When I was a kid (D.O.B. 1954) I loved cars. Real cars, model cars. Every September when the new cars came out, Dad would take me downtown to visit the new car dealers so we could get a look at all the new offerings from Ford, Chrysler, Cadillac, Chevy, Buick, Oldsmobile and Pontiac. Cars manufactured by The BIG 3. We must have done this from about '59 thru '70. Naturally, I still consider the '60's as the best decade of automobiles.
The only brand-new cars Dad ever forked out for were Mom's 1957 Chrysler New Yorker (green & white 4-dr sedan), a 1959 Ford (black, 2-dr sedan), a 1964 Dodge Dart (white, 2-dr sedan) and a 1968 Dodge Dart (blue & white 2-dr hardtop). But he also bought a few Cadillacs because he thought an insurance salesman needed to look successful. The Caddy's he bought were always previously-owned (that term was yet to be invented).
My favorite was a 1966 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham. A palace on 4 wheels. It was baby-blue with a heavily padded white vinyl roof. He could have comfortably seated half of the Republican Party in the back seat. Those rear-seat passengers could also use the thick-carpeted footrests and fold-down tray tables (polished walnut). Superb piece of work and engineering by GM. We got that car in '68 and then an Eldorado in 1970.
That Brougham was my all-time favorite when I was a teenager. How about you? Did your family have a great car when you were growing up? Or am I the only one? Was this a pre-cursor to my future addictions?
10 comments:
Y'know, I've never driven a car in my life! Just as well, the amount I used to drink.
:-)
My Dad is a mechanic so I grew up around the blood and guts of cars and developed the same type of love for them at an early age. We didn't go through cars very often though, we would buy a car and keep it for decades (I currently have a 1990 Tempo in my driveway with 235K miles on it.) Dad would just keep them going long after most people would have written them off as junk.
My favorite vehicle from my past was our 1970 Ford Pickup, a beautiful red and white classic with lots of chrome. We bought it new off the showroom floor when I was 2 (I actually remember the day) and just barely sold it (over 300K miles later) two years ago. So many adventures and memories tied up with that one!
Cool topic!
Roots -- my experience in the UK was that I never really needed a car
Jim - our '57 Chrysler had the push button trans. Wish they still made those
GM - love the old pickups, that one sounds neat
My father had a 1963, yellow Mercury. It was absolutely gorgeous. I was so proud to ride in that car. A truck jacknifed it on an icy highway and we lost it in the accident. My father was really into autos. He would trade every three years without fail. L:ike you I can recognize all the makes and models of cars in the 60's. Then, the learning curve seems to have dwindled. Queen Nor Nor
My first in '87 was a '75 Cadillac, Eldorado. It's almost criminal that I was never suave enough to "break it in".
I now have a passion for the underdog AMC's of the seventies. Mum drove a Gremlin and I would love to own a Javelin.
Hey check out http://musclegeek.net/
My Dad too, traded in every 3 or 4 years. His most beautiful car was an AMC Javelin. Dark Green with light green trim. I was 18? I think. So that would make it a 1969. That car was so smooth and hot looking. I still remember you couldn't look out the back window while backing up. No view. Naturally I backed into a pole while tripping.
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