SAAC Forum

Off Topic Area => The Lounge => Topic started by: Coralsnake on March 24, 2020, 05:42:34 PM

Title: Cal Worthington Ford
Post by: Coralsnake on March 24, 2020, 05:42:34 PM
Introducing a new way to evaluate front suspension, the tiger test

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QOsLdT4slsk
Title: Re: Cal Worthington Ford
Post by: J_Speegle on March 24, 2020, 05:49:05 PM
So miss his commercials. 

The song was on the TV so often and it was so "catchy" that my youngest ran around the house singing it when he first started to talk. Only thing was he understood the "Go See Cal" as "Horsey - Cow" :)

Thanks for the memory and chance to smile
Title: Re: Cal Worthington Ford
Post by: Krelboyne on March 24, 2020, 05:50:14 PM
Oh my gosh, he had commercials on all of the local stations when I was growing up in SoCal.

We heard "goose-ee cow. LOL
Title: Re: Cal Worthington Ford
Post by: Side-Oilers on March 24, 2020, 05:53:45 PM
Ol' Cal had some balls.  From playing with and riding potentially-dangerous animals, to being strapped to a bi-plane's wing (also known as the toupee test...it failed) Cal had it going on.

Not only did he test front suspensions, but also the scratch and dent resistance of many car hoods.

Fun memories from growing up in SoCal in the 1960s-70s.

I wonder what the tiger would've done if the golf cart's rear wheel had run over it's tail.  "Go see Cal...in the city morgue."
Title: Re: Cal Worthington Ford
Post by: Coralsnake on March 24, 2020, 05:53:57 PM
Im surprised he lived so long with all those animals chewing on his neck
Title: Re: Cal Worthington Ford
Post by: 427heaven on March 24, 2020, 05:58:02 PM
We anxiously awaited his dog spot..... Which could have been ANYTHING each week. ;)
Title: Re: Cal Worthington Ford
Post by: The Going Thing on March 24, 2020, 08:31:33 PM
I remember Cal Worthing and his Dog Spot! Dan Rowan and Dean Martin were there when I was very young.
Title: Re: Cal Worthington Ford
Post by: 557 on March 25, 2020, 11:27:05 AM
Very cool cat,had a private airstrip at his pad....
Title: Re: Cal Worthington Ford
Post by: camp upshur on March 25, 2020, 11:53:19 AM

Typical hick who tested well (like CS), gotta love em:


"At the beginning of World War II, Worthington enlisted in the Army Air Corps. Commissioned a Second Lieutenant, he was the aerobatics champion at Goodfellow Field in San Angelo, Texas. He saw combat as a B-17 Flying Fortress pilot with the 390th Bomb Group, flying 29 missions over Germany. He was discharged after the war as a captain. Worthington was awarded the Air Medal five times, and received the Distinguished Flying Cross, which was presented to him by General Jimmy Doolittle.

Worthington's military service was frequently revisited in the 21st century in aviation magazines, since he had trained pilots who would become some of America's first astronauts."
Title: Re: Cal Worthington Ford
Post by: 427heaven on March 25, 2020, 12:34:55 PM
God bless the Hicks, with a gift of gab and showmanship. They knew what people wanted. SHELBY and WORTHINGTON are perfect examples.  ;)
Title: Re: Cal Worthington Ford
Post by: gt350hr on March 25, 2020, 01:03:50 PM
   Cal was a true gentleman.He was one of the first to do his own financing. He "worked" with any customer and was a "hero" to many customers because of that. He was as real as they get and spent allot of time at the dealerships "pressing the flesh". As you can see not "all" of his "dog spots" were well trained.
   Randy
Title: Re: Cal Worthington Ford
Post by: 98SVT - was 06GT on March 25, 2020, 02:49:58 PM
Quote from: gt350hr on March 25, 2020, 01:03:50 PM
   Cal was a true gentleman.He was one of the first to do his own financing. He "worked" with any customer and was a "hero" to many customers because of that. He was as real as they get and spent allot of time at the dealerships "pressing the flesh". As you can see not "all" of his "dog spots" were well trained.
   Randy

He got a lot of flack from the state. His used cars were mostly high mileage and sold cheap. People always complained and figured they got screwed when it broke down within a short while. He shot most of his commercials using green screen at KCOP in LA. He'd show up with a couple car transporters and start shooting. I was there one day when a Tbird wouldn't start. The crew said we'll just push it. He countered that if it didn't run it wouldn't be in the commercial. They said no one would know. He gave them a lecture on ethics.
Title: Re: Cal Worthington Ford
Post by: 427heaven on March 25, 2020, 03:23:12 PM
That would be a description of 100 % of the used car sales types. :-[
Title: Re: Cal Worthington Ford
Post by: gt350hr on March 25, 2020, 04:19:35 PM
  Yes he did sell dirt cheap , high mileage cars but I know first hand that he did stand behind them , in some cases giving the customer another car in exchange for the problem car. It happened to a family member. They thought they were screwed until he sent them home in another car they had for five years after.
    Nothing like "Hi friends Ralph Williams". He was a crook.
   Randy
Title: Re: Cal Worthington Ford
Post by: 98SVT - was 06GT on March 25, 2020, 07:24:01 PM
Quote from: gt350hr on March 25, 2020, 04:19:35 PMNothing like "Hi friends Ralph Williams". He was a crook.
100% and the Yakel Brothers who kept 2 sets of books and used 1 to show missed payments to repo the car. Sure taught people not to make their payments in cash at the dealership.