the time when they made cars we enjoyed

[deduke1907]

http://www.billsretroworld.com/cars.htm

 

[walt317]

That was great. Wish they'd have shown a '47 Mercury, though.

 

[smith revolver cop]

So, do you think 50 years from now someone will have a similar post showing the 2010 Fiat Obamamobile?

 

[RonJ]

New cars are superior in virtually every respect save style and panache. Back then getting a new car was massively fun. Now, unless you can afford an exotic, you're just another guy stuck in traffic. New cars look like their immediate predecessors.

 

[586L-Frame]

deduke1907,
Thanks for the flashback down memory lane.
I learned how to drive as a teenager with my
Uncle in his all white 1959 Impala two door
hardtop with a 348 v8 and 3 two barrel carbs
and 4 on the floor.

Then I bought a 1957 Dodge Royal Lancer
two door Hardtop tutone Red and White
exactly like the one you have pictured.
It had a Turbomatic Pushbutton transmission
shifter which was pretty cool in those days.

Thanks again for the memories.
586L-Frame

 

[Revolver-time]

+1 on RonJs post. My wife and I recently bought a C6 Corvette and we smile each time we get in, put the top down and roll past the scores of non-descript boxes on wheels.

 

[Andy Griffith]

What?!?!
No four-wheel dirve vehicles?!?!?

Let's fix that!

Talking about maintenance...
Never buy a British vehicle or equipment of any kind unless you enjoy working on it! I mean that- really!

 

[The Big D]

Nice linky, deduke, thank you.

Yes, those were the golden years of automobiles. Remember, this was when body styles changed yearly and we awaited the new ones eagerly.

My parents had a '63 Chrysler 300. Red with all white interior. Couldn't wait 'til I was old enough to drive that one! Dual A/C's, front and rear...actually were separate units. Cruise control...fairly unusual then. Power everything. Wow, wish I had that one now.

Like Revolvertime, I now have a C6 Corvette. Nothing like top down driving.

Lastly, am in agreement with those who relate that cars are far more refined now. My Corvette has no scheduled maintenance 'cept fluids 'til 100K, and oil changes are just every 10K or so. It will outhandle ANYTHING from the golden days, blow the doors off 'em, too, and still get 30 mpg on the highway...at speed!

Be safe.

 

[tomf52]

In response to the age old cliche "they just don't make them like they used to", THANK GOD!

 

[riptrack44]

If it ain't a Japanese "ricer", the kids nowdays just stare like a deer in the headlights. Many, these days, call those old cars tanks or land yacht gas guzzlers. They have no clue nor will they ever have a clue how much fun it was to drive one. They all were different and expressed part of your personality as opposed to the many death-trap boxes on wheels today. You may have a smile on your face from ear to ear because you're getting 30 mpg riding on lawnmower tires and propelled by a four-banger but one kiss from truck or SUV and you're toast...

 

[feralmerril]

I owned 6 or 7 of them. Remember every one. Loved them all. Tires, brakes are better now. The big thing realitively speaking, body repair work was cheaper but it seemed engine work was harder to pay for. Back then, I loved the still older generation of cars from the late 20s up untill world war two. Buying cars now is as exciteing as buying a refrigerator. Not a car, but Harley Davidson is the only company that stuck with the older styles and it has paid off for them! Now they try to explain away the heavy metal old cars saying the new stuff is "safer" as they are made to collapse to absorb shock in a accident. Any small accident now cost a fortune to fix where years ago it would hardly dent a car. One thing that is different most of them were far more comfortable at least for a big guy! All of them were easier to get in and out of and you sat higher.
Now with all the exspendsive computers and needless electrics, it cut down on the shade tree mechanics! Also now you are in deep bandini if something happens in the boonies where years ago a mechanical minded guy could get her going!
Now days a person that drove and liked the old big cars has to buy a large SUV to come close to the older stuff.

 

[labworm]

Funny, the first picture happens to be the first car I ever purchased. 57 Chevy but hardtop.

Nice link and great pictures.

 

[feralmerril]

My first cars were a 42 studebaker, 46 chev, that same 50 studebaker starlight coupe, that same 56 chev 210, 51 dodge coupe, a 49 ford panel truck, 61 olds coupe, 65 ford pu, 67 dodge monico 500 coupe, 64 cad coupe deville, 64 olds wagon-------

 

[riptrack44]

You ever lose your "brain" in a newer car, SUV or pickup and your dead in the water. I fried a brain in Topeka, KS a few years back on a weekend which also took out a few other goodies too and I sat until Monday. Without the computerized brain, your snazzy vehicle ain't goin' nowhere...

 

[N_itis]

They certainly have more character than the new stuff.

And, as an added bonus, they could still get you around in the event of an Electromagnetic Pulse Attack.

 

[perrazi]

first car was a 62 corvair. how many remember those or had one?

 

[ohiobuckeye]

Those pictures brought back some fond memories. I learned to drive in a 1949 Chevrolet and the first car I owned as a teenager was a 1935 Plymouth that cost me a whopping 40 bucks. It's flathead six engine threw a rod and the old Plymouth became a street rod via a '51 Olds V8 transplant. It had a lot more garage bay time than street time, so it was soon replaced with a 1952 Pontiac straight eight. The list following it included a 1953 Oldsmobile, a'54 Chevrolet, a 1956 Ford (identical to the one pictured)a '57 Chevrolet 210 220hp that would flat out fly, a '58 VW Bug(got married..

,'57 Ford,'58 Chevrolet, '63 Chevrolet, a '64 Corvair and a '66 Plymouth Sport Fury. Everything after that was a long line of 4 door family sedans to haul the crumb crunchers. Sure would love to have some of those back in the same condition they were when I owned them.

 

[ohiobuckeye]

Originally posted by perrazi:
first car was a 62 corvair. how many remember those or had one?

Once owned a '64 Corvair that I kept for a long time as a second car to drive to work. Easy on gas, good in snow, and a fun car to drive.
I used to keep a piece of wood to wedge under the brake pedal and over the gas pedal to run the engine fast enough for the manifold heaters to warm and defrost it while I ate breakfast on the really cold mornings. One morning I was running late and forgot to remove the piece of wood before I backed out of the driveway. When I hit the brake pedal, it floored the gas and didn't have enough travel to apply the brakes. By the time I figured out what was going on I was straddling a stump and imbedded in my neighbors woven wire fence, across the road. Had to get a wrecker to extract it.

 

[Old 44 Guy]

My first car was a 1929 Ford Model "A" 2 door panel sedan. With a rear door. No glass where the back windows would normally be. It had belonged to a florist in Oakland, Ca. Wish I had it now because it would be a collector item. Next was a 1935 Plymouth coupe. Best truck I ever had was a 1956 Ford 1/2 ton pickup.Six cylinder with overdrive, Side mounted spare, custom cab. Put 149,000 miles on it. Hit a tree head on when deer hunting. End of story.

 

[oldRoger]

My first was a 35 Ford Coupe, looked good but was in lousy mechanical shape.


Why did I sell my 65 Corvette? I had it for nearly 20 years then sold it. What in the H... was wrong with my head?