Wednesday, January 06, 2021

The Way We Were Wednesday - Cars



I don't remember the year, it was early 70's vintage, my first car.  I bought is used in the fall of 1977. An Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale coupe.  It was typical of early 70's detroit scrap metal, it ran - sort of, it went through water pumps every 10,000 miles, rain leaked into the trunk. I drove it a couple of water pumps worth, and bought a four-door version of basically the same car from someone I was working with, who was trading up to a new Cadillac. It was freedom and responsibility. It was the first car I ever had to fill the gas tank on, pay for maintenance and repairs on.  The thought of it breaking down terrified me.  I seldom drove it more than 20 miles from home. The second one was a better car, it was soon traded on something newer and much more reliable. 

I remember my grandfather talking about the cars he bought and sold in the 1920's and 30's.  Essex, Ford, Chevy.  He bought his first new car just before World War II and drove it until new cars were available after the war, then bought a new one every other year, mostly Ford and Mercury four door sedans.  New cars where his one splurge.  









 

18 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. No boat. It was a coupe! Imagine that with four doors!

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    2. It was massive, my father was surprised, I was looking for a small car. Most of the smaller cars we looked at where worn out - really junk. This didn't look like junk, until I drove it for a couple of weeks. It was huge.

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  2. I was never a “car person” and saw them as solely functional. My first car was a 1989 Plymouth Reliant which I “inherited” from my Mom’s deceased husband. It was a no frills rust bucket but it got me to work and back (and to Provincetown once.) I literally drove it until it died on the way home, one block from my apartment. I have since developed attachment to my cars: first for my Green Hyundai Accent, then my white Nissan Versa, and now my Black Subaru Forrester. The big question now: do I trade up one last time before I retire. Hmmmm.

    Sassybear
    Www.Idleeyesandadormy.Com

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    1. Oh, I feel your pain. I own two cars, one with 36,000 miles on it, the other with just over 44,000 miles on it, and I drive about 2,000 miles a year. If I maintain either of them, they will last another 20 years - outlast me.

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  3. My first car was 1969 VW Bug that drove like a champ. That car took me everywhere, across half the country and back at one point, and I ended up selling it after ten years for over twice what I paid for it.
    Loved that car,

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    1. I came very close to owning a Bug once, I have never sold a car for more than I paid for it.

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  4. I hadn't thought about my "car" history. The first car I actually owned was Pontiac Tempest convertible, 1964 I believe. I loved that car!

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    1. I bought a used VW convertible a couple of years ago, I love it. The Tempest was about the size of the Olds.

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  5. My first car was a little Datsun.

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  6. I'm sitting here with Medicare applications surrounding me like Great Whites in a frenzy over a bloody hunk of chum. Feeling old. This made me smile. I'm thinking of our first joint car (joint as in together, not a doobie). Balder totaled his Chevy Nova two days before the wedding. Good times. We bought our little Dodge Colt, orange with a black stripe, shortly thereafter. Loved that car! Couldn't drive it, but I loved it just the same. Cars used to have character, now they seem to be all cookie cutter with drab colors.
    I've discovered that yelling "get off of my lawn!" doesn't work on turkeys.

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    1. Couldn't drive it? When I was married the first time, I kept a car with a manual transmission for a long time, it settled the fuss over who was driving what car (I was a bit of an asshole.) 32 months before Medicare kicks in here, not that I am counting or anything.

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    2. Yep, that's the reason I couldn't drive the Colt. Not to mention the fact that I hadn't learned to drive yet. I still can't drive a stick, but I've learned to walk and chew gum at the same time.

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    3. My middle brother has the patience of a saint, he would have you driving a stick in an hour, amazing.

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  7. Anonymous1/06/2021

    Young people will never know how unreliable cars once were, and nor will they know how to fix cars.

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    Replies
    1. I have not raised the hood on a car, in a couple of years.

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    2. Anonymous1/07/2021

      Me either, except to wonder at how it all fits in.

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