have been, but still sold through Mercury Dealerships.
Imagine the 383 (1.0" oversquare), or 430 MEL (same block, still plenty oversquare). in a 1958 XM Turnpike Cruiser?
Now that would have really been competivive to Thunderbird, but in affect, and made Ford and Mercury strive to do even better.
Ah, the "Excess era" of automobiles and quite a well-done example of it. Excess weight, and lots of it which probably gave this car a smooth 'floating' ride over most roads. And excess length with the 'Continental" kit out back. Not mentioned, but it even has a feature in the clock which shows your average speed anywhere along a trip,done by analog of course. .
WYR Turnpike Cruiser,and then the Golden Hawk (but the 300 is very tempting).
Awesome choices, as well as insight and information. Thank you so much for sharing all that.
5:40 Sounds like narration by Ed Sullivan. He was big back in the day, I wonder if that's him?
I believe that was taken from an head Sullivan program
That car without a body was kinda cool.
I thought so too =)
Studebaker for the win!
And the 57 golden hawk
1957 DeSoto Adventurer with 360 hp engine
Awesome choice
Not sure if it was the 57 model year or not but an episode of The Twilight Zone (The Hitchhiker) featured a girl driving cross-country in a gorgeous late 50s-era Mercury 😍
I haven’t watched that TV series in years. That was a really good one. Did you ever watch a show like it? I think it was called Ripleys fact or fiction. There was usually three different videos in an episode. That was also a really good TV show.
@@What.its.like. I haven’t watched that but will have to check it out 👍🏻
I do believe it was a 57, altho the 58s were similar. I think Janet Leigh drove a 57 Merc at the beginning of the movie "Psycho", but then she traded it for a 57 Ford.
@@61rampy65 Thanks. I’m not as adept in spotting the subtle differences between the 50s-era models as I am with the 60s-era but those marvelous taillights were the giveaway
@@pjesf The 58s were toned down, but the taillights were similar in style to the 57s, but larger.
Switch was for seat memory settings
Awesome
I believe that the Mercury Turnpike Cruiser and the Chrysler Forward Look cars were the only '57s that could be had with quad headlights in legal states. Why the high air vents never caught on is a mystery to me. WYR: Anything but the Hudson. The Hudson looks clunky next to the others.
There was also the $13,000 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham with quad headlights in 1957.
The Hornet & Golden Hawk.....
Sweet choices
Golden Hawk.
12:10 I was wondering if that was a Hex-to-Octal converter, but then I realize there's no zero or "F".
PS: Just Kidding.
ohhhh, this is like auto-porn for me... LOL... That dial is actually the power seat memory switch. you set the seat where you want, click the bottom button. "I" think the '57/'58 Merc's were the most handsome cars on the road at the time. My dream car is a '58 Commuter 2 door hardtop wagon. The only thing I didn't like, is so many of these had the optional Continental Kit... bleeeech... but that's just my personal taste. I was amazed that the lady put on her lipstick with absolutely no wind buffeting... LOL... Years ago, I had the awesome opportunity to drive a '58 Monterey... it handled just the way you think it would, but on the wide open road? Ohhhhh, child! J, thank you, thank you, thank you for this review! WYR: 1) Merc! (DeSoto a real close 2nd though) 2) Merc!
The 57 DeSoto