I visited California from England in 1975 to see my good American friends. Have never forgotten the TV commercial 'if you want to buy a car, go see Cal'. Remember it to this day 47 years later. The power of advertising and a good hook!
I still like station wagons. I'm still sad that VW never made a GTI or Golf R wagon available in the US to compete with the MINI Cooper Clubman. I realized it would never happen and bought the Clubman. It was a great car and was reliable AND easy to fix. I still miss that car.
@@unitedcity_mc4421 The newest car I'd accept would be the (discontinued of course!) 2009 MINI Cooper S Clubman. Just the right size, can haul a decent amount of luggage and still seat 2 adults and 2 kids and still make that loud mouth with the pimped out car down the street nervous! All for under $29,000. And the 6 speed manual worked nicely with it. I miss my old MINI. Despite the BMW engine, it was a reliable car and actually outlasted my brother's Honda Civic! What's hilarious is he "surrendered" despite bashing my car and wound up owning it!
I can remember being 2 years old and watching these commercials, I can always recognize Cal Worthington's voice my parents used to buy all their cars in Long Beach at Cal's , thanks for this posting
Nick Worthington is moving on to other business interests, that don't include a car dealership. That was Cal Worthington's interest alone. RIP Cal, we'll miss you.
oh yes 1979.. I turned 18 that year and boy did I want a car but I didn't get one until much later and then it was a junk 1970 Ford Galaxy 500 that was shot. After a lot of work by friends and family it ran for a whole 6 months. I traded my moped for it that I got for graduating High School. My parents couldn't afford to buy me a car so I got a moped. I did love it but it would only do 25 mph. lmao I did use it but it was obviously not going to cut it. It got me around our small town and one time I tried a "road trip" to a lake my family use to go to. I left hours before they did and they had been there for a long time before I showed up. Made a memory I'll never forget for sure! I did love being out there in the country all by myself though at times I was very nervous. WOW do the years FLY BY! Cal Worthington was a real showman for sure!
@@MokkaMatti Yea when I think 1979 I think quality, lol..............cars Rarely lasted 100k miles, often wouldn't start, leaked EVERY fluid, stalled while driving.................yea bring back the good ole days
@@MB-rr1fbat least they live longer in the sense that the parts last longer and the car has CHARACTER! Unlike modern piece of junk that will be dead by the end of the decade!
I'll always remember Cal Worthington commercials locally....he always said he'd ride a pig if he couldn't make a deal....then one day his commercial showed him riding a pig 😂😂
I sure remember his commercials during my California visits in the 1960s and 1970s and his slogan "go see Cal". He came to Arizona later but wasn't as successful as he was in California.
Everyone like my self that grew up in Southern California remembers those TV commercials that Cal Worthington put on, and of course the famous jingle and his "dog" Spot.
He had a dealership here in Houston back in the eighties and nineties. It was called Cal Worthington Chevrolet. It was located on 59 Southwest Freeway @ Hillcroft. They tore down that dealership and the place is run down. Very Sad.
I used to work for Cal Worthington Dodge in Huntington Beach years ago and had the opportunity to meet him when i was chosen drive with him , to go pick up his car. Every year for Christmas he threw a big Christmas party for all the employee's and gave you a big turkey to bake. On Thanks Giving he made sure all his employee's had a fat turkey. I regret the fact that i found out later he was a big war hero , and accomplished some incredible things. I just wished i knew all that when we drove together , it would of been a conversation of appreciation.
@@southerncross3638 $22k, but point taken. I was making $14/hr in a union job back then ($58 today). Finding a 2022 model car for $22k would be quite a feat. How depressing.
I remember CAL and his dog spot way back in the 60s when he had Worthington Dodge in South Gate. His come on specials lured a lot of people to his lots but in the end, his prices were no better than any other Ford or Dodge dealers in the LA area. He was a successful businessman though. Burbank Ford was a crooked dealer during the 70s and I believe the DMV pulled their licenses.
I bought my wife a 65 mustang convertible at 4 seasons ford in 73 for $1200 she got pulled over in a smog check and ticketed for no pcv valve.i took the car back to the dealer asking them how did they get the car through smog and they told to go f myself I got an air cleaner with the pcv valve at a junk yard and fixed it. There was a lot of crooked dealers back then
I remember watching ol Cal Worthington ads back in the early 70s. He bought up all the advertising time for the Saturday afternoon double feature old movies matinee. The ads were so corny and he did the goofiest stuff that you didn't mind the long ads. It was part of the entertainment package.
He promised he would eat a bug, if he didn't sell you a car!....he got sued,....and he ate a bug!...chocolate covered ants from China!...he won the case!...lol!
@@Ori0n1975 Same here - I remember seeing his commercials when we here in El Paso, Texas use to have KTLA and KTTV in our cable systems. Somehow I also thought that Pussy Cow misinterpretation. It kind of sounds hilarious, don't you think?
Sure, here's a revised version: I had completely forgotten about this guy until I saw this. I used to watch him all the time, and hearing his voice again now gives me the creeps. 😐
If you need a better car, go see Cal For the best deal by far, go see Cal Buy a new car for your wife She will love you all her life Go see Cal Go see Cal Go see Cal
If your axle is a-saggin’ go see Cal, “Maybe need a station wagon, go see Cal! If your wife is start’n to naggin’ and your tailpipe is a-draggin’ “ go see Cal, go see Cal, go see Cal.
On the eternal soundtrack of my growing up in the 1970s is the "Go See Cal" jingle (that and 🎶"Pete Ellis Dodge... Long Beach Freeway, Firestone Exit, Southgate.🎶"), however, as a lad I didn't understand the words. I thought he the song was saying "Pussycow, pussycow, pussycow" as though there we some critter that only a Texan would keep as a pet were curled up under one of his rock-bottom cheap Ford Landau.
"We've been here 30 years, we're not going anywhere" that address is a strip mall with a Starbucks drive through now Edit:Yes, I know the dealership is now at 2950 Bellflower, it was just funny to me
On California, at that time, perhaps even now, if you advertised a specific car for sale, you had to identify it by it's plate. This applies to dealer or private party ads. In California the plate stays with the car, not the owner, unless it's a vanity plate. If a car with a vanity plate was traded in to a dealer and the owner wanted to retain the plate, the dealer could use the last six of the VIN instead. This was a way to ID the car to the potential TV watching buyer to meet the law.
@@scotpens Only really doable in California, since in most states the plates are issued to the owner not the car and change when the car changes ownership.
The equivalent sedan these days to that t-bird would sell for about 26k to 30k. Adjusted for inflation that thing was about $19,000. Cars have gotten a lot more expensive
I visited California from England in 1975 to see my good American friends. Have never forgotten the TV commercial 'if you want to buy a car, go see Cal'. Remember it to this day 47 years later. The power of advertising and a good hook!
Cheers cousin! Greetings, from y'allz family here across the pond! 👋✌🏻
When land boats with bench seats were available. Miss them!
Land barges.
I still like station wagons. I'm still sad that VW never made a GTI or Golf R wagon available in the US to compete with the MINI Cooper Clubman. I realized it would never happen and bought the Clubman. It was a great car and was reliable AND easy to fix. I still miss that car.
I would say that the boxy cars looked like a car should look like
8 years since you've left, Cal. When my time comes, I want to "Go see Cal" in the sky.
I actually like the cars you've seen on the commercials more than the cars you see today, they take me back to a happier, simpler time of my life.
I am right there with ya
Yall are both st_pid brah
I’m with you man. Newer cars suck.
1979 I was 11, 56 now WHERE DOES THE TIME GO 😮😮😮😮. Back in the day cars had character.
@@unitedcity_mc4421 The newest car I'd accept would be the (discontinued of course!) 2009 MINI Cooper S Clubman. Just the right size, can haul a decent amount of luggage and still seat 2 adults and 2 kids and still make that loud mouth with the pimped out car down the street nervous! All for under $29,000. And the 6 speed manual worked nicely with it. I miss my old MINI. Despite the BMW engine, it was a reliable car and actually outlasted my brother's Honda Civic! What's hilarious is he "surrendered" despite bashing my car and wound up owning it!
Rest in Peace to Cal Worthington
Cal Worthington, a southern California Saturday morning staple growing up as a kid..
Pre-Internet Best Advertiser
Omygosh....I remember Cal Worthington & his dog SPOT(🐯)Too bad vehicles don't cost that much anymore....
Interesting, that southern drawl in Long Beach, CALIFORNIA.
Cal was born in Oklahoma.
Go see Cal, go see Cal, go see Cal!
He was a B-17 Pilot 29 and flew missions over Germany during WW II.
why didn't he have a world war 2 victory medal?
So?
Hero
@@juansaladzar
Juandesaladbar😮
So?
@@rzz9594 yeah, so?
Passed away in 2013, he was doing business til the very end
Rest Well, Cal Worthington - for you have earned it, many times over.
How old was he?
92, nearly 93.
Passed away while watching football.
I can remember being 2 years old and watching these commercials, I can always recognize Cal Worthington's voice my parents used to buy all their cars in Long Beach at Cal's , thanks for this posting
Sad to hear his family is closing the last dealership.
Nick Worthington is moving on to other business interests, that don't include a car dealership. That was Cal Worthington's interest alone. RIP Cal, we'll miss you.
His commercials always remind me of that movie "Uses Cars" with Curt Russell it's hilarious. I wish I would have baught a car from Cal.
Cars came in so many cool colors back then.
they still do today.
Now there seems to be only grey, black, and white.
@@scottkrafft6830 thats because we are turning communist like in the old wendys commercial about no choice
@@scottkrafft6830 90% of car buyers don't want a bright color car.
@@scottkrafft6830 Cars are still available in actual colors, but most cars sold these days are black, white, gray or silver. Does anyone know why?
I lived in Upland, Ca in the 70's and I remember his commercials. Didn't he have a dog named "Spot"?.. Brings back good memories.
Hey that dog looks like cat, go see Cal! 🎼 🎵 🎶 🪕
oh yes 1979.. I turned 18 that year and boy did I want a car but I didn't get one until much later and then it was a junk 1970 Ford Galaxy 500 that was shot. After a lot of work by friends and family it ran for a whole 6 months. I traded my moped for it that I got for graduating High School. My parents couldn't afford to buy me a car so I got a moped. I did love it but it would only do 25 mph. lmao I did use it but it was obviously not going to cut it. It got me around our small town and one time I tried a "road trip" to a lake my family use to go to. I left hours before they did and they had been there for a long time before I showed up. Made a memory I'll never forget for sure! I did love being out there in the country all by myself though at times I was very nervous. WOW do the years FLY BY! Cal Worthington was a real showman for sure!
Brings back good memories. Wish i could go back and do it all over again.
Imagine having that whole lot of cars in the year 2018
Imagine having a whole lot full of cars of that quantity in 2023, without the catalytic converters being deleted by sticky-fingered smackheads...
@@MokkaMatti Yea when I think 1979 I think quality, lol..............cars Rarely lasted 100k miles, often wouldn't start, leaked EVERY fluid, stalled while driving.................yea bring back the good ole days
@@MB-rr1fbat least they live longer in the sense that the parts last longer and the car has CHARACTER! Unlike modern piece of junk that will be dead by the end of the decade!
36 months' payments, just $119 .... my my my where did we go wrong.
SUV'S with expensive luxury appointments. Most cars didn't have the standard equipment they make you buy today
I'll always remember Cal Worthington commercials locally....he always said he'd ride a pig if he couldn't make a deal....then one day his commercial showed him riding a pig 😂😂
My father had one of those Ford LTD 2’s with a 302 in it, it sure was a nice car and not overly big.
My dad too, traded in his '77 mustang ii for the family sized ltd ii back in '83. Good air conditioning in it.
I sure remember his commercials during my California visits in the 1960s and 1970s and his slogan "go see Cal". He came to Arizona later but wasn't as successful as he was in California.
Everyone like my self that grew up in Southern California remembers those TV commercials that Cal Worthington put on, and of course the famous jingle and his "dog" Spot.
Everyone where I live in Canada even remembers them since we had many American channels.
It wasn't just SoCal. The commercials aired up the west coast all the way to Washington.
He had a dealership here in Houston back in the eighties and nineties. It was called Cal Worthington Chevrolet. It was located on 59 Southwest Freeway @ Hillcroft. They tore down that dealership and the place is run down. Very Sad.
@@tsdr6830 I'm in Houston and if only a time machine and cruise back in time to where no traffic and good made in USA cars not like nowdays
That was some high ass prices back then🤣
and 30 years later, he was still there!
Wow, that takes me back. Thank you
That's a whole lotta Dee-troit steel.
I used to work for Cal Worthington Dodge in Huntington Beach years ago and had the opportunity to meet him when i was chosen drive with him , to go pick up his car. Every year for Christmas he threw a big Christmas party for all the employee's and gave you a big turkey to bake. On Thanks Giving he made sure all his employee's had a fat turkey. I regret the fact that i found out later he was a big war hero , and accomplished some incredible things. I just wished i knew all that when we drove together , it would of been a conversation of appreciation.
Love those cars
Cal Worthington and his dog Spot!
The only car that comes up in Smog Check is 304-UJC at 1:49 , a 1978 Ford LTD II, it lasted until August 2000...
Wow.Would of thought a few more would of made it .But then again some could be off the road or made it to other states by then
My Father always bought from Cal, treated my Dad like gold, really wanted people's business, not like today.😊
They just want the money today,the customer is a inconvenience.
Oh my gosh I miss cal Worthington he w a s the nicest man
A year old car for under $5K... amazing.
Thanks for being a part of my childhood, Cal! Your dog/monkey/tiger Spot is waiting...
$5.000 back then is $30.000 in today's money.
@@southerncross3638 $22k, but point taken. I was making $14/hr in a union job back then ($58 today).
Finding a 2022 model car for $22k would be quite a feat.
How depressing.
I remember CAL and his dog spot way back in the 60s when he had Worthington Dodge in South Gate. His come on specials lured a lot of people to his lots but in the end, his prices were no better than any other Ford or Dodge dealers in the LA area. He was a successful businessman though. Burbank Ford was a crooked dealer during the 70s and I believe the DMV pulled their licenses.
I bought my wife a 65 mustang convertible at 4 seasons ford in 73 for $1200 she got pulled over in a smog check and ticketed for no pcv valve.i took the car back to the dealer asking them how did they get the car through smog and they told to go f myself I got an air cleaner with the pcv valve at a junk yard and fixed it.
There was a lot of crooked dealers back then
I remember watching ol Cal Worthington ads back in the early 70s. He bought up all the advertising time for the Saturday afternoon double feature old movies matinee. The ads were so corny and he did the goofiest stuff that you didn't mind the long ads. It was part of the entertainment package.
Some things never change!
Wow! look at all those 70's cars! Can i just go back in time and buy one of those new?
i uesed to watch these commercials on saturday mornings during my cartoons
That sure sounds like Casey Casem at the end for the NBC promo
I want the blue one in the background but really I'd be happy with any of them.
I bet that ten gallon gas deal brought quite a few folks through.
I LOVE AND ADORE THOSE BOXY BEAUTIES
I'm surprised to see the 1978 Ford Fairmont is already missing 2 rear hubcaps.
They were all used cars
@@intuitivelyspeaking1773 well, some of them were new.
I WISH the prices were like that today👌💰
I new him he was very nice
I like his commercials,
AWWWWW, NOTHING LIKE THE PRICES OF NEW CARS THEN!
quite a suit
Wow I wish cars were the same price today. Instead of a scooter I could of bought a Cadillac.
Yiṣḥāq David and they was made of good material not cheap material these days now !!
Yiṣḥāq David and they was made of good material not cheap material these days now
‘78 Chevy Caprice for $3k in 1979.
That’s practically 3 weeks salary in 2024.
What a tip off from 40 years ago.
He promised he would eat a bug, if he didn't sell you a car!....he got sued,....and he ate a bug!...chocolate covered ants from China!...he won the case!...lol!
So is "Go See Cal" I always thought it was "Pussy Cow"
You're not the only one.😂
@@Ori0n1975 Same here - I remember seeing his commercials when we here in El Paso, Texas use to have KTLA and KTTV in our cable systems. Somehow I also thought that Pussy Cow misinterpretation. It kind of sounds hilarious, don't you think?
No song???
he's been there 30 years and he's still there!
Not anymore. Costa Mesa auto group has bought Worthington Ford. Nick Worthington sold it.
They were not ugly AT THAT TIME!, 1979.
People will SAY THAT SAME THING about our 2013 cars 30 years from now!
$4500 in 1979 is about $20,000 today in terms of purchasing power adjusted for inflation. Base models start at around $28K today.
I hate how I move away from California just to get away from this guys commercials, just to run into him again in Alaska.
Sure, here's a revised version:
I had completely forgotten about this guy until I saw this. I used to watch him all the time, and hearing his voice again now gives me the creeps. 😐
Amazingly, there was also a Worthington Ford in Worthington, Ohio (near Columbus)…
In Sacramento he was cal Worthington chevolete
All these cars are wrecked or in the junkyard now
It's Cal Worthington and his dog Spot!
I'll take one ;)
If you need a better car, go see Cal
For the best deal by far, go see Cal
Buy a new car for your wife
She will love you all her life
Go see Cal Go see Cal Go see Cal
If your axle is a-saggin’ go see Cal,
“Maybe need a station wagon, go see Cal! If your wife is start’n to naggin’ and your tailpipe is a-draggin’ “
go see Cal, go see Cal, go see Cal.
On the eternal soundtrack of my growing up in the 1970s is the "Go See Cal" jingle (that and 🎶"Pete Ellis Dodge... Long Beach Freeway, Firestone Exit, Southgate.🎶"), however, as a lad I didn't understand the words. I thought he the song was saying "Pussycow, pussycow, pussycow" as though there we some critter that only a Texan would keep as a pet were curled up under one of his rock-bottom cheap Ford Landau.
They rode like a dream!
Uncle Cal..
It's funny that NONE OF THESE are in existence now in 2013.
It's funny that THAT IS WHERE ALL OF OUR BRAND 2013'S WILL BE 30 YEARS from now
Just saw a car like the one at 1:31 a few days ago, albeit VERY rusted.
Those cars are all over the net for sale and twice the price
LOL!!
cal worthington still has car dealerships in CALIFORNIA IN 2018
@@willchristie2650 well he was the greatest used car salesman of all times. End of an era
The 78's with the TW plates were registered in the fall of 77 all in the same week likely. .
Can I take you up on the offer for one of those cars?
I'd like to buy some of them! :)
"We've been here 30 years, we're not going anywhere" that address is a strip mall with a Starbucks drive through now
Edit:Yes, I know the dealership is now at 2950 Bellflower, it was just funny to me
😁
You're FUNNY man!
If I bought a car in the early eighties or late seventies, I would have gotten a used late 60s or early 70s muscle car.
I liked when he d have animals in the commercials lol
Where's Spot?
Looks like a pic n pull yard
Is the 78' LTD 11 still available?
Cal and Spot were the best.
What is up with the monster sized license plates?
On California, at that time, perhaps even now, if you advertised a specific car for sale, you had to identify it by it's plate.
This applies to dealer or private party ads.
In California the plate stays with the car, not the owner, unless it's a vanity plate.
If a car with a vanity plate was traded in to a dealer and the owner wanted to retain the plate, the dealer could use the last six of the VIN instead.
This was a way to ID the car to the potential TV watching buyer to meet the law.
Wheres his big dog spot?
I can use 10 gallons of gas, sir
this guy doesn't sound as outrageous as he has been imitated to be
Did somebody cut his tie?
The size of those license plates???!!!!!
Oversized display plates made for the commercials, so you knew the advertised cars were real registered vehicles and not a bait-and-switch scam.
@@scotpens Only really doable in California, since in most states the plates are issued to the owner not the car and change when the car changes ownership.
Of everything I could see the price on, the most expensive was about 5600 bucks.
Growing up my dad had a 1978 light jade glow green Thunderbird . The front end was bigger than the rest of car . Think he said paid $ 6500 brand new
Nice better than nowdays cars made in China or unreliable parts that are not good even with maintenance
The equivalent sedan these days to that t-bird would sell for about 26k to 30k. Adjusted for inflation that thing was about $19,000. Cars have gotten a lot more expensive
Lookeee here...
The Malaise Era
But hey at least those cars are cars and not some unexplainable shit
if you hear his voice now.. he goes, '199 a munth'
Alot more of those Chevy's on the street in 2016. Fords have basically rusted away!
Great price for the car, wrong year to buy a car,
I'd buy those cars at those prices
Great prices for a year old cars
He will eat a bug
I swear to got that's Jesco White.
RIP