After Bill Lear and his team developed the new Stereo 8 system for his LearJets, he knew the bigger opportunity would be if he could get the word out to Automobile Consumers.
Bill had a long association with Ford’s management and his next move was to persuade the management at Ford US to factory fit his 8-track player to the 1966 range of Mustangs, Thunderbirds and Lincolns, introduced in September of 1965.
Ford, in turn, got RCA Victor to commit to producing 175 titles from its current catalogue on Stereo 8 cartridges, immediately generating a massive selection of music for nearly every taste from classical to psychedelia, so early adopters had plenty of choice.
RCA released 175 8-track tape cartridges as part of the drive to put 8-track players into cars and homes in September 1965. The cartridges were in Lear Jet style case (see in 8 Tracks – Lear Jets page for more details).
The following year, Ford rolled out the 8-track as an option right across its range of vehicles, making it the must-have accessory for new car buyers. Arguably even more importantly, Ford allowed their retail network to retrofit the system at dealerships nationwide, creating an aspirational demand for the 8-track. A substantial 65,000 of the players were installed in the first year alone, all manufactured by the Motorola Corporation. The early Learjet Stereo 8 player was designed with simple controls, making it easy to play tapes in the car without the driver taking his or her eyes off the road.
The image of the poster I recreated from a YouTube Clip, “RARE RCA VICTOR PC8S 186 Lear 8 track 66 Thunderbird” by dearhigh.
So far, no documents from RCA and/or Ford have been found that this Cross Brand Promotion happened.
