Our pals at Regular Car Reviews painted a dead-on accurate portrait of how just how absurd modern auto shows are. But as silly and boring and PR bullshit-ridden as they are, they're nothing compared to auto shows in the 1970s. (Warning: Video is NSFW-ish.)
I'm not speaking from experience, unfortunately, but the latest video from British Pathé shows the 1971 London Motor Show to be a rather ribald affair complete with girls in skimpy clothes writing around on MGB GTs and what have you and lots of leering journalists with cameras trained on them instead of the car.
There's also this weird harem/I Dream of Jeannie thing happening on top of one of the cars. I dunno what the deal was there.
The video also has a few panning shots of the showroom floor, which back then included all sorts of Rovers, Morrises, Jaguars and Triumphs. I bet it was a pretty interesting place, except probably half those cars rusted through before the media days were even over.
I say it's a good thing that the auto industry has matured and evolved since then, and is no longer given to strangely sexual displays that have little to do with the product itself.
Oh, wait. Never mind.
Hat tip to Webmonkees!