RE: THE "OLD CARS" THEME
WHEN CARS WERE PRETTY AND HAD PERSONALITY & CHARM
I just had to take at least one crack at the “Old Cars” theme because I’ve always thought we’re missing out on something about cars that used to be fun.
65 – 70 years ago cars were individuals. They had their own designs and you could tell from a glance what year, make, and model they were. Not so today. Today all cars look alike, no personality of their own. What a shame
A 1957 Buick 2-door
2-tone. You could always tell a Buick by
its iconic portholes which Buick stopped using in their ’78 & ’79 models
but reinstated in the 1960s except now, instead of portholes, they were squared
off die-cast badges. Still, they pointed
out a Buick. But even those were
discontinued in 1997. Oh well.
My Grandma Louise had a
’53 Chevy Bel Air 2-door hardtop in blue & white she named “Betsy” and it
was her pride and joy.
A 1956 Corvette. Chevrolet came up with the two-seater
fiberglass bodied Corvette in 1953 – first as a show car with actual production
beginning late that year or early 1954. Chevrolet has stopped production of the Corvette several times over
the years for one reason or another, but reports
are that an electric Corvette is coming in the near future, and a
gas-electric hybrid Corvette is coming even sooner. This does not necessarily mean that the classic, gas-powered sports car
will be discontinued, but it’s a possibility.
A coral & white ’54
Ford Crestline 2-door hardtop. I had
many a ride in this car in my teen years.
It was the family car of one of the guys who belonged to my youth church
group and his folks let him borrow it to drive some of us to the group’s
doings. I was crazy about him at the
time, so I always made sure I rode to wherever we were going in his car.
Funny thing - we
finally did date later on, but not for long.
After all that pining away for him, he turned out not to be all that
interesting in a one-on-one situation.
Oh well. J
A ’56 blue & white
Ford Fairlane 2-door hardtop.
A blue & white ’57
Ford Fairlane 2-door hardtop.
Also in 1957 Ford came
up with the Fairlane 500 retractable hardtop convertible. Not a big seller, it was only produced for 3
years from 1957 – 1959.
Another new Ford design
that didn’t last long was the Edsel first produced in 1958 with production
ending in 1960. (Thank goodness.)
In answer to Chevrolet’s Corvette, in 1955 Ford introduced the two-seater Thunderbird with its little iconic round window in the retractable hardtop. Ford produced the Thunderbird – eventually as a four-seater as well – until 1997. They are contemplating reintroducing the Thunderbird as an all-electric vehicle in late 2023 or 2024.
As for me, I love my Subaru Forester, but I wouldn’t mind having that ‘55 Thunderbird to tool around in for fun, except I’d like it in blue & white. J
:->
La Nightingail
Oooh, so neat to consider these muscle cars going electric. This Sat. is a classic car show here, so I'll have some appropriate photos (finally ) to share for SS next week!
ReplyDeleteLove this post! I used to live on a farm on Route 20 in upstate NY in the 1950s, where my grandparents lived throughout my teen years in the 1960s. A favorite pastime of my brothers and me was to sit on the porch and watch cars drive by, trying to guess the make and model. This could be done back then because the cars were more distinctive. Now, you have to read these details up close on the back of each car! I loved the Chevy Bel Air and in my 20s briefly owned a Ford Fairlane. Fun memories!
ReplyDeleteI remember all those cars, though as you've read in my posts this month, my family went in for more quirky foreign cars. Recently my wife and I started thinking about getting an EV car. But most models share the same body style and have no real individual character like chrome grills and a two-tone finish. What cars of the 2020s will be considered classics in 2100?
ReplyDeleteGreat blog
ReplyDeletePlease read my post
ReplyDelete