HASSLER SHOCK ABSORBERS, Free for 10 Days!

Such a deal! Free shocks for 10 days and then take them back. They of course believe that you will be so happy with your rental shocks that you’ll want to make them yours permanently

“But Henry, they're very expensive. We simply can’t afford them.”

“Nonsense, they’ll pay for themselves in no time. Just the gas mileage savings alone. I tell you, it’s going up a nickel before summer. So don’t star complaining to me when you want to go to Atlantic City in June to visit your mother and we don’t quite have enough money for gas.”

“Well, I don’t…”

“Didn’t baby feel better on the road, no more coccyx pain? Your breasts were barely bouncing. Comeeeeeeeeee onnnnnnnnnn. Just for me, Poopsie. Besides, what could possibly go wrong with a product made by Hassler?”

(SOURCE: The Delineator, July 1918)


To read a bit about the product click here to read a page from The Hardware Review, Vol. 42.

Click here to see another vintage magazine ad dating from 1919.

And I know a friend is going to be excited to see the image below which can be purchased here at the George H. LaBarre Galleries in Hollis, N.H.

Or click here to see an actual shock absorber plaque.

And the only biographical information I found in this article which states that Robert H. Hassler of Indianapolis, Indiana was the owner of the company.

I'm wondering if I could get these installed in my desk chair. Maybe my breasts wouldn't bounce around so much in this chair.

BIG AMERICAN CARS in 1967: Cadillac '68

Yes, Cadillac was known as a luxury car. It was a status symbol before the country was overrun by foreign luxury cars. But there’s a little secret so many people don’t know. The engines cost extra. Yes, it’s true, a lot of the Caddies you saw sitting in people’s driveways had been towed there by the dealer and placed strategically to make it look like the owners had wealth. They simply couldn’t afford the engine which was an extra, like power steering.

They were statues of status.

Click on image to see it larger.

(SOURCE: Sunset, November 1967)

BIG AMERICAN CARS IN 1967: Chrysler '68

They were American cars and they were in your face. Parking them was akin to trying to bring the Queen Mary into dock. But oh my were they comfy. There was plenty of room to do all sorts of things in these cars. And advertisers wanted to make sure you understood that what was under the hood was sexy. BIG and SEXY!

Click on image to see it larger.

(SOURCE: Sunset, November 1967)

American car makers scoffed at the Volkswagen. “Ha! You pathetic little ahead of your time gas saving no room lousy shocks tiny pinhead of a car! Ha! Eat our dust! We’ll drive by you on the freeway leaving you scurrying around trying to stay in your own lane just from the wake we leave behind.”

Yes, American cars were big, no…HUGE, and we loved them.

My folks sponsored a fellow from England in 1975. The first thing he wanted was a big American convertible. I loaned him $500 and we went out shopping. He found a huge white Ford convertible. He was in seventh heaven. I thought he was crazy, but it was a dream come true for him. He was in California and driving a convertible. It just didn’t get any better.