We apply the two-color resonant two-photon mass-analyzed threshold ionization (MATI) spectroscopic technique to record the cation spectra of 1-cyanonaphthalene via four intermediate vibronic levels. The adiabatic ionization energy is determined to be 69 466 +/- 5 cm(-1). The distinct bands at 416, 472, 516, 669, and 852 cm(-1) result from in-plane ring deformation vibrations of the cation. Analysis of these MATI spectra suggests that the molecular geometry and vibrational coordinates of the observed vibrations of the cation in the ground D-0 state resemble those of the neutral in the electronically excited S-1 state. (C) 2012 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.