5 weird and funny car commercials of the past: Volvo’s sexism, wheels of Enzo Ferrari and the legendary E30 (Video)

Posted on 2017-09-142017-09-14 by Admin

Why do we like vintage car commercials so much? Couple of decades ago art of visual effects and videography was not where it is now. Therefore, creators had to use different approach to make their clips interesting and dynamic. While car commercials of today are definitely cool, we like to look back at how some already classic cars used to be advertised. So that is what we are doing here today – we present you 5 interesting car commercials from the past.

This article is part of the series we have going on about old car commercials, you can find the entire list of articles at the very bottom of this one. Meanwhile today we are looking at how BMW E30, Volvo 145, Toyota pickup trucks, Fiat 128 and were advertised.

There is no denying that we love E30. We are following one restoration project and we’ve already covered 7 interesting facts about this car. However, while now it is gaining its classic status, back in a day it was just another car on the market. This is kind of a lengthy, but it is full of good stuff. For starts, there is a nice example of old commercial weirdness – some boats and 80’s graphics.

If you watched entire clip, you really saw everything. Nice convertible, fast M3 and, of course, an off-roading scene on the snow. By the way, if you like E30, here you can read 7 interesting facts about this famous BMW.

There is no denying that today the world is more about equality than ever. Back in a day a little bit of sexism didn’t really bother anyone. This Volvo 145 commercial is a perfect example of how different the world was back in a way.

To be completely honest, we have to admit that this was the lifestyle of choice in those days. And both men and women struggled with those massive estate cars. Comparably tiny Volvo 145 looks so refreshing squeezed in between those American monsters.

Ford F150 is the most popular car in USA. In fact, pickup trucks are immensely popular throughout the country. Of course, American manufacturers are dominating the market, but Toyota is not humble about its presence either. This is how it introduced its new line in 1985.

You can see how competitor trucks are standing on their back axles from… shock, maybe? Regardless, Toyota makes pretty much the finest pickups on the market – they are extremely reliable, unbeatable off-road and full of technology.

“When it comes to cars, you can’t fool the Ferrari” – a funny ad for a humble Fiat 128. Enzo Ferrari is a legendary name in automotive business, who founded the coolest brand in the world. However, according to this commercial, Mr. Ferrari himself used different cars for his own commute.

Enzo Ferrari drove many cars throughout his lifetime and Fiat 128 is actually not that weird. However, we don’t thing Ferrari drew a lot of inspiration from humble Fiats when creating his own masterpieces.

Finally, just look at how dreamy Mazda Miata (MX-5) commercial was. This little sports car is probably the most optimistic vehicle on the road and it seems like people behind this clip grasped its character very well. Just take a look.

Mazda MX-5 is the most popular sports car in the world. We are starting to think – maybe it is time that NODUM buys one…

These were all commercials we had for this time. Are there any vintage car commercials YOU would include into our list?

If you enjoy vintage car commercials, we offer two other parts of this series:

In the first article we showed creative clips about Ford Model T, classic MINI, SAAB 900 Turbo, first generation Volkswagen Golf GTI and Lada Niva

In the second we took a look at how Audi 100, Golf MkII, Volkswagen Passat, Opel Calibra and Fiat Multipla were advertised;

And in the third we watched M5 (E39), Porsche, Ford Mustang, Mercedes-Benz and Lambroghini commercials.

Martynas’ E30 – preparation and painting

Posted on 2017-08-282017-08-30 by Admin

Martynas is restoring his E30 and sharing his experience with you. This time we are going to show and tell how he prepared and painted his car without professional equipment and a ton of money. While Martynas certainly has his hands growing from the right place, he had no experience in restoring cars. So hopefully this will be somewhat inspirational for you – you can do this too!

This is a second part of article series dedicated to Martynas’ E30. In the first article we looked over the condition of the car, main defects and Martynas’ vision of how it will look like when restoration project is completed. We invite you to read that article first.

In short, this E30 was not in a good shape. However, it is an old car and it could certainly be worse. While some rust was immediately visible, it was only an indication of what can be found underneath some of the body pannels and the layer of paint. So the first step in preparation for a new paintjob was removing fenders to inspect for rust.

E30 had to be partially disasembled to inspect for rust.

And, of course, there was rust. All plastic components that were on the way, such as the grill and the rear lights, were removed and then Martynas could start sanding old paint away. This, of course, revealed even more rust that was not previously visible as well as some pretty deep dents.

Deep dents and spots that rusted out were filled with autobody filler.

Rust was sanded away completely and bigger spots as well as dents were filled with autobody filler. As you can see in the picture, there were many spots that had to be filled and sanded flush with the rest of the body, but eventually, after several days, work was finished.

Car was primed outdoors – if weather is right, you can do that without a problem.

Then it was time to spray the primer. Most people think that this has to be done professionally in a painting booth. And it’s true – results should be better if you take your car to a paint shop. However, Martynas wanted to do it himself and there really is no reason not to try. While it is easy to mess up, you can always sand little drips or dust away. So Martynas sprayed his E30 just on his lawn outside of the garage. All wheels and windows were masked before this operation.

While results were not perfect – several insects and some dust landed on wet primer – proper sanding fixed everything. And then it was time for painting. This, of course, cannot be done outdoors.

Martynas put up a temporary painting booth in a garage using just some plastic sheets. The goal is to let the paint cure uninterrupted by dust, insects or rain. His make-shift painting booth worked just fine. He did buy a good quality spray gun, but didn’t spend a fortune on it. The colour is called “Extra Black” and it seems to live up to its name.

In the painting booth – just a normal garage space.

One layer of paint and a couple of layers of lacquer were sprayed on the car. Paint layer was pretty much perfect, but there are some drips in the clear coat. It was made thicker for this exact purpose – imperfections will be gone in polishing.

Before plastic parts were put back into place.

This is how the car looked like after it was assembled back together.

And this is what the new exhaust looks like.

E30 now has double a double tip exhaust.

With this exterior restoration is almost done. It does still require some polishing, but the clear coat is still not cured enough for that. However, E30 is already up on its feet – it is mechanically well and safe to drive. By the way, speaking of the feet, this came in the mail –

But more about the wheels and how the car looks with them in the next article. Soon it will be time to start working on the interior of the E30, which is not in a good shape at all.

If you have any questions about the build, you can ask them on our Facebook page or via email nodum2017@gmail.com.

7 facts about BMW E30 that you might not know: M3 pickup? (Video)

Posted on 2017-08-112017-11-18 by Admin

E30 is one of the most loved BMW‘s in the world. It is not immediately obvious why, but it is a nice car to look at. It features straight sharp lines and right angles. It is compact, yet athletic in a way. E30 is just full of character, which helped it to gain its international success. Today we present 7 interesting facts about E30 that you might not know.

BMW E30 – is the second generation 3 Series, produced between 1982–1994. In total, more than 2.3 million examples have been made, which means that the E30 is far from being a rare car. This is actually good, because people can modify it to suit their personal taste without remorse of damaging some historically valuable vehicle. In Nodum.org you can follow one of these projects – Martynas‘ E30 Coupe is getting restomoded into something rather interesting. But let’s jump into the 7 interesting facts about the E30.

The first Z Series car

BMW Z Series is a family of convertibles. You probably know the little Z3 and you have definitely seen the pretty Z4. However, the first Z car was actually the small and quirky Z1, based on the E30 325i running gear. It had a plastic body, an interesting shape and bizarre vertically opening sliding doors.

The first M3

BMW M3 is now an iconic performance car, which we can trace back to the E30. BMW wanted to race, so the E30 homologation had to be passed and, as you know, street cars are needed for it. That is why in 1985 the E30 M3 was born. It was built using a coupe body, but arches were expanded using a boxed design. Some people like it and some people don’t, because it looks like a modification done in someone’s garage. The most powerful E30 M3 had a 175 kW 2.5 litre engine and could reach 100 km/h in around 6 seconds. The last E30 M3 was made sometime in 1992.

Boxed arches – a bit of a controversial feature of E30 M3. (Rudolf Stricker, Wikimedia)

M3 pickup?

M3 is a very practical performance vehicle. But making it into a pickup just doesn’t sound good. However, the only M3 pickup produced by the actual M Division was meant to be used in the facility to deliver parts. It was made in 1986 by converting a normal 3 Series convertible into a performance pickup with a 2 litre engine. Later it got a proper 2.3 litre engine and it was still being regularly used in the M Division campus until 2012. Many enthusiasts created their own E30 pickups as well.

E30 – one of the most important cars in BMW’s history

Many historians and BMW fans agree that the E30 helped BMW transition from building small sporty cars to larger luxury automobiles. E30 was the first 3 Series to be offered as a sedan and as anestate. It was also the first 3 Series to have an all-wheel-drive and diesel engine options. And the first BMW to sell in big numbers in the U. S.

Friendship with E36

E30 was being manufactured up until 1994, but its successor, E36, entered production in 1990. How can it be? Well, at first, E36 was only made as a coupe and until other versions were made available, the E30 was still being manufactured. It was slowly phased out. Touring (estate version of the E30) was the last E30 to leave the factory in 1994.

E36 and E30 were manufactured together for as long as 4 years. (OSX, Wikimedia)

You have to be smart to modify an E30

E30 is actually not an expensive car at all. Many car enthusiasts bought them and started modifications without knowing what they were doing. For example, bricks or a concrete slab in the trunk are known to have been used to improve the handling. Nowadays, it seems that people who pick up a E30 for restomoding projects modify their cars tastefully and such weird fashions don’t exist enymore.

E30 convertibles were featured in Top Gear as well. The popular trio tested three almost identical cars, but two of them were badly modified. And so, the least modified one won the challenges by a huge margin.

Claus Luthe

E30 was designed by the German car designer Claus Luthe. He is regarded as one of the most important people forming modern European car design. In his portfolio we would find not only E30, but also Audi 50, BMW E28, and Volkswagen K70. Have you ever been in an Audi 100 C2? Its interior also has been designed by Luthe. He also supervised the design process of the E31 8 Series.

Those are all the facts we compiled for you for today. We invite you to follow our series of articles about this E30 – Martynas’s E30 is taking shape nicely.

Did we miss something? What other important E30 facts have not been mentioned in the article?

Martynas’ E30. Interesting restoration project – current state and vision

Posted on 2017-08-072017-08-13 by Admin

BMW 3-series E30 is kind of a weird car. While it is not rare or particularly beautiful, many car enthusiasts are craving to get their hand on one. Martynas is one of them and currently, while you are reading this article, he is working on making something that will turn out to be his dream car. And we will follow him on every step of the process.

While E30 is not a rare exotic car, enthusiasts like Martynas like it for how it looks. Its design – straight lines and sharp corners – stand out from the traffic flow in a modern city. Also, it is quite a small car, which seems to be perfectly proportioned. And because it is not rare or historically valuable, you can have fun while restomoding it to perfection. Martynas’ E30 will get its uniqueness, which it is lacking now, in the process of restoration.

What is it? It is a 1990 E30 coupe with a 1.8 litre 113 AG (83 kW) engine. During its decades of service, this car was never babied and it reflects in current state of the vehicle.

An old E30 ready to be reborn for a new life.

Current state of Martynas’ E30

We have to say, while it is old and crusty, Martynas’ E30 is definitely not too far gone. The biggest mechanical faults came from neglect – this car has been left standing outside for some time. However, it does start and drive for a little, although some of its suspension components are in urgent need of replacement. That is not really a concern as Martynas would’ve redone entire suspension anyway, since he wishes the car sits lower and handles a little bit sportier.

Engine is producing some unpleasant noises. It is probably a faulty compensator, but a major overhaul is needed. Again – nothing too dramatic. Martynas is considering a new engine – something with more power and nicer singing voice. We will see if he fixes this engine and keeps it or replaces it with something more special immediately.

Engine – 1.8 l four cylinder, producing 113 AG (83 kW). Currently it is making some unpleasant noises.

The appearance of the car is a totally different story. Paint is in a pretty bad state, showing a lot of rust on the bottom portion of the body. In fact, the bottom of the car had to be patched up, because some places were completely eaten away by rust. Rust will be healed and the entire car will be repainted in the same colour – black.

Seat is just completely worn out from the decades of use.

Meanwhile interior is quite ugly at this point. Driver’s seat is torn to pieces and steering wheel is worn away too. It is a beautiful rim too, from M Division, so it has to be restored and reinstalled.

Steering wheel will soon get some new leather.

All in all, this car could be quickly up and running after decent fix-up. However, Martynas’ vision is a bit different.

Vision

While Martynas, like many other BMW fans out there, likes the lines of the body of the original E30 there is definitely some room for improvement. And, as mentioned earlier, because this car is not original, you get to do whatever you want without the sense of guilt, which comes from ruining a historic artefact. So what Martynas will do?

Nature wants to reclaim the metal – E30 is suffering from rust damage.

His E30 will wear original BBS rims, will sit closer to the road and will sport a fresh and shiny black paintjob. Wider wheels and lower stance will completely transform the looks of the car – coupe will look athletic and will leave no doubts that it belongs to a car guy. But appearance is just part of the story.

A lot of work will go into this project to refresh all the little details.

Martynas wants his BMW to be sporty. One of the ways to get more power it to install a new engine, but it is quite a complicated task and there are other options too. Because work on this E30 has already started, Nodum.org will be happy to report, which route Martynas went. What we do know is that exhaust system will be altered significantly, to let E30 breathe easier and sing nicer.

And that’s about it as far as we know. It will unravel as it moves along and we will be happy to report on the progress. You may say that there are hundreds of E30’s with BBS rims, lowered stance and loud engine note, but we think Martynas’ one is going to be just that little bit special. And it is always interesting to see restomoding projects.

If you have any questions about the project that you would like us to answer in the upcoming article, comment on our Facebook page.

Five interesting automobile commercials from the past: why you don’t see a car in Lamborghini’s clip?

Posted on 2017-08-072017-08-16 by Admin

We buy cars relying on our own taste, suggestions from our friends and, sometimes, commercials. We always want a better, faster, better looking car and sometimes it just takes one short clip to make us change our bedroom wall poster to something else. We collected most interesting weird car commercials from the past, this time focusing on the dream cars.

All car enthusiasts have their dream car – something that is too expensive at the moment, but maybe someday it will stand in your garage. Did you ever dream about having a Lamborghini? Or maybe a Porsche? Or maybe you’re a muscle car guy and you wish you could drive around in a vintage Ford Mustang? We compiled commercials about all of these cars, but to start with let’s look at probably one of the best car commercials of all time, starring BMW M5 (E39).

Super saloons are mighty impressive vehicles that can do everything. While they are happy to tear up a race track, they can drive you to work or kids to school the very next day. BMW M5 is arguably the biggest name in the super saloon game and here is how E39 M5 was advertised back in a day.

We know exactly why we love this commercial so much – it is a surprise factor. When you look at the clip knowing it is a commercial for an M5, you are expecting it to speed past a land speed record car when rock music in the background gets louder and louder. But not this time – M5 was always in the front. M5 at the time was the fastest saloon car in the world and boy was it proud of it. This clip was uploaded to YouTube 11 years ago, in 2006, but it is older, since E39 ended its production life in 2003.

Now, BMW M5 is brilliant, but it is not a car for everyone. Meanwhile Porsche is a name you can’t help but respect, regardless of the vehicle. And for all good reasons – cars of this brand are fast, extremely high-quality, composed in racing tracks and engineered to perfection. And this is how you advertise it when you don’t have to prove anything anymore.

Classy. Ferdinand Anton Ernst Porsche walking casually through the history of the brand and stopping for a moment to adore a legendary 959 – what a commercial. This man is a pretty big name in automotive history as you might imagine. His dad was a founder of Volkswagen and Porsche brands and his son was one of the creators of 911.

Meanwhile back in the 1960’s Ford Mustang had to prove a lot to secure its presence in the market of sports cars. However, this commercial is a little bit weird in its characters.

Sure, a move-away steering wheel is a nice feature and the car looks good, but it is not the star of the commercial. A man got called by a mermaid, so he jumped into his Mustang and drove to the beach to see her – a perfectly sound commercial, we say. By the way, the steering wheel in this car is, according to us, one of the most beautiful in the automotive history.

Not everyone likes sports cars, so we can take a step away from them for a moment. How about luxury? Many people have Mercedes-Benz cars as their dream vehicles and we get it – they are posh, reliable and are a symbol of wealth and good taste. However, Mercedes drivers have a bit of reputation, which, intentionally or not, has been represented in this commercial.

Ok, this stereotype caries through many luxury brands, but it seems to have stuck with Jaguar and Mercedes drivers very tightly. On the other hand, this commercial does underline car’s key characteristics – dependability and four-wheel-drive system.

Finally, we come to Lamborghini – the original poster car, dream of all car enthusiasts, author of cars that got us into automotive culture. However, this commercial is actually quite unusual, let’s see if you can pick up why.

Yup, no Lamborghini in the video. While the clip is mostly about Sant’Agata, Lamborghini is really a star, even without ever showing up. Interestingly, not everyone got the point of this commercial so we kindly explain – green light for pedestrians is very short, because Sant’Agata is Lamborghini country.

If you enjoy vintage car commercials, we offer two other parts of this series:

In the first article we showed creative clips about Ford Model T, classic MINI, SAAB 900 Turbo, first generation Volkswagen Golf GTI and Lada Niva

And in the second we took a look at how Audi 100, Golf MkII, Volkswagen Passat, Opel Calibra and Fiat Multipla were advertised.

Tag: BMW

5 weird and funny car commercials of the past: Volvo’s sexism, wheels of Enzo Ferrari and the legendary E30 (Video)