By Alex Kierstein
There was a brief but luminous period when huge faux-heraldic appliques were the ne plus ultra of Detroit chic. Remember the “poulet criard” that graced the hood of the Trans Am? Then there was the Royal Knight …
Sporting a couple of what I assume to be a pair of mating Gryphons exhaling fire after a particularly exuberant session of truck-bed hokey-pokey (the “ribbed steel cargo space” is for extra pleasure), this special-edition El Camino was more than just a vinyl kit – ok, scratch that, it was exactly that. So what? You owe it to yourself to look into the Royal Knight and its sport mirrors – sporty! I guess the only question here is, if you were a dragon, would you hit that?
Justacarguy
Thanks to Jason for the tip!
Kamil Kaluski
Well, at least Chevy's truck sticker packages were better than GMC's. I'll take a Gryphon over Beau James: http://home.netcom.com/~rvtucker/beaujame.html
Or Gentleman Jim: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2623/4036956994_70…
Wow. That "Gentleman Jim" ad is something else. Imagine what the tuxedo guy must be whispering to that lady (or slipping in her drink) in order to get her into a gawdawful two-tone pickup truck in that gown.
I remember the Gentleman Jim well. Think "King Ranch" for days of yore.
Beau James totally sounds like the name of a Heisman Trophy winner.
I see Gentleman Jim and I think John Player Special.
Holy Jesus, the things I missed as a kid…
Can you get the black paint with the red applique? Sold.
Gentleman Jim is more of a bad acid trip, though.
Indeed you could.
Once upon a time, every option needed a special name, so that onlookers would know how special and wonderful it was. Adjust-O-Tilt, Powerglide, Positraction, Merc-O-Matic. Truly, it was a Golden Age of authentic advertising gibberish.
In this particular case, it meant you paid something like $150 for the dubious pleasure of sitting on an "individual" seat with no more lateral support or comfort than the standard bench. As Tom Waits once said, "The large print giveth, the small print taketh away."
Yeah, I think I recall seeing a Plymouth Reliant option called the "Nev-R-Laid." It came standard on every new Reliant. It was a badging kit, consisting of a little square "K." Catchy tho.
As opposed to the old Nashes, where the seats folded down into a bed. It was allegedly for camping, but there were many jokes in the early fifties about parents not letting their daughters date boys who drove Nashes. At one point, Nash actually did some kind of survey to find children who'd been conceived in their cars.
I don't remember what the cute name was for that feature, although I imagine it must have had one. If not, I would propose "Fold-a-Lay Seats."
Lay-about seats? Lay-em-out seats?
[youtube piPyfqAKf6o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piPyfqAKf6o youtube]
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It is as comfortable as a stratocumulus? Maybe it's as cool as a Fender guitar, hot as a volcano in the sun, or it makes you as fast as a Stratos. Naaaah. Just some marketing guy have a sip of scotch on a Friday and tossing out prefixes to the copywriters.
Correction: "you'll rise flaming from the car like the fiery mating gryphons on the bonnet."
I saw that top photo and immediately a shiver went down my spine, not because I hate the "Royal Knight," because there is a little old couple that has one just like in the first picture. They live near the town I used to live in, and they would drive that thing all over town, and no matter where they were going they always drove 19mph…SERIOUSLY! These people had to have a collective age of ~312. The husband was one of those old guys that had a look on his face like he was actively dying while he was driving down the road.
What happens when you cross a sweet-handling car and the utility of a pickumup?!
Sexytime.
Make sure the sexy time explosion lands in the "ribbed steel cargo space." It's reinforced for just that occasion.
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Ralf Becker, Hooniverse. Hooniverse said: From the Hooniverse:: El Camino Royal Knight Edition: Hot Vinyl Gryphon Action http://bit.ly/5veC05 […]
Found your blog on Yahoo and was so glad i did. That was a warming read. I have a tiny question.Is it alright if i send you an email???…
i have a 1981 el camino royal knight