Lansing State Journal from Lansing, Michigan • Page 57

jTfey Picked Cars Like They Picked Men Early Lady Drivers Were Choosy ill ern car out of the clumsy horseless carriage of pioneer days." The ad tells women they are more insistent than men that the details of engineering, coach-work and equipment be just right. THE ADMEN of old pointed out women and their distinctive tastes, quoting one nameless female fan who said; "We're just as particular about the car we pick, as the man we pick." Taking up on this, the Oldsmobile folks described their car as "handsome, dashing, youthful." They went on to say a their car is smart in looks and action, "yet it's just as solidly substantial, practical and pendable as old dad himself." This week area residents are sorting through their memorabilia of the days when cars were new and Lansing was riding high with its efforts of putting a set of wheels under every family. OLDSMOBILE IS 75 years old this year and this weekend the city is celebrating, recalling the good old days by parading the cars that bring back memories of raccoon coats and school banners. One person excited about the celebration is Angie Vlahakis who brought out his endless collection of Oldsmobile history, including the ads cited above, to share this week. By KAREN ALDAG State Journal Writer "You'll like it, when you drive it," was the Oldsmobile promise back in 1930.

Using that old "try it you'll like it" come-on, Oldsmobile advertised in the Saturday Evening Post claiming that "Oldsmobile is the kind of car that makes friends from the very first meeting and strengthens that friendship as time goes on." The 1930 color ad features a sporty red roadster with a woman at the wheel. Students of early Oldsmobile ads point out that many of the early ads were geared to the woman shopper. UNLIKE THE ads of today which sprawl a woman across the hood as a sex symbol, early ads got to the brass tacks of what market researchers keep saying women hold the purse strings. For instance, Oldsmobile advertised heavily in early Ladies' Home Journal magazines to report they had "the new car for the woman of today." Published in the March 1928 edition of that magazine, an ad went on to point out that the Oldsmobile Six was one car of which no woman will say 'You'd just know a man designed The car, built to please a woman, was described as vivid, daring, voguish. BUT LONG before, in the April 15, 1916 edition of The Saturday Evening Post the company put a woman at the wheel of its "light deluxe eight," and pictured her chauffeuring her friends around.

The car which "won a warm welcome from critical motor car buyers" was advertised as selling for $1,195 FOB Lansing. Many of the ads call on women to spread the good word about their fine Olds and in the August, 1926, issue of The Ladies' Home Journal the adman endorsed the product as "The car you can recommend to your best friend," and they pictured two women discussing the pros and cons of a car over the front left fender. Many of the ads remind women that the Oldsmobile product offers beauty and quality, but most of all it" offers "riding comfort and driving ease. Nimble in traffic, easy to park." PROBABLY ONE ad that goes the farthest in putting the woman car buyer in the driver's seat appeared in the Ladies' Home Journal, July, 1928, the ad, in color, questions "What does a woman want in a motor car?" First the ad describes women as the value seekers and value finders of the family. The ad goes on to compliment the prospective buyer: "Feminine demands are largely what have brought the smartly attractive, comfortable, trouble-free, easy driving mod THE BETTER Early admen told ivomen that "feminine demands" caused the changes from clumsy horseless carriages to the smart, modern car Olds produced in 1928.

YO KNOW IT THE BETTER YOU LI KE IT thousands of other, you too 'Will wy. "I ikrvrr knew what a truly great car this For, firm as it unds in public favor, lavish as is owner praise, you cannot realize whit awaita you 'til you get behind the wheeland learn the truth. Here a swift acceleration, abundant power, effortless control Here is solid comfort, true ience, driving ease. SECTION TV LISTINGS FAMILY MAGAZINE And as the months and miles roll by, new sources ot satisfaction orxn up its unflagging performance, its thrifty operation and its staunch dependability WJiatevcr you want in a tar, what ever Oldnmobue for the better you know jt, the better you like rt. TTO-OOOIIIOAM t950 r.0.1.lAWSIKO OLDSMOBILE The State Journal, Thursday, August 17, 1972 Brought to You by the Letter Merry Olds Days Lansing will be jumping with Oldsmobile's 75th anniversary celebration this weekend, starting with merchants sales tonight and again on Friday until 10 p.m.

Highlights will include an 8 p.m. concert Friday on the Capitol lawn by the Crown Point (Ind.) High School marching and playing band. After the half-hour concert the group will move to the Washington Square Mall for another performance. Street dances and fireworks downtown at 9 p.m. also are planned Friday.

Saturday's main activity will be a parade beginning at 11 a.m. featuring vintage Oldsmobiles. which also will be on display downtown from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Emilio Delgado: "Adults have finally admitted that children can learn before the age of five.n Children and Family Children's Theater players will perform "Willie's Back to School Party" in the Lansing Mall at 7 p.m.

Friday and 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday. Also on the slate for children this week is the Imaginary Players' "Aesop's Falables" at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Saturday at the Ledges Playhouse, Grand Ledge. Abrams Planetarium is showing a science fiction program, "The Last Question," at 8 p.m. Friday, 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday on the MSU campus.

The university ice skating rink is open for public skating from 9 to 10:30 p.m. Friday and from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. By LIZ HILL State Journal Writer "This segment of the show is brought to you by the letter has a familiar ring to the preschool set around Lansing and the country. One of the cast and a deputy director for field services for the Children's Tel-evision Workshop which produces the show Sesame Street were in town this week to study other media programs for children and to help Head Start, day care centers and children's groups better utilize the show designed especially for the young set.

EMILIO DELGADO, who plays Luis on the show, said its purpose can be summed up in one phrase: To teach preschool children. "Adults have finally admitted that children can learn before the age of five," he continued. He explained that the show uses the techniques of television to produce a learning environment for children. "This is a visual generation," he said. "They will get more from this type of show." Andy Aguilar, whose job is to encourage educational programs such as day care centers and Head Start to use Sesame Street said, "Our job, is just to reinforce what teachers and parents are trying to teach their children." HE TOLD about the owner of an educational television station in San Francisco who advertises for old and even broken televisions.

Since the beginning of the year he has reoeived and re- paired 390 sets which he places in day care centers so the children enrolled can watch the show. thinks the show is also helping mothers teach their children. 'Teaching your child shouldn't be something you set aside an hour for each day," he said, but should be a constant process. For example, if you're putting oranges away, encourage the child to count them, he advised. A new component is being introduced.

Through Luis, the children are learning and hearing Spanish. "We don't teach Spanish, we teach in Spanish," Delgado said. He noted that Spanish is the second most common language spoken in the U.S. and this country has the fifth largest Spanish-speaking population in the world. AGUILAR NOTED that more and more teachers are telling Sesame Street-personnel that they are finding children who watch the show are a few grades ahead of the children who don't.

"They learn the alphabet and the numbers through 20," before they ever get to school, he said. While there has been some criticism of the show, Delgado "This form of education isn't any worse than you find other places and it's probably better than some." But since the show is experimental, it is constantly changing. SLAPSTICK BITS were included in some of the program's first shows. "We got letters from mothers saying their children were trying to slip on banana peels and getting hurt," Aguilar said. The bits were dropped from the show.

But the big question is, does the show appeal to children? It must. An autistic child, one who can't relate to other human beings, fell in love with Big Bird. Big Bird visited the child who had never spoken. "All of a sudden the child was speaking and he came completely out of his shell," Delgado said. Outstate An Antique Show in Grand Haven begins today and continues through Saturday and the Blueberry Festival in Montrose begins Friday and continues through Sunday.

If you're a fair-going family you can take in the last day of the Newaygo County Fair in Fremont, Saturday, or if you want to go a little farther away, attend the Iron County Fair in Iron River, ending Sunday. Wayne County 4-H Fair is continuing through Wednesday in Belleville. For one-day excursions you can see what a Danish Festival is like in Greenville, Saturday, and share the excitement of the Au Sable River Longboat Regatta in Grayling Sunday. Andy Aguilar: Slapstick hits were dropped when mothers complained that their kids were "trying to slip on banana peels For Sportsfans The Spartan Speedway will feature a 100-lap special super-stock race beginning at 8 p.m. Friday.

And the Lansing All Stars will travel to Flint, Saturday, to meet the Flint Wildcats in a Midwest Football League game at 7:30 p.m. at Holy Redeemer Field. Sunday, take your pick of football or NASCAR auto racing. "The Detroit Lions might trample the Cleveland Browns in an NFL exhibition game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor at 2 p.m. Tickets are available at the gate for 16.

Yankee 400 NASCAR Grand National stock car races start, at 12:30 p.m. Sunday at Michigan International Speedway at Cambridge Junction. Gate prices for tickets range from to $25. Stilt Jwil PtotM.