1957 Ford Commercials

This month I thought I'd show some VERY rare Ford TV commercials from 1957. What makes these so rare is that they're in color.
It is probably safe to say that most Americans only saw these in black and white, as color TV was still a very new medium. Few shows were broadcast in color and even fewer people could afford them.
Limited production for the '57 Ford, where the assembly line was tested (for safety and efficiency) prior to full production, began in late August of 1956 and full production started the first week of September. The last '57 Ford passenger car was built on September 27, 1957 and the last actual '57 Ford to roll off the assembly line was a Thunderbird on December 13, 1957.
Total production for the 1957 Ford numbered 1,674,448 units, with the Custom 300 Fordor Sedan being the most produced model, numbering 194,677 cars.
So now, lets go back to a time when these 1957 Fords were brand new cars being introduced to the public. Notice how Ford promoted these cars as part of an active lifestyle.

Happy Birthday Dad

Today, were he alive, my Dad would have turned 81.
Among all the happy memories I have of him is the first car I remember him driving.
Early on in his driving career, my Dad, like his Dad, favored Fords. Every car purchase my Grandfather made was a Ford from 1953 until he died in 1978...but that's a story for another time.
I remember Dad telling me of a brand new 1954 Ford he had only 2 weeks before a near head on collision on Rt. 9 in Charlton, MA. totaled it. He told me that immediately after the accident the first thing he remembers doing after checking to see if he was okay (which he was), was turning off the radio.
Now the first car I remember him driving and riding with him in, was a 1955 Ford Victoria.
My Dad's early Ford purchases were made at MacSherry Ford in Shrewsbury, MA.
At first he considered replacing his totaled '54 Ford with a new Ford model called the Thunderbird. Jim MacSherry the owner of the dealership and a good friend, told my Dad that he wasn't sure about the Thunderbird with it being a new model and he also didn't think it would hold it's value. Little did he know...
The car my Dad did end up buying was black with a white top and a red and white interior. As for options...I can see from pictures I have of this car, that it had automatic transmission (Fordomatic) and can see that it also had a radio and sported white sidewall tires.
My Dad and Mom honeymooned in this car and it stayed in our family until November of 1959, at which time my parents decided that a larger car was needed for their growing family. It was traded in at Nanuet (N.Y.) Dodge and replaced by a 1960 Dodge Dart Pioneer wagon.