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Sandy, I think it was '75 that Ford sold the consumer electronics line to GTE. They kept the car radio/industrial line and renamed it Aeroneutronics-Ford; they sold the major appliance line later in the 70s.
Philco-Ford started making their own color crts later in the 60s. Maybe they built too many round tubes? Or just found that they could offer them real cheap? I have a used Philco 21" tube in the attic (is either gassy or has a short-I need to hook it up to a better crt tester) and it is rare earth. Zenith later bought the Philco crt plant. Philco Don Lindsley can likely offer further insight.
The Philco ad is great-whimsical, poking fun at the high cost of color tv and how they could sell you a full-size set for the price of most small ones. Plays off those ads GE ran with a little kid carrying a Portacolor. (off topic, Philco sold a badge-engineered Portacolor. I've only seen them in Sams)
The last roundie covered in Sams is a Magnavox in 1970. Has a series string chassis, IIRC. You wouldn't think of Magnavox as being at the cheap end of the market. I think the other late roundies were all store brands (Airline, Truetone, etc) as I think Philco had already stopped roundie production by then.
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Bryan
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