Here’s Professor Henry Higgins to talk-sing the praises of Dodge’s new small car, the 1976 Aspen.

British actor Sir Rex Harrison (1908-1990) is here to pitch us the new 1976 Dodge Aspen, while blatantly recycling his Oscar-winning role as Professor Henry Higgins in the hit 1964 movie, My Fair Lady—complete with his talk-singing expository delivery. (“Talking on pitch,” it was called.)  In the ’70s, the Chrysler Corporation had gone all in on celebrity endorsements, as we saw with Ricardo Montalban for the Chrysler Cordoba and its famous “Corinthian leather” (watch it here) and Sergio Franchi for the Aspen’s corporate clone, the Plymouth Volare.

With the messaging for the F-body Aspen/Volare, Chrysler was performing something of a balancing act. The carmaker was attempting to fend off the growing onslaught of Japanese imports, but at the time persuading traditional American big-car buyers that here was a small car worthy of their notice. While the Aspen was small-ish with its 198-in overall length and standard Slant 6 engine, the styling, appointments, and ride were intended to project a big-car vibe. Professor Higgins explains:

“When I say the name is Aspen and I say the car is small, can a car be so delightful when it’s small? If I said it of a Lincoln or a Rolls… If I said it of a Jaguar you’d perceive it, or even a Caddy or an Olds. Unbelievable that Aspen really handles in a fashion to arouse the very envy of my friends. Unbelievable!”

While the Aspen had its well-documented troubles with corrosion, build quality, and product recalls, it didn’t sell all that badly for Chrysler, at least at first: nearly 220,000 cars in ’76 and a peak of 312,646 in ’77. But sales tumbled from there and the Aspen was replaced by the Aries K for 1981. Video below.