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7 of our Favorite Automotive Slogans
Certain slogans stick with us long after the brand they represent has moved on to other campaigns. In some cases, we remember that earworm or tagline long after the brand itself has been put out to pasture. Whether they were associated with a catchy song, cut to the chase in ways others simply didn’t, or just found us at an impressionable moment, each of us has a favorite. Here are a few that came up in the Hagerty Media group chat this week. Let us know what automotive slogans you’d add to the list!
Drive it like you hate it
The Volvo 122/Amazon had a slogan “Drive it Like You Hate It.” These were stylish cars but underneath, the powertrains were fairly rugged and agricultural. 122s helped build Volvo’s reputation for durability and longevity, as well as a certain cheekiness. That these cars became popular rally machines should come as little surprise. —Eric Weiner
La Ga Rah
Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday! But if we’re going with brand slogans, I’ve gotta go with “Like A Rock” and the accompanying song by Bob Seger. This ’80s rock n’ roll ballad was the perfect score for a Silverado taking a load of bricks to the bed in slow-mo. Side note: As a kid, I thought he was singing a nonsense phrase, “La-ga-rah,” which gave my parents a good chuckle whenever I sang it incorrectly.
Probably more of a saying rather than a slogan, but “ran when parked” is also great. I get its use to describe a vehicle’s current condition when sold, but it’s not that helpful of a statement. I find “wasn’t under two inches of dirt and mouse poop when parked” just as useful. —Cameron Neveu
Marketplace
Buy and sell classics with confidence
Classy rhymes
I’ve always liked Jaguar’s slogan from the 1960s: Grace, Space, and Pace. Those three words so succinctly encapsulated what the brand was about in its heyday, which is a far cry from where things stand today. It’s hard to imagine, without much snark, what a reboot of that tagline would be right now. I will confess, however, that unless I see the slogan in print, I generally forget the order of the words, although it tends to work no matter which way they fall, which I also appreciate. —Stefan Lombard
It’s what they build
When I was maybe five or six, I told my dad we needed a Pontiac. He asked why. “Because they build excitement!” was my response. I was not at all impressionable as a youth. Incidentally, my first car was a ’92 Firebird. —Eddy Eckart
It’s a Mirage
As much as I appreciate these (and every other slogan I remember), I suddenly had a revelation. Something happened so suddenly that I was blown away by angelic voices singing such a perfect slogan that I was suddenly taken to a special place.
A special place with obvious choices. And boy, did it ever happen suddenly! —Sajeev Mehta
Astute readers will note that this is the second week in a row in which a Mitsubishi Mirage has been featured in a list. It’ll be the last for a while. We promise. —Ed.
Ask the man…
Most slogans come from marketing departments, carefully honed over months to achieve the desired connotation. Over a century ago, marketing departments for automakers were non-existent. Ward Packard and his brother created Packard in 1899, and a request for a catalog soon arrived at their headquarters. With nothing printed to fulfill the request, Packard had a note returned that simply said “Ask the man who owns one.” What better sales pitch is there than an impartial third party? Don’t take the word of the person trying to sell you something, listen to the person who’s already made the leap. It was a line that stuck and came to define the company. —Kyle Smith
The best
Rolls-Royce’s “The Best Car in the World” is straight to the point, whether it was ever true or not. —Andrew Newton
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Cadillac, The Standard of the World.
Simplify, then add lightness. Colin Chapman
Timex had an ad where a watch was strapped to a Ford pickup bumper. After some spirited off roading the watch was shown still working. The tag line was “Takes a licking and keeps on ticking “. Ford picked up on that theme and had a pickup with a watch strapped on the bumper again and went off road. Truck came back with the watch totally smashed and the tag line was something like “The watch isn’t working but the truck’s still ticking”.
“This is Ford Country!” “What are you driving?”
Mazda’s “Zoom-Zoom-Zoom” commercial!
The Splendid Stutz.
The Safety Stutz.
Only Mustang Makes it Happen
Join the Dodge Rebellion
Dodge – “That Thang Gotta HEMI ?”
“See the USA”
1960s Chevrolet
Mercury Cyclone CJ. “ Guaranteed to move the U.S. male”.
During WWII (when new cars were not being produced) billboards showed a crystal ball with a message that said “There’s a Ford in your Future”. A car ad and a message of Hope.
Mercedes-Benz, The best or nothing.
The Toyota slogan “Oh what a feeling” when people jumped in the commercial is iconic.
“Cadillac, Cadillac, Cadillac Style” watching the Masters golf tournament on TV.
Voice of Sarek, Spock’s father (can’t recall the actor’s name): “We don’t make compromises. We make Saabs”.
And don’t forget Stutz…”The Car That Made Good in a Day”
I’m embarrassed to have not mentioned that before.
The phrase was coined after the prototype Bearcat came in 11th at the first Indy 500 (then called the “Indianapolis Sweepstakes”).