Is it possible to think of South Africa anytime before the Mandela era and dissociate it from the images of apartheid that remain with us? Perhaps if all you saw of the country were its automotive advertisements. Then again, I suppose the same postulation rings true of any country (America included) at any period of time. Gary Faules recently passed on this batch of Sixties South African car ads, noting:

I thought the well rounded Hemming’s crowd might enjoy some of these. Having been to South Africa the cars there really caught my attention not just because the drive on the wrong side of the road with right had drive cars but I am always intrigued with cars built by familiar names that look nothing like the cars they sell here in America.

See the ads after the jump.