Kiekhaefer Mercury Outboards - Vintage Commercials

[Blue Agave]

Good stuff for Mercury fans!  Enjoy.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=en ... nPNa0&NR=1

[flounderpounder225]

Very cool

[seabob4]

Gotta get me one of those POWERFUL 65 HP motors...drive them over logs!!!  Holy chit!!!

Fun to watch, Fern...

[Blue Agave]

Here is another entertaining one.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=en ... y3IjqtD7ns

[fitz73222]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0945903 ... eader-link


Any Mercury guy worth his salt will read this book.... I read it in the early 90's; fascinating story about the entrepreneur himself... Mr. Kiekhaefer.

[GoneFission]

Cool stuff - gotta love those old tower of power motors!    Did you hear how that motor wound up in the commercial where they ran over the sandbar?   Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!   Musta been turning 10 grand!    :bounce:

[Blue Agave]

Cool stuff - gotta love those old tower of power motors!    Did you hear how that motor wound up in the commercial where they ran over the sandbar?   Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!   Musta been turning 10 grand!    :bounce:

That was a pretty slick boat going over that little beach.  Anybody know anything about Crosby boats?

[fitz73222]

Anybody know why Mercury switched from white color to black color? It's an interesting answer...

[Circle Hooked]

Fun to watch without a doubt.

[Blue Agave]

Cool stuff - gotta love those old tower of power motors! Did you hear how that motor wound up in the commercial where they ran over the sandbar? Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh! Musta been turning 10 grand! :bounce:

How?

Anybody know why Mercury switched from white color to black color? It's an interesting answer...

Why?

[fitz73222]

Cool stuff - gotta love those old tower of power motors! Did you hear how that motor wound up in the commercial where they ran over the sandbar? Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh! Musta been turning 10 grand! :bounce:

How?

Anybody know why Mercury switched from white color to black color? It's an interesting answer...

Why?

It was about marketing... For years, OMC touted family engines, the fisherman's engine, grandpa's old reliable, high torque to pull a skier, largest and respected manufacturer, first in outboards. OMC portrayed Merc's as won't idle, high bread, complex, speed demons, somewhat rebellious like James Dean. Basically portraying the Merc as anti- establishment. With the debut of the "tower of power" in 1957 the giant white and chrome behemoth had an image issue that cascaded through their line-up. Mercury had difficulty penetrating the family engine market that was established by OMC; which was the largest market segment. So from advice from Carl Kiekhaefer's wife, she recommended that the engine color be changed to black to down play the engine size and give it a more down to earth appearance. So the black Merc was born and is till this day. I would have thought the opposite but I guess it worked...

[Blue Agave]

Thanks for sharing Fitz, good stuff.

Take a look at the 9:34 mark of the first link posted.  Do you guys know where that is?  Many of us have been there.

[seabob4]

Thanks for sharing Fitz, good stuff.

Take a look at the 9:34 mark of the first link posted.  Do you guts know where that is?  Many of us have been there.

Oh my lord, McRaes!!  Yeah, a few of us...

Any of you guys ever go by Lake X?

[John Jones]

Cool stuff - gotta love those old tower of power motors!    Did you hear how that motor wound up in the commercial where they ran over the sandbar?   Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!   Musta been turning 10 grand!    :bounce:

That was a pretty slick boat going over that little beach.  Anybody know anything about Crosby boats?

Back in the '70s my brother in law had a Crosby "Sled".  Don't remember much about it.  Fiberglass, 15' I think, maybe 40 hp, no liner, spatter paint inside.  Kinda reminds me of today's basic Carolina skiff.

[Blue Agave]

Back in the '70s my brother in law had a Crosby "Sled".  Don't remember much about it.  Fiberglass, 15' I think, maybe 40 hp, no liner, spatter paint inside.  Kinda reminds me of today's basic Carolina skiff.

John, did it look like the one at the 14 second mark?