There’s no doubt that cars have gotten a lot more durable in recent decades. And there’s also no doubt that a good many folks did trade in for a new one every three years. But was that “every three years” mantra a common reality, or a self-serving marketing ploy like Jiffy Lube’s 3,000 mile oil change intervals, or drinking eight glasses of water a day? When I think back to say 1962, and the cars our neighbors and friends around us in Iowa City were driving, it makes me wonder…
Sure, there were newer cars around, but not so much the rule. I was a bit surprised that when we arrived in Iowa City in 1960, that the head of the EEG laboratory at the University Medical Center drove a 1955 Chrysler, and his wife a 1949 Plymouth wagon.
And when I think of where we lived in 1962-1963 or so there was the neighbor, who was also a doctor, middle-aged and no kids, who drove a 1956 DeSoto. And the older couple around the corner drove an immaculate 1957 Ford. And the folks next to to them, also a University family, drove a 1955 Olds. And there was a 1950 or 1951 Dodge around the other corner. And a ’53 Chevy on the other side of the block.
My teacher in 1963 drove a ’54 Cadillac. One of my two best friends, another doctor’s family, drove a ’57 Chevy wagon. The other, a successful food wholesaler, drove a ’56 Ford wagon, which still looked almost new. And another friend’s dad, also a professional, drove a small-window VW (’57 or older). And I often caught a ride to school in a ’55 Chevy sedan. And so on…I felt rather surrounded by a world of older cars. No wonder I’m so obsessed with them. Where were all the new ones?
Oh, right; across the street there was a brace of almost new 1960 Pontiacs. They rather stuck out, now that I think of it; two brand new cars. In a good way, from a kid’s point of view, but I was aware of them being a bit different.
All anecdotal evidence; and this was a medium-sized university town, and folks didn’t exactly live in their cars like today. But here’s the thing: I don’t remember much or any rust on these old cars. Iowa City didn’t use salt back then; people either walked to work or school on snowy mornings, or they plowed though it. The snow plows came around eventually, but I have no memory of salt being spread. And I don’t remember anyone feeling like someone was a pathetic hick for driving an older car. Maybe things were different elsewhere. What do you remember?
Going over all these family cars (and enjoying them immensely) brings back a lot of family memories for me in the stuff dad and mom drove. And I can remember one from the mid-80’s that really drove a big lesson home for me:
Don’t hesitate to follow your dreams – and don’t cheap yourself out to the point of missing them.
Where this comes from: Dad, being a die-hard GM man, always considered Cadillac the ultimate. And he always dreamed of owning one. Not an irrational dream, he could have easily paid cash for one the day after he left the Chevrolet dealership. And every replacement car for the next twenty years. For twenty years he always dreamed Cadillac. And he always bought Chevrolet or Buick (with one Dodge Omni in there). Well, there were kids to put thru college (no student loans in our family – including little sister’s medical school), and dad just figured on too many responsibilities and just couldn’t bring himself to spend the money.
Finally, spring of 1986. I’ve been married six years already, little sister is not only a doctor but married two years earlier. Mom finally got on dad’s ass to quit quibbling and get himself that Caddy he always dreamed of. Even went with him to the dealership to pick one out (which she never did, she always drove what dad issued her, with some considering for her needs.) May 1986 and there’s a medium blue Sedan de Ville sitting in the driveway. I noticed that the old Sunday rides, a staple of our childhood had returned – the two of them, plus mom’s sister who had always lived with us.
November 1986 and mom’s dead. No warning, no illness. And dad couldn’t bring himself to touch that deVille once we were done with the funeral. He went back to driving mom’s Century Estate Wagon (which I eventually ended up with), and by April 1987 the Cadillac was sold. He never got enought time to really enjoy that car, and he never again owned a car that really turned him on. It was back to Caprices for the remaining six years.
If I ever sound shrill, either here or at TTAC, about not treating a car as a spreadsheet, this is why. My dad wasn’t a car buff, he was a car salesman. Cars were units to be moved. And when he finally got that one car that meant something to him, he waited too long.
Don’t let money get in the way of your dream car(s).
I totally agree with that Syke.
It’s easy to dream of doing whatever but never taking the opportunity to just do it. I’ve been dreaming of getting back to doing road trips, and thanks to the Mazda I picked up in January, I have done just that, not big trips as yet, but a road trip or 3 none the less.
While the Mazda wasn’t on my radar at the time, it turned out to be just what I needed, an affordable car with decent enough mileage and reasonable to fill up on my meager budget and so I can afford to do said road trips on occasion.
Plus, I love it for what it is, a driver’s car that is also practical.
Thanks, Syke. That was really worthwhile.
One other thing that’s probably worth noting, and that’s regional differences. In Los Angeles in the early 60s (even in working-class Inglewood), you’d see new cars on the street the week they went on sale (sometimes even earlier…offer the dealer enough and the official launch date goes out the window). Within a month of new model year introductions, it was tough to go more than a few blocks without seeing this year’s model of something.
I am born in 1964 parents born in 1942 – Only child – family lived in Queens, NY until 1972 when we moved to Long Island
This is informational – not bragging. My parents had tons of money even in the 1960s – a ferociously large house and pool. They retired recently. They never spent more than half of what they earned. Other than the Mercedes all of these are routine cars driven by people with 1/100 of their wealth. People with money do not spend it.
Now check out these cars
All are two door vehicles – All were purchased new
Dad 1962 Buick Wildcat – bought with the wedding money
Mom 1967 Buick Electra 225 (she learned to drive with that car)
Dad 1971 Buick GSX Skylark – a real GSX (replaced the Wildcat) – You may think that this car was money because it is expensive now – It was only 600 more than a regular Skylark with a 350.
Mom 1977 Mercury Grand Marquis Coupe (replaced the Electra) – quadraphonic 8-track sound
Dad 1979 International Scout II (replaced the GSX) – AM radio only!!!
Mom 1985 Cadillac Fleetwood Coupe (replaced the Marquis)
Dad 1994 Chevy S10 Blazer (replaced the Scout)
Dad 2002 Chevy S10 Blazer (he bought it when he found out they are no longer going to make 2 doors – replaced the 1994)
Mom 2010 Mercedes CL65 (replaced a 25 year old Cadillac)
It has been really interesting reading the cars that everyone grew up with. I guess I’ll join in.
My parents got married in 1958. My dad was trained as an engineer but was a born salesman. My mom was a nurse. When they got married, she had a 53 Chevy 210 sedan and he bought a used 57 Buick for their honeymoon. To Chicago – who hoo!
My folks kind of ran the gamut. There seems to have been a used 57 Ford wagon that was a lemon, then a 58 Ford Anglia and a 59 Karmann Ghia. Both got traded (I think) on a 61 Olds F-85 wagon shortly before the family moved from Ypsilanti, MI to Fort Wayne, IN. For awhile, we were a one car family. Then dad got a company car – 63 Bel Air wagon. Yes, now we had 2 station wagons. The Olds wagon got traded on a dark green 64 Olds Cutlass hardtop with bucket seats and a console – but no air.
The company Chevy wagon was traded for a white 66 Country Squire. My parents divorced in 1967, Dad kept the Squire and Mom kept the Cutlass.
Dad got remarried in 68 and my stepmom got a 68 Cutlass Supreme coupe. Dad got a new company car in 69 – an Olds 88 with air. I never understood that one, it was the only Olds he ever picked out for himself.
He left the company soon after and started life as a self employed management consultant. He picked a 69 LTD, then leased a 70 Mark III and a 72 Mark IV. He always loved his Lincolns, and believed that you had to look successful to be successful. Stepmom got a 74 Cutlass Supreme coupe, Dad got a 76 Mercury Monarch, followed up by a 78 Lincoln Town Coupe (my favorite of his cars). Then an 80 Town Coupe (my least favorite). Stepmom got an 82 Cutlass Ciera.
Dad started having health problems in 80-81, sold his company and got a desk job with a big company. Dad got a used 84 Continental sedan, stepmom got an 87 Tempo, then a 90 Acura Integra. Dad had an 88 Taurus, then a 90 Accord (Mrs. JPC’s may have influenced him) then another couple of Taurii and finally a 98 Continental that he owned until he died about 10 years ago. Stepmom drove the Integra for awhile, and has had a succession of Camrys since.
After their divorce, Mom kept the 64 Cutlass until replacing it with a 72 Cutlass Supreme coupe, then a 74 Luxury LeMans sedan. Then an 80 Plymouth Horizon sedan. She finally hit her stride with an 85 Crown Vic followed by a 93 (both of which I bought from her). She currently has an 06 Buick LaCrosse that she won in GM’s Hot Button Contest, of all things. She misses her Crown Vics, but she is north of 80 and is afraid that they are too big and powerful for her now.
It is funny to see how several of you grew up in and around some of the same cars that I did. It is also funny that people like us here at CC get a better sense of who we all are by what we spent time riding in as kids.
Oh and me…….
I learned to drive on Long Island and got my license 3 days after my 16th birthday. The road test guy said that I drive remarkably well for someone who drove legally for only 3 days, wink wink…..
I got that 1971 Buick Skylark GSX and paid my father $4000 of money that I earned, $200 per month for 20 months. I had my own insurance at 16 and I was an emancipated minor because my parents didn’t want any risk from me. I never did have a car accident but I understand why they did that.
Starting college I moved to Manhattan and paid for a garage and kept that Buick until July 1987 when I bought a Cadillac Allante that I still have and I still garage it at the same place. Time stands still. I got 15000 for that Buick. It consumed a shocking amount of gas. It rusted even though it was never used during winters and was garaged every night of its life. It was restored and is now a show-only car. I know the owner. The Allante now has 324K on it and going strong. Its 25th anniversary in 7/17/2012.
Growing up in the 80s and 90s in the Toledo, OH area, there were neighborhoods where there were plenty of new cars, and neighborhoods where there were very few, and if there were, you knew where those people worked (Jeep, Hydramatic, Maumee Stamping & Assembly). I attended elementary school in a middle class neighborhood in West Toledo. There were plenty of families who drove cars as long as they could reasonably afford to fix them, and the closer I got to junior high school, the more I saw Japanese cars that were driven to the point of being merely frames (rust belt, you know?). When we moved to the ‘burbs in ’94-95, the cars were a lot newer (and, uh, more Japanese), but then the neighborhoods were a smidge more affluent as well.
I first remember that we had a Dodge Aires wagon with vinyl seats that were ridiculous in the summer. I assume my dad bought it new. It was a basic model, power nothing (except maybe steering, but I was too young to know).
My dad bought a Ford Taurus brand new right when they came out, A/C, but nothing else. It was really cool after the cream color Aries. It never worked, I may have mentioned it before.
My mom got a 1987 Buick Century (loaded up: power windows & locks, A/C, etc) shortly after. The Taurus, even to 7 y/o me, felt much sportier. We had to trade with my Grandma for her decrepit ’78 LeSabre. The less said about that thing, the better. It died in the left turn lane of an extremely busy intersection near Franklin Park Mall. Thanks, Buick.
There was an ’82 Olds Custom Cruiser with fake wood siding and the ’85 (maybe?) Caprice Wagon (classy in burgundy, no sarcasm here at all, it was really a good car) that replaced that driven by my dad alongside my mom’s ’89 Grand Voyager that had aftermarket rims that totally went with the fake wood siding on that.
Then, in 1994, we moved over the border into Michigan, and our cars changed to better match the surroundings of our new suburban subdivision. My dad got rid of the barge in exchange for a ’90 Honda Accord, the car I learned to drive on. Wow, what a ride that was. He put literally hundreds of thousands of trouble-free miles on it. In 1996, we got rid of the old Voyager for a brand new, loaded-to-the-gills Grand Caravan. Everything about that van was great (except the lack of lumbar support in the seats, but that’s why God invented pillows), it was such a great vehicle for our family vacations. Of course, over the course of its nearly 200,000 mile life it probably ate about 4 or 6 transmissions (that’s not an exaggeration, unfortunately).
And then I moved away, and I have had a series of used cars: a ’97 Accent (A/C, but nothing else, purchased in a deal we got hosed on), a ’91 Cherokee (probably the coolest car I’ve ever had, before I crashed it on I75 in the sleet), a ’98 200SX (loaded, but suffered from abuse at the hands of my sister), a ’93 Impreza wagon (hooked me), my then-girlfriend’s (we’re married now) ’89 Camry (another Japanese car revelation: 18 y/o, drove like brand new!), an ’02 Outback (best car I’ve ever had?) and my current ride, a who-cares-what-year-it-is-because-it-sucks-so-bad Mitsubishi Minica (I’ll commit seppuku before I drive one of those expletive-inducing rolling clinical depressions again), and an ’03 Impreza wagon (best car I’ve ever had?). I doubt I’ll ever buy a new car, but then again it’s difficult to imagine making more money than the small amount I make right now, but who knows? Certainly, we won’t be the trade-for-a-new-one-every-three-years people.
My grandparents got new Buicks every 4 years on average from 1950-73. I’d bug my folks all the time, “when are we getting new?” Even if our car was only a year old!
Some neighbors would get every two, but in most middle to upper class Chicago neighborhoods and suburbs, driveways were showing new cars about 4-6 years. It was like buying new computers, TV’s or redoing kitchens/ bathrooms every 3-5 years, these days.
The status symbol that Motown really pushed was ‘buy new cars every year!’ but only show off social climbers did that.
Paul, Iowa City still doesn’t use salt; they use sand in the winter. Probably why I have good luck spotting CCs when I’m up there.
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