zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Buying
/
Go Inside Ford's High-Tech CD-ROM Simulator From 1996
Go Inside Ford's High-Tech CD-ROM Simulator From 1996-June 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:09:50

Car buyers today have it good. They have automaker websites, dealer websites and any number of car-buying tools at their disposal, to say nothing of the tons of on websites. Back in the 1990s, things were harder. “Research” meant print magazines, newspaper classified ads and just trusting that your salesperson wasn’t a lying, cheating asshole. (Some things never change.)

Fortunately for ‘90s buyers, the Ford Motor Company and its Lincoln, Mercury and Jaguar divisions offered a better way. A high-tech way. A way that harnessed the incredible power of multimedia to inform and entertain prospective customers. Not just a showroom—a Virtual Showroom, created with the might of the CD-ROM:

This popped up on vintage tech channel today, which I also learned is a great resource for reviews of obsolete old-school tech like digital cameras that ran on floppy disks and ZIP drives. Do you miss those things? I sure as hell don’t.

Anyway, this is version 7.0 of Ford’s virtual showroom series; the automaker released several of these on PCs throughout the ‘90s. if you’re really that bored. The seventh iteration has info on all your favorite models, like the Aspire, Grand Marquis, Aerostar and Jaguar XJS. You can price out options, watch jazzy full-motion videos and even play an extremely boring driving simulator.

As the video notes, the internet killed this series eventually. You didn’t need a CD-ROM to do what Ford’s website could do, especially as more features were added over time. Today, it’s a fun way to look back at what tech was like before the world went online.

I’d play it today, if my computer had a CD drive.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Buying
For $19,500, quoth the raven, never lift
For $19,500, quoth the raven, never lift
In The Pit and the Pendulum Edgar Allen Poe imagines a diabolical death machine involving an arcing scythe. If Poe were alive today, he might find this Porsche 930 equally fiendish for its pendulum-like handling properties, but would he also find its price horrific? Sunday, Monday, happy days! Tuesday, Wednesday,...
Jun 23, 2025
For $7,000, it’s a step van-go
For $7,000, it’s a step van-go
Don McLean famously sang about driving his Chevy to the levee, where sadly he discovered they couldn't serve booze. If he had been driving today's hot rod Step Van he could have been drinking whiskey and rye in no time, but may have found its price to be too much...
Jun 23, 2025
For $16,000, this Benz is a 6.9 on the reich-ter scale
For $16,000, this Benz is a 6.9 on the reich-ter scale
The Germans may have failed at world domination - twice - but they've pretty much dominated the executive sedan market for decades. Todays Mercedes Benz is decades old, but comes with a price that could be considered a dominant feature. Dropping a big engine into a small car is a...
Jun 23, 2025
For $93,333, two grilles, one coupe
For $93,333, two grilles, one coupe
With a pair of notable exceptions, Kate Hudson looks remarkably like her mother, Goldie Hawn. Today's BMW Z8 was intended to evoke memories of its progenitor, the lovely 507, but its its price too reminiscent of its cost new? A couple of years ago when I was in Monterey for...
Jun 23, 2025
For $9,495, get the Mercury black and blues
For $9,495, get the Mercury black and blues
During WWII, the B-26 Marauder gained the reputation as a Widowmaker due to its high-speed landing demands. Today's Mercury Marauder should be less unsettling to one's spouse, but is its price too demanding? They say that beauty is only skin deep while ugly goes all the way to the bone....
Jun 23, 2025
For $12,999, be a fresh prince
For $12,999, be a fresh prince
The Shoebox Chevys were also known as the Tri-fives because they encompassed three years in the mid fifties - 55, 56 and 57. Today's Bel Air is from the first of those three, but does it come with a price that's triple what it should be? Mercury may be gone,...
Jun 23, 2025
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved