Above are three commericials of iconic TV car-paint salesman Earl Schieb. As you watch each commercial in sequential order you’ll see prices go up, production quality go down and Earl grow older. Something about the way he growled his pitch-slogan–‘I’m Earl Scheib and I’ll paint any car for only (fill in amount) caught on and mimicking Scheib became a staple of nightclub comics. Scheib founded his car-painting company in LA in 1937. The company grew quickly following World War 2 and by 1975 had branches in Germany and England, all company-owned, with Scheib manufacturing his own paint through a wholly owned subsidiary. To quote from his Wikipedia entry: 

Scheib’s commercials were seen and heard on television and radio stations in more than 100 cities, and he continued to film spots until his death in 1992. Despite his fame and television ad ubiquity, his son Donald claimed that Scheib was not fond of appearing in commercials. ‘In truth,’ Donald Scheib said in a company statement, ‘he hated doing those television spots. … He didn’t like being in front of the camera, you’d have to drag him feet-first into that studio, screaming.’Scheib received many mentions on the Johnny Carson show in the ’70s and ’80s. These happened occasionally during skits as part of a punchline or in support of a set up. One example is that Earl Scheib would paint the smog in LA blue for 89.99. The context was the 1984 Olympics were starting, with the premise being the participants and fans wouldn’t know there was smog there.

For more on Scheib’s oddly compelling career check out the entire Wikipedia entry. Meanwhile, ask yourself: when was the last time a car paint job cost anything less than four-figures? I just got an estimate on my 2011 Volvo that could fund a very luxe trip abroad. Or could simply be spent buying a much better car.