Wednesday, July 08, 2020

The Way We Were Wednesday - Wouldn't you really rather have a Buick?



The year I finished high school and left home, my father bought his first new Buick.  The first of many.  He had driven used cars for decades, some nice, some functional, all of them affordable.  The Buick was the first time he went out and bought what he wanted, done the way he wanted it.  As I recall he paid an astonishing $7,000 for it.  This picture was taken a couple of years later, my parents had moved around the corner to the old farm house.  The Dodge pick-up truck in the background, was fun, it had a massive V-8 in it, put your foot to the floor and it would spin the rear tires for about 500 feet.  

Back to the Buicks.  My father's mother moved into assisted living late in her life when she decided it was time to give up driving.  One morning she was not feeling well, and my father went to take her to the doctor in what was probably a 3 or 4 year old Buick (it was his third or forth one.) She remarked, "you've had this one a long time, why don't you take some of my money and buy a new one."  She died three weeks later, a month after that he bought another new Buick, not the last one, he bought his last new car about 5 times. 

He enjoyed cars, it was good to see him finally buying what he wanted, instead of what he needed. Well there is the story of the Lincoln that he lusted over and came close to owning.  Another day, 

Any family car stories? 

22 comments:

  1. My father too swore by Buicks. My mother i think had everything at one time or another. My her father had a vintage Citroen...I LOVED that car and I wanted it. That thing was style!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have lusted over the Citroen 2CV, the closest I have come was a Renault Le Car.

      Delete
    2. My grandfather had the Citreon ID 19 sedan. It was so chic. I've seen the 2CV but never here. It was actually rare at all to even see a Citroen on the road here. I believe a collector bought the car from my grandmother when the car just sat after his death. She hadn't a clue I wanted it. She got a nice little sum from the sale too.

      Delete
    3. I lusted after Citroens when I was in my teens. Our neighbors had one that my father and I admired every time we walked by. Too rich for my blood when I bought my first car, however.

      Delete
    4. Oh i agree Mitchell. They had style, grace and just so chic and retro looking. They were solid too. When we used to ride in in around town, everyone always asked where the car was from...buy alas...parts for them are hard to come by I surmise...unless your in France. Had i taken it and still had it...i imagine the up keep would be costly.

      Delete
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  2. my maternal grandfather swore by chevy. my old man had a VW beetle, then a 69 camero. my first car was a ford pinto as a high school graduation gift; my "parents" wanted me dead.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. PS - that was the ad slogan for buick; I can still sing it.

      Delete
    2. I was thinking someone of a certain age, would remember the jingle.

      Delete
  3. My father never owned a Buick. He wanted a Citroen, but not big enough for the five of us, he felt. He also wanted a Cadillac. Cripes! He didn't buy the Cadillac because parking at the complex was in lots outside and he didn't like the thought of his brand-new Cadillac being exposed to the elements and the bad parking jobs. But he did go big and not cheap, so I don't know what made Caddies so damned special. Anyway, I once had a friend's Coupe de Ville for the summer while she was in Italy. I drove to visit a posh and pretentious aunt and uncle on Long Island. My uncle asked me to move the Cadillac from in front of their house. He felt it was tacky.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have owned a lot of cars, the only one that my father every complemented, was the Cadillac Eldorado. I bought it out of an estate, it was 5-6 year old with 12,000 miles on it, and I paid less than $10,000.

      Delete
  4. Interesting as my father also owned Buicks his whole life. My very first car was a Buick Opel 1900. I loved that car. It had a stick shift and it was fun to drive.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Of my high school teachers had a yellow one.

      Delete
  5. I own the last model made of the Buick Le Sabre. I love this car! I sold my previous one to my sister-in-law. My late father-in-law was an auto mechanic who owned his own shop. He had Le Sabres until the day he died.
    I once got a speeding ticket driving that car. The CHP officer gave me a ticket for doing 75 mph. I was actually doing 91 but he chopped of a few because I made him laugh about how this was an old lady car and you really couldn't feel how fast the sucker was going on the freeway.
    My father bought one of the first Honda little shoe cars back in the very early seventies. Why, I don't know. He was a big guy, on width and my uncle was very big. I still remember how they looked like Fred and Barney in the front seat of that thing. Still brings a smile.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My father was disappointed when they dropped the Le Sabre.

      Delete
  6. My first car was a 1970 used VW bug--it was an automatic, but with gear shifts and no clutch. First new car was an Opel Isuzu. I was swayed by the red color. After the 1990s hit, it was Hondas all the way. We now have a 2012 Honda CRV and a 2006 Pontiac Solstice--bright red.

    My dad had Pontiacs and then Buicks. We lived in a GM town, Anderson, Indiana, and their cars were relatively expensive.

    My hubby worked for a number of years as the plant doctor for a GM Bus and Truck facility in Indianapolis. NO ONE drove a foreign car to work. As soon as he retired, he bought a Honda Civic.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I tried to buy a Bug Convertible with the automatic stick shift once, the owner really didn't want to part with it. The only "foreign" car my father ever owned was a VW wagon to tow behind a motorhome.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous7/08/2020

    He was fortunate indeed to be able to buy so many cars he wanted rather than needed or had to have. What wonderful cars those big old machines were.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He was a wise investor. He should have bought the Lincoln

      Delete
  8. lots I suppose; you inspire me to write about a few of them. thanks
    please send reasonable attorneys fees

    ReplyDelete
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    including the planning of a New World Order. Many world leaders,
    Presidents, Prime Ministers, royalty and senior executives of major Fortune
    500 companies are members of Illuminati. join a secret cabal of mysterious
    forces and become rich with boundless measures of wealth in your company or
    any given business, the great Illuminati can make everything possible just
    contact : brightiluminati666@gmail.com
    .com or WhatsApp +593960127139.
     Thaddeus I am Vice-President of Citizen Outreach THE ILLUMINATI
    ORGANIZATIONDo not hesitate to contact us by WhatsApp.: +593960127139
    Email : brightiluminati666@gmail.comBEWARE OF SCAMMERS, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS REGISTRATION FEE AND YOU MUST
    BE ABOVE THE AGE OF 18YRS.
    THANKS 

    ReplyDelete