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Sirens of Chrome: The Enduring Allure of Auto Show Models

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Unlike his dad, my son loved cars from the first time he saw one; he used to push little specks of dust around our living room floors, pretending they were cars and he was a parking attendant. As he grew older, taking him to the Auto Show in New York City became an annual and eagerly anticipated (on the one hand) and patiently endured (on the other hand) son and father excursion.

When we first arrived at a booth, the sales people would offer me information and literature, but after a few minutes of my son's comments, I was relegated to keeper of the literature, pounds and pounds of literature, and an observer of the fascinating collection of people and presenters at the shows.

Our first show was in 1976 when my son was six, and beautiful models in a wide array of costumes were featured: ballet dancers, swim suits, ball room gowns, tight fitting Spandex, the list could go on and on.

This fascinating picture book is a wonderful trip down memory lane. I'm sure my son would argue there isn't enough about cars, but he would have to agree that the history of the presenter art form has taken a wide variety of forms over the years.

Margery Krevsky was a talent agent in the late 1970's and visited a couple of auto shows to see the working conditions of her clients. She asked a couple of the models drapped over the hoods of cars about the technical aspects of the machinery. In both cases, the models replied that they knew the answers, but weren't permitted to discuss the cars. Krevsky writes that she saw a great opportunity: she convinced Pontiac and then other auto makers to hire great looking people, but be sure they were educated in the technical aspects of the cars they adorned.

This book tells a great deal of her adventures in selling the concept to the auto companies and describes how the models were educated, all a very well told tale. But it's the pictorial story that fascinates. As she writes:

"These human hood ornaments are descendents of the Sirens of ancient Greek lore. They seek not to dash ships upon rocks but to entice the purchase of land-worthy ships to sail upon the highways and byways of America. Sirens of Chrome includes dozens of photographs, programs, and posters culled from the libraries, corporate files, and auto enthusiast portfolios, capturing decades of hot vehicles and torrid models. Discover whose "body" inspired the Rolls-Royce hood ornament or sit in a "rumble seat" with 1930s silver-screen goddess Joan Blondell. Gawk at over-the-top opulence of the Somali leopard pelt-upholstered 1957 Cadillac Debutante, sing along with Dinah Shore while you "See the U.S.A. in Your Chevrolet" or shake your head in wonder at the fur bikini-clad model atop a soviet-built Lada."

In a recent interview on NPR, Krevsky said that in her opinion the most memorable hood ornament was a beautiful model and a live lion. "It was going along very nicely and the lion was a very bad kitty cause he all of a sudden sunk his jaws into her thigh. Fortunately the handlers removed the jaws of the lion from her thigh, and from that moment forward you do not see many wild animals at press conferences anymore."

NPR has an excellent set of photos from this well produced picture book. I'm sure my son will enjoy a copy for his birthday, and his dad will have a couple of months to chuckle over the obsessions so many Americans seem to have with the automobile.

Robert C. Ross 2009

The author is a friend, I enjoyed the book. I enjoyed how marketing impacted auto shows over the years. It was fast and informative. Thanks.

Sirens of Chrome: The Enduring Allure of Auto Show Models is an exceptional photography collection of vintage black-and-white and color photographs and posters used to advertise and sell cars - especially images involving attractive women! Each two-page spread features a photograph on the right, and a brief description of the history behind the image on the left; one of the more extraordinary shows an auto model posing with a lion, mere moments before the animal attacked her and had to be pried off by its handlers. A revealing visual glimpse into the history of auto advertising, Sirens of Chrome is sure to prove mesmerizing to automotive buffs of all types and backgrounds.