For most of us, our second biggest purchase would be your car.
Without a doubt, the first would be the purchase of your home.
These two elements obviously own a large part of any family budget and even a lot of attention. Or at least they should, because they really are an investment.
The cars in our lives somehow get attached to us because they can reflect, in a small way, who we are or would like to be.
The family car
Make no mistake; our cars can be a love story for us. We fall in love with them, we even give them names. We pamper them and when no one is looking, we even talk to them.
As far as I know, there is no record of any car ever responding to the love and care we give them. Our cars can resonate with our personalities, their color tells you a lot; the different engine size could be a small 4 cylinder or a powerful V8.
Some are simply a “work vehicle”; some are glamorous; some, unfortunately, are disrespected and mistreated.
However, at the end of the day, it is what we can afford and yet they become a vital part of our lives.
Each of us, regardless of our age and life history, has vivid memories of the “Cars of our Lives”. Please join me for some of these memorable cars, many of which have left indelible marks on my life. I’m sure you have them too. I came across some vintage photos to reflect these wonderful cars, unfortunately some of the photos are a little faded, but it goes with the old one.
First, there was our family’s gray 1939 Plymouth sedan, which during the 1940s and 1950s was a workhorse that traveled throughout my younger years and even to our relatives in Indiana. Nothing special about the car, it was just there.
Note that all of these cars had standard transmissions and no power steering.
Then there was the 1948 Dodge sedan. This car inherited the family routine and even the long drives. It even had a phenomenal new feature called “Fluid Drive”. This was a historic standard transmission that allowed the driver to let the clutch go completely without the engine dying. By the way, there was also an AM radio in the car.
It was really a precursor to the automatic transmission that was on the horizon. In 1954 I took my test drive in the big Dodge. The Fluid Drive saved me from stalling, but parallel parking was no fun without the power steering and no turn signals to use. You had to use the hand signals every time you made a move it seemed. Somehow I luckily got through.
The previous year, 1953, my uncle had bought a new Plymouth Cranbrook sedan. It was gray like the old 1939 model. I remember our family’s excitement over the new Plymouth. At the time, this vehicle had a new feature, a one-piece windshield. However, everything else was pretty much the same with a standard transmission and AM radio.
In 1955, I started working part-time at Sears and eventually the old ’48 Dodge became mine. It was great to have, but it burned both oil and gas. I kept a 10 quart can of Sears oil in the trunk just in case. But, she was mine and most importantly, I had independence.
By now I was in college and in the fall of 1957 I traded in a 1953 Chevy 2 door. It was light green, standard shift, and she was mine. I was very proud of that car, really.
A new decade dawned, it was now 1960 and my college years behind me, I went to work at a local bank.
Soon after, I found the car of my dreams.
It was a 1956 Chevy Bel Air convertible, white top, V8, automatic transmission, power steering and even a “Wonder Bar” radio that was truly a forerunner of exploration in today’s radios. I was now 22 and it was time to upgrade my new ride. Only a couple of interesting additions were added, such as “Tear Drop” fender skirts and of course, fillets on the front wheels. I was cruising in style with the top down one night in 1961 at the historic Bluegrass Grille in Ashland, Kentucky. This would be a night to remember when I met my wife, Camilla Jo.
We later traded up to a 1963 Chevy II SS Convertible and were set, but not for long.
A few years later, Chevrolet had introduced a small compact model called the Corvair. The new model caught our attention and we decided to buy our first “new car”. It was unique for an American vehicle to have a rear engine, but it was beautiful, willow green with white bucket seats.
The TV commercials boasted that the new Corvair offered better traction and handling, but the shape and styling of the new Corvair was definitely for us. At the time there was a consumer advocate, Ralph Nader, who condemned the new Corvair because it was allegedly unstable and unsafe. My wife and I never heard this complaint, so for us, we were not aware of these issues.
A date in history that I have never forgotten is September 10, 1965. I was going to broadcast a football match, it was raining so much, the streets were full of puddles. I was negotiating a curve and the Corvair hydroplaned and fishtailed. I lost control. I crossed the center line and collided head-on with a 1964 Pontiac Grand Prix.
With no seat belt on and no engine in front, the impact of the big Pontiac was devastating. The photo says it all.
Somehow I survived, but the Corvair was totaled.
I got injured, but recovered quickly, so it was time to replace the Corvair. It didn’t take long as our next car was a full size 1965 Impala Chevy SS, 2 door hardtop, V8 right on the showroom floor.
I’m sure if you sat down and counted all the cars you’ve owned over the years, your list would be many too.
Here’s our litany of cars for the next few years: ’67 Impala, ’69 Olds Cutlass, ’73 Pontiac Grand Prix, ’85 Chevy Monte Carlo, 1988 Ford Mustang Convertible that was in our family from 1990 to 2009. Other they were an ’89 Buick Regal, a ’95 Olds Delta 88 Royale, a ’98 Nissan Maxima and even a ’59 Nash Metropolitan.
All of these vehicles served us well over the years, and then the unexpected happened.
It was 2007, our next door neighbor was an elderly lady and her late husband had bought a brand new 2002 Chevy Malibu Luxury Sedan. It was fully loaded with all the amenities. He was visiting us one afternoon and was complaining that he had to pay for car insurance and that he wasn’t driving anymore. He said his son periodically put some miles on it, but it basically stayed in the garage. I asked him if he wanted to sell it and he said, “Do you want to buy it?” I told him maybe he would and he gave me the keys to go check it out.
What I found was the proverbial car that was owned by a young lady who never drove it. It was actually immaculate, had all the extras that Chevy put on a vehicle including, leather seats, sunroof, V6, alloy wheels, like new Michelin tires, spoiler, even mudguards!
I checked the odometer and it read, 19,074. This meant that it was only driven 3800 miles per year for the previous 5 years.
I asked him if he wanted to sell it safely and he said yes. We made a deal and I bought it the next day. It’s been 16 years since that day and that same 2002 Malibu rests in our garage with just 67,255 miles on the odometer today.
That works out to just 3200 miles per year since 2009.
It is still in extraordinary condition because all timely maintenance was done on time.
My wife and I call her “Mali” and the way she responds and acts with our travels in and around Florence, she seems to smile and say, “Thank you!”
My advice is simple for those who have a good vehicle in the garage or driveway: “Take care of your car, and it will take care of you.”
