Uploaded August 2023 | Updated September 2026, 21 hours ago
Growing up in the Detroit area I heard cars referred to as Detroit Iron. I don't think THIS is what was meant.
No, THIS iron is ironing out the "rough spots" and flaws in your car. Figuratively speaking, of course. It says:
"Smooth Out Those Rough Spots! Gives New Look To Cars. We make minor debts and scratches disappear COMPLETELY! It saves you lots of money in the long run. When neglected, these blemishes turn into permanent scars that mar the trade-in value of your car when "eye appeal" can be a very important factor.
"For long life, taking care now of the dents and scratches prevents moisture, heat and road film from deteriorating the metal. Our work is best in town ((sic)). Let us prove it and make your car again look like new all over!"
So we're talking about drumming up business for the body & paint department of Kramer-Eberts in River Rouge Michigan, around 1949. In other cards in this series they made their pitch for brake inspections, tune-ups, warranty service, and more--but I found no card in this series where they ever made a pitch for an oil change. And these cards were sponsored by--and co-branded--Pennzoil. Well, there was a minor mention in THIS card from Episode 2, where it says "they follow the recommendations of your car manufacturer from timely lubrication to mechanical adjustments." Other than that, the Pennzoil people, who created these cards were not in the least heavy-handed at promoting their products on them. A customer getting one of these cards in the mail can obviously SEE the Pennzoil brand, but Pennzoil never gets in the way of the message that is intended to engage the customer. I could be wrong but I think most car owners left the choice of which motor oil to use in their cars up to the people servicing those cars. While it might appear that Pennzoil's purpose in creating these cards was to get auto service customers to request their oil, I don't guess that was really their point. Nor do I think that was an achieveable goal, either, and the fact that Pennzoil says so little about itself in these cards makes me think they knew it. I believe the existence of these cards was from the beginning more or less an incentive to the dealers and service shops to use their oil. 'Buy our oil and we'll supply you with these handy postcards to help drum up business.' Well, Okay.
Growing up in the Detroit area I heard cars referred to as Detroit Iron. I don't think THIS is what was meant.
No, THIS iron is ironing out the "rough spots" and flaws in your car. Figuratively speaking, of course. It says:
"Smooth Out Those Rough Spots! Gives New Look To Cars. We make minor debts and scratches disappear COMPLETELY! It saves you lots of money in the long run. When neglected, these blemishes turn into permanent scars that mar the trade-in value of your car when "eye appeal" can be a very important factor.
"For long life, taking care now of the dents and scratches prevents moisture, heat and road film from deteriorating the metal. Our work is best in town ((sic)). Let us prove it and make your car again look like new all over!"
So we're talking about drumming up business for the body & paint department of Kramer-Eberts in River Rouge Michigan, around 1949. In other cards in this series they made their pitch for brake inspections, tune-ups, warranty service, and more--but I found no card in this series where they ever made a pitch for an oil change. And these cards were sponsored by--and co-branded--Pennzoil. Well, there was a minor mention in THIS card from Episode 2, where it says "they follow the recommendations of your car manufacturer from timely lubrication to mechanical adjustments." Other than that, the Pennzoil people, who created these cards were not in the least heavy-handed at promoting their products on them. A customer getting one of these cards in the mail can obviously SEE the Pennzoil brand, but Pennzoil never gets in the way of the message that is intended to engage the customer. I could be wrong but I think most car owners left the choice of which motor oil to use in their cars up to the people servicing those cars. While it might appear that Pennzoil's purpose in creating these cards was to get auto service customers to request their oil, I don't guess that was really their point. Nor do I think that was an achieveable goal, either, and the fact that Pennzoil says so little about itself in these cards makes me think they knew it. I believe the existence of these cards was from the beginning more or less an incentive to the dealers and service shops to use their oil. 'Buy our oil and we'll supply you with these handy postcards to help drum up business.' Well, Okay.
