Remember the Honda Del Sol? While I’m sure you do, I feel like most of the general population, addled and distracted as they are with their HAM radios and kaleidoscopes, likely have forgotten about this most unusual of Civics. Well, sometimes it was called a Civic; sometimes it was just a Del Sol, sometimes a CRX Del Sol. It contained multitudes, you see. But I think what many people may remember about this car was a really clever commercial that was made for it. About a towel. Sort of.
The Del Sol was actually Honda’s first open-topped car that was officially sold in America. The S500 roadster three decades before it, sure, but that was never officially sold here, even if plenty snuck in. The Del Sol wasn’t a convertible, but more of a targa-top kind of thing, with a removable roof panel that fit into a slot in the trunk lid.
As the name suggests, the whole deal with this car was to allow for the roof to be off and the sun, that giant ball of burning hydrogen 93 million miles away, to have access to your person while inside the car. Why don’t people pray to the sun more, like Akhenaten was trying to get us to do? It’s literally the source of all life, and it can burn you from all those millions of miles away!
Anyway, Honda was going to advertise these cars in a very sun-heavy way, as you can imagine, and that means the beach, even though, and I’ve checked this out, the sun does appear in other places, like loading areas behind supermarkets or gravel lots. They did make one ad, deceptive in its simplicity, that is a genuinely elegant way to express the whole point of the car:
I know that’s not a great copy of the ad – it looks like it was copied right from a VHS tape, which I suppose I kind of like – but you get the idea. The ad, made in 1993 by Rubin Postaer and Associates (RPA), the ad did not use any CGI which was just starting to become available at the time, but was prohibitively expensive. This was all done with camera tricks and clever editing.
I’ve seen online references to wind machines used to blow sand to hide the cut between towel and real car, but I just don’t see much blowing sand in that commercial? The truth is even better, if you ask me, because it’s just a production team doing their jobs really, really well.
These guys break it down nicely:
So, they shot the overhead with the real car first, then used that image as a projection to map the towel’s car exactly to where the real car would be, so the transition between flat towel car and real car would be seamless. And they were clever by having that kid chase the ball across the hood of the towel-car while the transition was happening with the rest of the car; I’m guessing they transitioned from the windshield up while the kid was running, then did the hood when he was gone?
My only real qualm with the ad is that I think driving off a towel on sand would just make a mess and grind that towel into the beach or maybe even wrap around the front wheels? Still, I can suspend my disbelief for that.
Overall, it’s just an absolute triumph of illusion! I’m gonna go buy a new Del Sol right now!
Top graphic image: Honda
I had a work colleague who had a Del Sol. Perhaps a questionable choice in Seattle. We’ve had a beautiful summer this year. But it seemed like a fun car, and he enjoyed the drive when we went out to lunch one day.
Though the ’80s were my formative years culturally, if I had to pick a single decade as the best for decent, affordable, and sometimes even fun new cars, it would be the 1990s.
I never had, drove, or even rode in a Del Sol, though of course I’ve seen ’em in person (sadly, not lately outside of Japanese car shows TBH). But I wish I had. 🙁 Now, short of biting the bullet and forking over almost as much as the car cost new (not adjusting for inflation) at Bring a Trailer, I never will. 🙁
If you pray to the sun, you’ll be dead by the time your prayer gets there. Not very helpful.
It only takes 8.33 minutes for sunlight to get here. If you accept that prayers travel at the speed of light, then any direct effect they have on the sun would take as long, to the Guy Upstairs, it might be faster.
I don’t know what I might notice might be going on from the Sun to make me pray to it. I’m going with the Big Guy.
I bought a VERY clapped one. It had a bungee cord in the trunk pulling on a screw in a chunk of 2×4 that was then screwed to the rear bumper cover. Tension mounted bumper cover? I used it for one season of autocross and sold it. The buyer didn’t return my plates and robbed the local grocery store with it. The Sheriff knocked on my door and told me to alert the town about the stolen plates.
😀
My post-sale story is less colorful. Right after 9/11, I decided to donate my problem prone (but still lovable, and in good shape inside and out) 1988 Audi Model 90 to the Red Cross. A flatbed came to get it and there was something to sign, and that was that.
Until a few weeks later when I started getting tickets in the mail for it. Despite having copies of the paperwork, and providing them to the DMV, it took several more weeks before I was able to convince the DMV that it wasn’t me but rather the new owner who should get the tickets/mail.
No good deed goes unpunished indeed.
Despite it regularly shutting off entirely w/o warning whether you were in the take-out line at In’n’Out or doing 70MPH on the 405, I wish I still had that Audi. I never see them out in the wild anymore. 🙁 Which is understandable, considering that I probably wasn’t the only one having those problems. But it was a pleasantly understated, comfortable, and very solid-feeling small sedan. I miss it.
Yeah, he asked if he could “just drive home on them”. Never again.
I also miss the cars that were older, smaller and simple. But I have an NC Miata from 2006 as a toy, so that helps. No screens!
The 90s were a very handsome car, but I never lived with one.
Under appreciated little cars
I still miss my blue one! Got stolen and stripped, huge bummer.
Might see if there’s any decent ones around I can afford when I can justify buying a not as practical as a Civic sedan car in retirement.
You should get one if possible. Not just for nostalgia (blue was my preferred color on them) but simply to drive a small, reliable, fun car free of screens and visible software.
My first car was a ‘94. I loved that little bugger. Great on gas. Not particularly quick but with the top off and the wind blowing through the hair I had at the time it was a blast.
I also had that towel. My uncle was the GM of a Honda dealership and had that merch.
I have a 94. Bought it used for daughter. She blew the engine and accidented it a couple of times. After more money that I care to admit to it now has a newer engine with 60k on it instead of the 200 plus original. It had a new tub in the first body work go around a few years ago and just received the remaining work on small issues and paint matching. Sadly an automatic but still a great unmolested toy. I did update the wheels to 14”ers tho. I’m reliving my first car. A rusty Karmann Ghia convertible.
This implies they drove off into the water. Shouldn’t they have backed up instead?