Typically newsreel ads of the 1930s, especially those that showed cars highlighted stuff like their toughness, their robust construction, or their fuel economy. Chevrolet decided to go another way and show how effective their 1936 sedan was at acting like a fishnet in this bizarre newsreel that was shot in the Ozark Mountain region of Missouri. The thing literally shows a guy parking his car in the river and opening one of the doors to allow smelt to swim into the car. He then pulls out of the river and unloads his copious bounty into a bucket while the announcer touts the Chevrolet’s “watertight” bod. That claim is extra hilarious when you see the water running out of it as they pull from the river, but that is another story for another day.
Wouldn’t there be some ill effect from allowing your car to fill up with river water on purpose? The interior materials back the would probably breakdown and fail instantly after a soaking like this and the smell. Imagine if one of those smelts found its way to a place that you couldn’t find? Within a few days it would smell like the dumpster at a fish market in there.
There are some entertaining parts to this outside of the fishing aspect. The ’36 Chevrolet was a fine looking car and we get to see it in the city and then we get to see it bashing over rocks and rough terrain on its way to the river. That part is pretty neat because the high ground clearance allows the Chevy to just smash its way over all the junk in front of it.
The bottom line is that there was once a meeting at Chevrolet where someone pitched this a guys who were likely a couple drinks deep a lunch signed off on it….then fired the guy after they saw the finished product. Either that or the dude was promoted to an executive decision for pulling this off. Smelt fishing with you car. How did this not catch on?!
While us normal folks would either use a fishing rod or a proper fishing net the brain dead morons who bought Chevys back then happily risked drowning their wheels in the hope of landing the occasional mud shark.
Little has changed – they probably throw a stick of dynamite in the car as well these days….