Great Commercials--VW Fastback
by Cookie the Dog's Owner
on August 29, 2008
Before he landed his breakout role in The Graduate, Dustin Hoffman appeared in a 1966 television spot as a highly caffeinated spokesman for the Volkswagen Type 3 Fastback:
Unfortunately, the embedded copy of the ad edits out the punchline. As the future Oscar winner gazes in puzzlement at the rear quarter panel, the announcer says:
See your Volkswagen dealer. He'll show you where the motor is.
You can see the full-length commercial here.
This joke works in any language, as this commercial for the Type 3 Squareback demonstrates:
--Cookie the Dog's Owner
Mochi Mochi on August 29, 2008 at 10:02 AM
Cookie is this like a 1 year birthday special? What ever the case may be THANKS!! I love these cars and the commercials are a hoot. One year ago today, Chris posted his (third total) CarLust for the Squareback, now we have the commercials the accompany it.
I'm not going to spend a lot of time raving about these cars. I'll save that for a future post. I'm head over heals about these crazy little cars. I see more than a few here in LA, and whenever I do they make me smile. There's something to be said for a car that can do that.
For now I'm only going to address one key issue, that is clearly identified by Dustin Hoffman in these commercials: Use of space. Comparing interior to exterior envelops - the usable and useful space of these cars may have no parallel. The Squareback being the king of this competition. The Fastback a great contender.
The incredibly compact engine design sitting low in the frame, and pushed to the back of the car is absolutely amazing. You could easily call this engine a pancake design. But it is not some kind of compressed mess. Maintenance and access were designed into the engine. Everything is accessible. The result is that the Type III can have huge cargo capacity, amazing headroom, and comfortable seating for a family of four and their dog.
From the perspective of efficient use of space, and compact design, this is a ground breaking design. It may well stand as a humble king of efficiency.
From a personal standpoint I still remember the excitement and joy I felt riding in, or driving one of these cars. Thanks.
Mochi Mochi on August 29, 2008 at 12:26 PM
On the theme of old and very funny VW ads - this one for the Karman Ghia is pretty outstanding:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiBNtGSzrp4