Yesterday was Father’s Day for those of us in North America and it had me thinking about something I think we can all relate to. As car-crazed kids, we probably all tried to have a say in what our parents bought. So, what did you tell your parents to buy? And did they listen, or what did they buy instead? I distinctly recall one strong suggestion I made circa sixth grade and it may surprise you.
There was a time when a $35k Kia crossover or a V8-powered Genesis was a laughable suggestion. The Koreans were manufacturing only bargain-basement cars, like the 1995 Hyundai Excel (Accent) which briefly became Australia’s best-selling car on the back of its low, low, driveaway price. But Hyundai and Kia were struggling with their larger cars despite offering them well-equipped and keenly-priced. As a child, I was no brand snob and I was perhaps even more of a cheapskate value-oriented consumer than I am now. I was seduced by a low price and a long feature list and when I saw an ad for runout examples of the Kia Credos, I told my mother she had to buy one.
“What is a Kia Credos?” you may ask. Basically, it was a rebodied 1992 Mazda 626 and was Kia’s third offering in Australia after the Mentor (Sephia) and Sportage. Australian market models launched in 1998 and came with a 2.0 DOHC four-cylinder engine with 131 hp and 126 ft-lbs and a choice of five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmissions. Just one model was offered: a well-equipped sedan with standard air-conditioning and power windows, mirrors and locks. Leather and woodgrain trim, power driver’s seat, alloy wheels and ABS were available in an option pack, and these runout Credos sedans were all equipped with leather and priced at a low, low $AUD 19,990, about the price of a base model Corolla and even undercutting base models of the Hyundai Sonata and Daewoo Leganza. Not bad for a mid-size sedan, especially one so generously appointed!
In other markets, the Credos was known as the Clarus and even featured a wagon variant that looked like the lovechild of a Renault Laguna Estate and a 1996 Ford Taurus wagon. But the Credos/Clarus was a bit player outside of Asia, selling poorly in Europe and not even being offered in North America. In Australia, only a paltry 839 examples were sold over the Credos’ three-year run.
In the end, my mother didn’t buy a Credos. The next car purchase in my family was my father’s purchase of another well-appointed Korean, a Daewoo Nubira that very quickly taught me there is more to a car than its equipment list as the Nubira was well-specified but rubbish. Given its Mazda bones, the Credos might have been a better buy for our family but we shall never know.
So, what did you try to convince your parents to buy and did they follow your advice or go in an entirely different direction?
In 1986 when I was 12 my mom bought a Plymouth Horizon. I tried to talk her into looking at the Dodge dealer down the street since an Omni was the same car, thinking I could talk her into a Shelby GLH-S. The first part of the suggestion was taken but the Dodge dealer couldn’t or wouldn’t match the deal (on a base Omnirizon) she had already negotiated at the Chrysler-Plymouth store and I don’t even remember if they had a “regular” GLH in stock.
Minivan; it was something new, I could get my own row, my friends could ride along easier than in the Cutlass, and it was bigger (by far) then the Corolla. No go, they kept the Cutlass and Corolla.
Yep. I think I may have influenced them buying a Lumina APV. And for the most part they liked it and bought 3 more vans after that.
It was a Saturday in November 1965 that I accompanied my dad to our local Oldsmobile dealer for what I assumed would be another Dynamic 88. While he was talking with our salesman, I saw it. It was big, long and low, a piece of rolling sculpture enrobed in black cherry metallic paint. I ran over to it and saw the ‘Toronado’ badge on the trunk, and then ran over to dad to tell him that he MUST come over and see the most beautiful car I’d ever seen. Long story short, we went home in a beige Ninety – Eight that day. Oh, well…
I accompanied my father when he went to test drive a 1962 Studebaker GT Hawk, black with red upholstery. It was just gorgeous, and I persuaded Dad to take it home and show it to my mother, who promptly fell in love with it. But Dad knew how the wind was blowing for Studebaker, and we regretfully took it back to the dealer. Soon thereafter he bought a new Ford Galaxie 500 sedan, more practical for his purposes and a very good car in its own right. But the memory of that black Hawk sticks with me 54 years later. What a beaut!
I saw one with a supercharger at a car show a couple of weekends ago.
My Dad occasionally would bring home an interesting car on a test drive, when I was around 13 he brought a Mazda RX-7 home to show us.
Even though it was an automatic, we kids went nuts: YES! YES!
Unfortunately Mom went nuts too, and not in the same way so the Mazda was returned to the dealer. Nice try Dad!
I got my RX-7 much later, and Dad enjoyed borrowing it occasionally.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cars-of-a-lifetime/coal-1985-mazda-rx-7-reality-steps-in/
ANYTHING that wasn`t a stripper, with automatic, air, power steering, decent radio and a spiffy interior. Most likely a full size GM car from any division.
When I was 16, my folks, VW loyalists since 1960, went shopping for a new car at the VW dealer. There was a choice between a leftover ’79 Bug convertible, a Sirocco and a Westmoreland, PA sourced 4 door Rabbit L. Having been mightily influenced by numerous buff mag articles about the handling and sport driving goodness of the Sirocco, I lobbied for the Sirocco, Mom wanted the Bug, which would have been our fifth aircooled VW, and Dad picked the Rabbit. It was sold after 10 years and 100,000 miles and was so badly built that it soured the entire family on VW thereafter.
In hindsight, the Bug would have been the most durable and collectable
I was raised with Pontiacs in the garage, and generally I found the series of Bonneville and Grand Prix 2 door hardtops to be sufficient. However, I did on occasion petition for a GTO, and even the occasional non Pontiac, like Thunderbird..Pre Pontiac. Dad Bought Fords and Mercurys Thunderbirds caught my attention when I was very young pre-schoolage, particularly the 2 seaters… When the 4 seaters came out in late 57. I was 6 and thought…maybe dad would relent…Still no, But he did bring Mom a 58 Mercury. In 59 he bought a Bonneville, the first Pontiac of many to grace the 2 car garage until 1972, When Buicks appeared. Actually Moms GPs and dads Bonnies were quite acceptable to my young gearhead mind, So I was never truly disappointed.
I remember 3. First was the Viking Blue 72 Cutlass convertible with white buckets that was on the showroom floor of Collins Oldsmobile in Fort Wayne. No dice, she picked a light green hardtop. Not a bad end, but still . . .
Second, I thought there was a chance I could sell my father on an Avanti II in 1976. He liked the looks and the strong resale value that they maintained, but when told over the phone that it was no going to drive at all like his Lincolns, he passed.
Finally was the big Chrysler, either the 74 Imperial or the 76 and again 78 New Yorkers. He would never bite (even though he thought the cars attractive) because of Chrysler’s traditionally lousy resale values. He didn’t get anything at all in 74, and ended up with a loaded 351 Mercury Monarch Ghia sedan in 76 and a white Continental Town Coupe in 78 – which I liked quite a lot.
the long, low hulking ’65 Grand Prix — with buckets. center console, fender skirts, and “over-under” headlights (as I recall in the adverts) — took my breath away.
That would be my Dad’s Maxima in 1999. I was friends with a kid named Tommy whose parents always had the cool Nissans of the era, I mean his mom’s daily driver was the now iconic Sentra SE-R in the 91-94 generation in bright red, and his Dad had a clean black on black 4DSC 5-speed Maxima when we first became friends. Later on, probably 4th gradeish he picked up my friend in a new fourth generation version, it had the newer grille/taillights so I think it was a 97, SE model, black on black, white face gauges, 5 speed, sunroof, totally loaded, and I thought it looked awesome( I may be in the minority preferring the fourth gen styling to the prior 4DSC today) and of course Tommy bragged about it too. The VQ30DE utterly hauled – only time I rode in it was when his Mom used it one day for whatever reason and were on the way to another friends birthday party, requiring us to take the expressway, well she must have been used to the SE-R requiring more throttle to get up to speed or something, because she was shifting briskly to redline on the ramp, and that was quite a fun joyous experience even from the back seat… Easily the fastest feeling car I had experienced at that point, I have no memory of the party itself.
Anyway, the Maxima won my heart, and when my Dad was antsy to replace his old Audi 100 with… not an Audi I was pretty quick to throw out in what I can only imagine childish glee “New Maxima! New Maxima!” Now I’m pretty sure he shopped around a bit thereafter, the Accord always seemed to be his I guess I’ll buy this if I can’t find anything else car(to date in fact), but to my joy he brought home the Maxima SE. But instead of it being black on black, 5 speed, with a sunroof it was Silver(black interior though), automatic, no sunroof… Doh!
The car he replaced that with was the used black 02 Lexus GS300 in 2006, I liked that car but what I lobbied hard for him to get was a Y34 Infiniti M45, and he almost pulled the trigger on one too, in bright red(my favorite) no less, but that was not a victory.
You’re not alone in loving the fourth gen Maxima. I bought a new 99 GLE and it was one of the best cars I’ve ever owned – still miss it. That VQ was smooth as silk and given the small size and light weight (3,090 lbs) of the car, it could really move. I love my G37 but the Maxima was a great car for its time. No love for the subsequent iterations – too big, bloated, and CVT!
I loved my maxima too! I had a 1997 base model with a five speed and hubcaps, and it was very fun to drive! Biggest strength was the engine, which reminded me of a BMW six cylinder at the time because of the way it would roar under power. Of course I later learned it was a V6, not inline, and had more low down torque to boot, but at the time that was my impression.
The biggest weakness of those maximas was the steering. A little vague. But a small price to pay for that awesome engine-transmission combo!
We had a ’63 Dodge Dart GT, which in hindsight wasn’t a bad looking car, but when the Mustang came out, how I wished we had a new one. After 4 years Dad did replace the Dart with a new 911 (talk about going in a new direction), but by then the muscle car era was in full swing, and as a teenager that’s what I would of liked.
1987 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS – color immaterial.
Instead he got a 1987 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Brougham sedan, nice car but not nearly as fast or as cool as a Monte with 305 and 4 brrl carb. He thought that family men had to drive sedans. In retrospect given that my mother would spend most of the time driving the vehicle, I doubt she could have handled 40 more hp being driven through the rear wheels with no electronic nannies to assist her.
When I was 16 I wanted them to get a 1961 tri-power Bonneville convertible.
In Honduras Maroon.
They got a 1961 Ventura in Honduras Maroon (I mean Coranado Red).
Close enough.
I don’t recall my father ever asking his children or wife about they would like in contemplated car purchases, which was probably common practice. Kids not having much life experience, it’s not like I resent this, though one might think a wife’s opinion might be taken more into account for what she’ll have to drive.
I think my mother was completely surprised by his Cadillac purchases.
Different world back then, I suppose. Though for the wife I guess it does depend on how much of a car person she is or isn’t. When we purchased my wife’s current car, she gave me preferences (2 doors, easy to park, good gas mileage, doesn’t require premium) and let me handle the shopping otherwise. Once I had mostly decided on a car, I actually had to persuade her to test drive it to make sure she liked it!
Of course she also knew whatever I got would be from the affordable end of the market, as I wouldn’t have been approved for anything else! If I had turned up with something off the wall (say, a 5 year old 350Z instead of a new Forte Koup) I don’t think that would have ended well.
My father could be a bit odd at times, with motivations that only he would understand. In the Spring of 1979 he came home one weeknight and dragged us all out to his friend’s dealership to test drive 2 slightly used Cadillacs that had come in. One was a Sedan DeVille, in green with green brocade cloth interior, a 1975 or ’76 model. The other was a bright green (that one-year-only GM bright metallic green) Coupe DeVille with white vinyl top and white leather interior. I really wanted them to buy that Coupe.
My mother was driving a ’77 Monte Carlo at the time, but since my youngest brother was born in ’78 I assume the reason for this shopping trip was more room for 3 kids. Mom was not having it. She’d accepted the Monte Carlo as a matter of practicality, but was never thrilled to have given up her ’75 Monza 2+2 in favor of it. She certainly wasn’t about to trade up to something even bigger and more ostentatious.
Later that year my mother won the battle of the bulge, trading in the Monza, which Dad had been driving for a year now, on a Horizon TC3. Dad traded the Monte Carlo in for a 1980 Toronado within a year afterwards, and everybody felt right about their transportation again for a while. That Cadillac was a beautiful car, but hardly practical, and certainly a bit too over-the-top for our family. We’d ultimately never own a Cadillac until 2004 when my father leased himself a CTS, which he quickly proclaimed to be the worst piece of #%^ he’d ever owned. I guess we’re just not Cadillac material.
I wanted one of the GM Colonnade cars – a 1973-74 Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon sedan, Cutlass Supreme coupe, or any Pontiac Grand Am. It was never to be.
Instead, they bought a year-old 1973 AMC Gremlin in the fall of 1974. That car turned out to be the biggest lemon any of us have ever owned, before or since.
By the late 1970s, my dreams had shifted to either a Chevrolet Camaro or Pontiac Firebird. Which also never came to be.
My dad bought in ’86, an Opel Kadett 4 door sedan… the car that mom, and sisters like to own?
My father and me, anyway, prefer a Golden Opel Manta GT/E that left in showroom??
Back in 1988 I tried to get my father to buy a Lada Niva 4×4. He played along for a little bit at the car show but ultimately bought a Ford Tempo L two door.
My brother was very I’ll as a child. Surgeries and drugs crippled us financially. It was just a treat to get in the car and have it start, regardless of what it was.
Y’all, this is embarrassing, but when I was 8, I badly wanted my parents to buy a three year old Renault 18i wagon. I loved the Renault, cos it was French, and therefore cool. Compared with the Dart that it was replacing, it was much roomier inside and much more compact and lightweight. I think it had accumulated a number of expensive problems including the oxygen sensor, which they were afraid of. I cried when they didn’t buy it. I cannot remember what they picked instead of the Renault, but it was either a 1977 Buick Century, which was terrible, or an AMC Spirit, which was . . . also terrible, but in a slightly different way.
Oddly, they went on to largely respect my car opinions and Dad bought a Pontiac Sunbird, Plymouth Sundance, Olds Cutlass Supreme, and most recently a Dodge Charger on my recommendation. Ma picked a 1985 Accord which expired two years later due to failing transmission over the 1985 Century (after the first Century she refuses to drive anything called a Century, even though she currently drives a Cutlass Ciera) which I recommended and has since not had an automotive opinion.
My folks weren’t new-car people, but they let me tag along when shopping for used cars. After the ’83 Escort had expired in 1994, we were visiting dealerships just to see what they had on the lot. At the used car showroom of Rice’s Toyota (slightly ironic name, eh?) in Greensboro, while perusing the inventory, my 13 year-old self spotted a shapely blue sedan amongst other new arrivals. Didn’t even have a price on the window yet. “Hey Dad–look at that Audi back there. Ask the salesman about it!”
He humored me. He asked. He drove it, liked it, I loved it, the price was right which made Mom happy. They bought it.
Worst purchase ever. That car probably cost them more than the purchase price in maintenance over the 4 years we had it. (Though I quite enjoyed occasionally driving it when I got my license in late ’96.) Next time a purchase was considered, I was told in no uncertain terms that German cars were Off The Table Permanently.
My father had no interest in cars, for him a vehicle was simply the means to get back and forth to work, run errands, etc. He would typically buy something used and drive it until it was no longer worth the expense of repairing whatever malady was currently keeping it off the road. I’m pretty sure that the only new vehicle my father ever purchased was a Dodge truck he bought right before he retired (in 1985). He still had this truck when he died in 2000, although he seldom drove it after 1996 or so. All of my interest in cars came from assorted uncles and cousins.
Believe it or not when I was 12 years old I actively lobbied my father to buy a late model Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 6.3 (and I knew exactly why I wanted that car in our garage – I would be getting my license in a few short years for one thing). Dad’s Cadillac was getting on in years though he kept it in top condition. Never-the-less, the Benz was about 30 percent more expensive than a Caddy of comparable age. I knew the replacement would most likely be another GM product – possibly another Cadillac or a Buick or Pontiac (he had owned Pontiacs previously).
The events of the next year blew that prediction out of the water. The first oil embargo (1973) caused many people do make very different decisions about what they drove. My mother’s Buick (due for replacement too) was traded on a new Volvo 144. I was a bit dismayed by that because I liked the ’73 Olds Cutlass and realized one could be had for about what was paid for the Volvo. Mother kept that Volvo for 11 years and put well over 150,000 miles on it though proving the wisdom of the decision.
And what of the Cadillac? it was traded the following year on a BMW 3.0S (a Bavaria sedan with leather upholstery and power windows basically). Well, that was a hoot. I did get to drive it on occasion. I also got to wax it and rub hide food on the seeming acres of leather on a regular basis. After four years of ownership the cost of maintenance for the BMW began to not sit well with my father. The car was traded on a new 1978 Pontiac Bonneville Brougham (brougham in name only almost – Dad special ordered the car without a vinyl top and without those cheesy wire wheel covers). It did have one of the last true Pontiac 400 V8s to appear in a B-body. Horsepower was down from the glory days, of course, but it still made plenty of tire-chirping torque.
I came home from Good Samaritan Hospital in 1966 in my mom’s ’65 Mustang convertible. My dad was driving a ’58 Olds 98 coupe at that time. At the end of the 60s they had a ’68 VW Squareback and a ’69 Olds Delta 88 4 door hardtop. At the end of the 70s they had a ’76 Olds Cutlass S and a ’78 Dodge Omni. At the end of the 80s they had an ’86 VW Jetta and an ’87 VW Golf.
My input was generally ignored…one memorable thing was visiting my uncle’s Olds dealership in the mid-70s…there was a funny looking little yellow hatchback in the corner of the showroom, something called a Honda. My dad and uncle spent a minute chuckling about that little tincan, wondering who on earth would drive something like that. Apparently they got the Honda franchise for next to nothing and figured it was worth a shot, they might sell a few.
I tried like the dickens to get my dad to buy a SAAB or Volvo, in the early 80s. No such luck…he bought another Cutlass. I tried to get him to buy a BMW 320i, he bought a Nissan Sentra?!? After that, I gave up. I was getting to the age that I could buy my own cars and I let him do his own thing.
My dad had a thing for getting a/c, AM radio and vinyl seats. He finally started buying cloth seats and AM/FM/cassette in the early 80s, power windows and locks in the early 90s, and sunroof/leather in his last 3 cars.
My father was a very pragmatic and frugal person who was not the least bit concerned over other peoples’ perceptions of his social or economic status as exemplified by the car he drove. He had previously owned two Studebaker Champions and a 1955 Ford Customline “Tudor” sedan, but in 1962, I was a car crazy 12 year old who was constantly bombarding him with advertisements and brochures for a more upscale car. He wouldn’t spring for anything more expensive than a Ford or Chevy, but I finally convinced him to order a 1962 Galaxie 500 Town Victoria in raven black. This was a very nice looking car and served us well for many years. This article brought back fond memories of my dad and the kind of man he was. Thanks for the memories.
In ’55 parents tried out a ’54 Ford and a ’54 Chevy. The Ford was clearly a better car, and I was rooting for it, but they picked the Chevy. It was okay but the Ford would have been better.
In ’59 parents decided to get a station wagon because Status. They tried out a ’58 Ford, a ’57 Chevy, and a ’56 Pontiac SAFARI. Again the Ford was clearly the better car, and I rooted for it. They bought the Chevy. Bad move. Total lemon.
Clearly there’s a bias or prejudice involved. Much later in life, after I’d bought a couple Fords of my own, I was telling Mom about the latest one and she growled: “Oh. You and your Fords.” This was entirely out of character. Mom was not into cars, and had never expressed any opinions on the entire subject of cars before.
What was wrong with Fords? Never did figure it out.
I think your parents were of an era where “Ford” still kind of meant “cheap Model T”. My mother grew up on a farm and her family drove a 35 Ford V8 until 1951. She harbored a quiet anti-Ford bias until the 80s, when Consumer Reports convinced her that a Crown Victoria was a better car than an Olds 88. Until her upper-middle-age, a Ford was what you drove when you couldn’t afford anything better – or a cheap car trying to masquerade as a nice car.
I think that makes very good sense from some of my own observations growing up. In general up through the ’70’s there were “Ford People” and there was everyone else. In my area farmers, tradesmen and their families seemed to drive Ford products nearly exclusively, and would be likely to tell you in no uncertain terms that there was no other acceptable choice. I have uncles on my father’s side who built houses for a living, all of whom drove Ford trucks, while their wives drove LTD’s, Torinos and Thunderbirds. Ultimately their kids drove Mustang II’s, Mavericks, etc. (purchased by their fathers at the same dealership where the trucks and family haulers came from) once they reached driving age. My own immediate family never owned a Ford product, and they were never even on the radar as far as I ever knew when they were considering a purchase. There was a certain whiff of snobbery surrounding this whole phenomenon that I never understood, but in hindsight it did seem that the “Ford Folks” tended toward the more salt-of-the-earth practical nature. It wasn’t a financial or economic dividing line, those folks were just the more conservative, practical sort.
Your description sounds like that of Henry himself!
One distinction that sounds realistic but irrational is, Protestants buy Fords, Catholics buy Chevies. What does theology have to do with motoring? Was Henry a “Know Nothing” Party member?
Garrison Keillor repeated this stereotype in “Lake Wobegon Days,” so it wasn’t just my impression.
In Lake Wobegon it was because the Chevy dealer was owned by a Catholic and the Ford dealer was owned by a Lutheran. Also, Henry Ford was a noted anti-semite. It would not be inconceivable that he would have been rather anti-catholic too, as were many from small town and rural midwest background at the time.
I always thought it had something to do with how the companies were seen in their heyday. Ford the company was associated with Ford the man, nailing his theses to the stable door, long after Old Henry passed on. GM seemed to enter the public consciousness as early as the ’20s fully-formed as a large hierarchical bureaucracy. Certainly by midcentury it was seen as the archetype of the modern organization; yeah there was a man at the top but he would be replaced by a process that might as well have involved white smoke.
Henry Ford was Martin Luther, General Motors was the Vatican.
Our host has probably helped form this theory in my head as well. Paul drops in some Catholic terms and imagery from time to time; the Deadly Sin tag was applied to GM first and most often, and who could forget Saint Mark of Excellence?
That is interesting, because my mother was born in Germany, married my father in 1960, and then came to this country. Aside from occasionally saying that she liked Thunderbirds, she seemed to have a real dislike for Ford products. (Except for the Cordoba in the 1970s, Chrysler products weren’t even on her radar.)
She loved the full-size Wide-Track Pontiacs of the 1960s and early 1970s. After my parents bought a well-preserved 1967 Oldsmobile Delmont 88 Holiday sedan traded by an elderly neighbor, she preferred Oldsmobiles. She always wanted either the newest Delta 88 or a Ninety-Eight.
My father joked about “your mother and her dislike of Fords.” But she also didn’t care for Chevrolets – she always had a preference for either Oldsmobiles or Pontiacs.
You think I’m going to say,”1962 Ford Fairlane with a dented hood,” you’re nuts.
Paul would understand.
When I was ten, I thought it would’ve been cool for my parents to buy a Hummer H3. I was a dumb kid back then.
Few will admit it today, but many people liked the Hummer back in the day, before Hurricane Katrina and the 2008 recession made it a taboo.
That’s easy: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!
Probably expected coming from me:
When I went with my mom to the dealer when she was getting her ’99 Grand Cherokee, I remember there was a fresh, fully-loaded Town & Country Limited in the showroom. The leather seats of the Limited were so inviting and this particular one had a dealer-installed rear entertainment system with Nintendo 64 hooked up! The first car I ever saw with a flip-down LCD screen.
I wanted her to get it so bad but she’d never be caught dead in a minivan. I’ve since become better though. I take a lot of credit for talking her into her last two car purchases
Almost anything Mercury instead of Ford (my father’s best friend sold Ford-Mercury and occasionally Lincolns). I did succeed a few times, as in when my father bought a Comet, then a Zephyr, and a (small/mid 80s) Marquis. But after these Mercurys, he went back to Fords with a string of Tauruses of different years/generations.
When the time came to replace his 71 Dodge Dart, I lobbied my father to get an Alfa Romeo Alfetta, which was one of the few true sports sedans you could buy in Israel back then. My father wisely declined. Instead we got a Ford Cortina, infinitely boring and utterly reliable. He did listen years later when I suggested a smaller car than his Peugeot 505 and bought a Mitsubishi Lancer C6A but then complained it was too small, which taught me to avoid making any new car suggestions again.
In 1960 when I was 12 my parents were in the market for a new car. Dad had worked for Oliver Farm Equipment for several years prior to this, and then Cargil. During that time he had always had a new company car that he also was able to use for personal use. While working for Oliver he always had a green base Chevy, getting a new one each year. At Cargil he was given a mid model , Bel Aire Chevy each year that was nicely equipped. The last one he had was a blue ’60 Ford Fairlane 500. After leaving Cargil to start his own business, Mom’s well used ’53 Ford wouldn’t do for a family car. We went to the local Ford dealer to look at what they had. I tried to steer Dad to the black Starliner two door hardtop. Unfortunately, he settled on a base Fairlane two door four door sedan with a 6 and manual transmission. It even had blackwalls. It also was the same blue that the former company car had been. So, to my 12 year old eyes, no one in our small town would even know that we had a new car. That was the last “stripper” Dad owned except for a couple of commuter Pintos. He only kept the Ford for 2 years, a short time for him, before trading for an Olds wagon.
Years later, my own kids tried to talk me into a minivan. I told them they could buy their own when they grew up. I then bought a Ranger pickup. That was for me to drive to work. Our family car was the two door ’79 Malibu that I still own.
My parents weren’t of sufficient financial means for this to even be a factor. They ran an ’85 Cavalier Type-10 because it was the least-expensive new car they could buy at the time. In 1991, I was 10 and mom crashed the Cavalier. Dad’s boss worked him a deal on his daughter’s 1986 LeBaron GTS (He’d just bought her a new Intrepid) in which he took the money off the top of Dad’s check. Although I loved the LeBaron because it had four doors (so I could get in and out on my own), rear windows I could roll down, and working A/C (the first couple years we had it, anyway), I had no say in that car, and its purchase was purely a question of what we could work for finances.
By 1996, we were doing well enough for Dad to have bought a truck, in which I had no say. Mom was ready to buy a new car, as well. Although I was 15 by then, the parents didn’t even so much as let me ride with them to the dealership.
As an adult on my own in 2005, when mom was ready to move on from her ’96 Grand Am, I tried to talk my mom out of buying a TrailBlazer.
Now, it’s 2016. Mom still has that damned TrailBlazer, it only has 118,000 miles on it, and-shockingly-it barely has any rust on it despite being a rural Michigan car. She looked at a Ford Edge a few years ago, but decided it was far too expensive. Knowing how they view money and cars, that TrailBlazer will probably see 200,000 with my mother behind the wheel.
I would have liked my parents to get a new car every year. What make and model I would have liked it to be varied over time. Of course, as an adult, I can understand why they didn’t do what I wanted.
I would have liked my parents to get a car.
Any car.
I just made a deal to myself. When my children grow old to care, I will buy whatever car they want me to buy with the hopes that they don’t choose something totally outlandish. And I guess that’s why my parents never bought the cars I so wanted them to buy. You know, cars like a Dodge Grand Caravan or a Chevrolet Caprice Wagon. What was I thinking being but one child in a six person family? Oh well.
The eventual 1989 Plymouth Reliant that replaced the totaled M-body Caravelle was likely a Godsend because I have great respect for the K-car today and know better than to think otherwise. The 2.2L engine proved to be a workhorse and was reliable and on the inside had a muted rumbling growl that didn’t sound all that different from any 626 or Honda Accord of the day. The 2.2 is also a non-interference engine so that if the timing belt breaks, it won’t destroy the valves — which was a nice surprise to us. Ahem… And as is commonly known with the efficient K-car, it was true that the interior wasn’t all that smaller than the M-car, especially since there was no bell housing bulge in the middle front seat area as well as a much smaller “driveshaft” hump in the rear.
Though it still would have been nice to have a B body in the family. At least two of my siblings now have the Dodge Grand Caravan and so now my inner child is at peace as I get to drive it from time to time.
And the Dodge GC is a great vehicle, just as I thought….
Ah, the ‘Ford folks” thing; how well I know it!! My mother’s side of the family (famers, natch) ALL drove FoMoCo products for as long as I could remember.
We had, of course a group of larger Fords and Mercs in our driveway all through my childhood. In ’77 it was time to replace the cars in the drive (we traded off every 3-5 years as they fell apart mechanically or rusted out from under us in the western PA winters.
It was a foregone conclusion that dad would replace his truck with a Ford (an F-100 Supercab this time!) and the van. They sprung for a fully loaded Econoline Chateau with every bell and whistle they offered in the line; a really nice van. Mum was losing her ’73 Monterey ( a true beast of a car with what I saw as no redeeming value at all), the buttercup yellow beast was rotting from every fender and the 351 under the hood had developed an unfixable stumble. As I was soon to turn 16 and start driving, I was hoping to influence her toward something with some class. I dreaded the idea of taking either the van (or God forbid, the truck) to the prom! At the local L-M dealer, I drooled over the new for ’77 Mark V Continental. THIS was a class act!!! I lobbied rather hard for her to get one as her car was rarely used to transport the whole brood and I pushed the idea that “you deserve something nice after putting up with that plain old Mercury for so long”. She stunned me when she decided that she DID indeed deserve a nicer car and plopped for a Town Car. Granted, it wasn’t a Mark but I was pleased and proud to take my date to the Jr-Sr prom in the “limo”! She kept that car well past the usual 3-4 year turn around.
My younger brother plowed it into a coal truck in late ’83 and he “sold her on an Olds 98 with a Diesel!! That is another story in its entirety!!!
When I was 7 or 8 my mother was looking for a replacement for her 1990 Nissan Maxima (a great car and the one I was brought home from the hospital in, but beginning to have transmission trouble with over 200,000 miles). At first I wanted her to buy a Dodge Intrepid or Durango since they looked cool and there was a Dodge dealer across from my piano teacher’s house. Of course, at 7 or 8 I didn’t quite understand the concept of quality or reliability…
I was also fascinated by the Mazda Millenia and especially the Volvo S70. Mom ended up with the Volvo (though a base model and not the cool Saffron Orange S70R in the brochures), and it served us well until it was totaled at 140K. I took my driver’s test in that car – both times.
Dad didn’t especially like buying new cars, but at 9 or 10, I suggested that an Accord (V6 and manual, of course!) would make a good replacement for his Volvo 740. He ended up leasing a Volvo S60 T5 automatic – a very nice car as well. He did buy a TL many years later.
I wanted my parents to buy a new Mercedes. Instead mom and dad bought two identical Sparta mopeds with the optional child seats. The Spartas were nice though, with a two-tone paint job. White and green.
My late grandfather took me to Wullenweber AMC to look at cars. In the showroom were a tan kammback AMC Spirit, completely stripped down, and a white Spirit hatchback with stripes, fancy wheelcovers and maroon corduroy/velour interior. He basically told me to choose one for him to drive…he was bored with his 78 Hornet hatchback. Of course I chose the snazzy white hatchback, assuming that I’d get it when I turned 16 in a couple of years. Alas, his health failed, he quit driving, and my uncle needed a car, so I never did wind up with the Spirit.
Now I feel old in my dad bought a new 54 Vauxhall Velox before I was born he traded it in 64 for a new PB Vauxhall Velox then in 66 for a new Holden Special HR wagon then again in 68 for a new HK Kingswood wagon then a 69 HT Kingswood wagon, after a NZ dealers trip to view the new HQ Holdens a new 71 HQ kingswood wagon sat in our driveway then a 73 Holden Kingswood sedan this time his first automatic, then a used 74 HQ in 75, why? you ask, because each car swap made money thanks to our artificially strangled market new cars were difficult to obtain late model used cars were selling at premium prices,plus being at a GM dealership he could buy at good discount, he continued this strategy untill redundancy removed his access to new Holdens at cheap prices in 89 and he moved on to used Toyota Coronas and discovered just why they were NZ best selling cars.
After my Dad cracked up his 1 year old 66 Plymouth Valiant after a wee too many wobbly pops, we were auto-less until I got my license in 1973. We bought an 11 year old VW beetle despite my pleas for a north American made car, and when that died 6 months later we bought a new 1974 Dart Sport. Close enough, I had wanted a Duster. My dad only ever drove that Dart once (when I let him and I knew he had not been drinking) and I was with him at the time.
I wanted Dad to buy a Mercedes W111 Coupe. Not a chance.
I can’t blame you — such a beautiful body style! The W111 coupes were timeless and elegant…all the design elements are cool, from the “fins” on the back to the stacked headlights.
That was the 1970s and I badly wanted my Dad to buy a (German) Ford Granada wagon. He had a Taunus wagon which everyone in the family liked a lot but to me the Granada was the closest thing to a US car you could get on our side of the pond.
Well, it didn’t work. But then he picked up a low-mileage Citroen CX wagon. Deep inside he was a Citroen guy. I couldn’t complain (then in 1986 the CX got stolen at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport and I still hate the guys who did it, but that’s another story 🙂 )
I wanted my parents to trade in my Mom’s ’75 Ford Elite for a new ’79 Thunderbird (I was 7). A salesman from Barkhouser Ford (Curtis Turner, he is still there!) brought a black with red interior Thunderbird by the house. We took a ride around the block in it. I wanted Dad to get it so badly. Needless to say, no sale was made that day. The Elite wasn’t traded in until 1983, on a new Cougar (white with red interior, 302 EFI).
I see something of a pattern where people were making their wishes at around age 12. I fit that pattern when my folks went car shopping in 1976, and I had some mild hopes for the outcome.
I’m a fairly practical person, and my dad is as well. So, I didn’t spend a lot of time hoping for a sports car or higher end (American) luxury. Something from Olds or Buick would have been particularly cool in a four door hardtop, even a hardtop Caprice would have been welcome. The more options the better, of course. Our family had grown to 5 in 1974, so a large car would be good, and a station wagon had some appeal as well. My dad’s occasional company cars were Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royales with a pretty full list of options, and my dad liked those cars – so there was hope for an upgrade! There was even talk of keeping our old car and becoming a two car family!
My dad’s trade-in was a ’68 Impala 327 Powerglide four door sedan with aftermarket AC. It was a very average to slightly dowdy car for our neighborhood which was littered with Impalas – but many of them were better optioned than ours, which even suffered mismatched dog dish hub caps. We had the only dog dish covers on our street. Something just a little more upmarket would have been very nice!
Alas, my parents were absolutely stoic in their choice. The Impala was traded for a 1976 Ford LTD with a 351, AC, AM radio – and that’s about it. Automatic, power steering and power brakes were standard. It was reasonably handsome in a darker blue color with it’s “pillared hardtop” styling. The car was essentially an exact Ford replacement for the ’68 Impala, with the typical upgrades of moving up to an 8 year newer car. We now had power brakes and factory AC vs. the Impala’s after market AC. And matching standard full wheel covers. Well, at least our appliance was clean, shiny and had that new car smell. A few years later I would also come to know first hand how slow it was.
My dad spent the next two years or so inadvertently teasing me. He paid cash for the LTD, and the idea of using the equity to trade for a loaded up LTD Landau or Mercury Grand Marquis crossed his mind a few times. Not surprisingly, that didn’t happen.
There are so many I don’t know where to begin!
DAD – The first was an in the showroom, loaded to the hilt, green ’77 Colony Park wagon to replace his ’71 Grand Safari. It was loaded with every option they made – illuminated entry, cornering lamps, tilt, cruise, leather – I wanted him to get that car so bad but he said it was “too big” and ordered a POS ’77 Caprice Classic Estate instead – the biggest lemon that probably ever existed! He regretted not looking at Pontiacs again or not buying the Mercury.
MOM – Her 1983 Jaguar XJ-6 was such a temperamental car, I suggested she look at a new Mercedes. She almost sprung for a 1988 E series but decided to wait instead. The Jag only got more and more picky as the years went on!
DAD – I begged him to look at a new Maxima wagon in 1987 to replace his 1982 Country Squire that was just starting to give us trouble after 100k miles and very heavy use. We went to the Nissan showroom and there in the corner was a grey Maxima wagon with WHAT!? CLOTH INTERIOR? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Dad wouldn’t hear of it! Leather wasn’t available in the wagons – strange but true – so he said he was going to get a sedan instead! I was even more excited! We went home with a charcoal grey ’87 GXE loaded with everything they offered – digital dash, leather, moonroof, you name it! Sadly, Dad hated that car and kept it only three years. He said it was too tinny and didn’t like the harsh ride. Boy, I messed up on that one! At least I got to drive it once in a while.
AGAIN DAD – He wanted to trade the Maxima so I mentioned a new Cadillac, more specifically a Sedan deVille. Well, when he went in the showroom and saw what would be his next car – a 1990 Spring Edition Coupe deVIlle – I felt like I hit a home run with this one! Mom and I wanted him to get a sedan but he wouldn’t hear it. He LOVED that car and passed away getting the one car he always said he wanted before he died. My Mom continued to drive that car until 1998. It was ultra-reliable and comfortable. She decided at around 77k miles that she was ready for something else, so she bought a 1998 BMW 528i and still has it to this day! Only 79,000 miles and it is still running like new!
I’ll take it a step further – I was 12 when my Dad was ordering Mom’s ’79 Riviera. I was so excited! When we were going through the list of options, rear seat reading/courtesy lamps came up – I begged my Dad to get them so I could read in the back seat on long trips. He agreed and ordered them! My Mom’s only specifics were an Astroroof, leather, power trunk release and a low fuel warning light, so she won too! Dad wanted four wheel disc brakes, wire wheel covers, vinyl top, tilt, cruise, delay wipers and the special handling suspension so he got those options. Dad refused to get a passenger power seat, I have no idea why, and/or a recliner. My Mom was upset that the seatback wouldn’t go back and Dad admitted he messed up not getting those options. I told him to order them but he flat out refused. He later admitted I was right and I was shocked! Well, I guess you could say we all had a part in ordering that car!
In 1982 I was 9 years old when my Mom got a good gubmint job and we finally had some money for a new car. She had an awful orange 1974 Volvo 145 wagon that we got cheap a year earlier when her 1972 Montego was wrecked. We all hated that stupid Volvo because it broke down all the time. My Dad had a cool (to me anyway because I knew it was a distant cousin to the General Lee) gold 1971 Plymouth Satellite sedan that was a good reliable car but definitely showing its age by then. My Mom was shopping all the GM G-bodies at the time and was leaning heavily towards a Regal but when we visited an Olds dealer to check out Cutlasses, she wound up getting up sold into a really nice burgundy Delta 88 coupe. I remember shopping the Dodge boys for Miradas and seeing a used Lil Red Express on the lot and pleading with Mom to buy it. Not even a chance but the Delta turned out to be a great car with no mechanical issues while we owned it for the next 5 years.
Next year, in the summer of 1983, the Satellite finally gave it up (I found out later it had spun a bearing with about 120k on the original 318) and that coincided with my Dads retirement from the police dept so he special ordered a sharp new fully loaded charcoal grey Buick Riviera but with a 4.1L V6 as a retirement gift to himself. Probably the worst car we ever owned, having gone through 3 transmissions and it too spun a bearing but at only 70k miles in 1990; I would like to believe that had he ordered the 307 Olds engine or the Chevy 305, or whatever corporate GM small block they came with by then, that it would still be on the road today. Anyway, there really weren’t any Buicks for a 10 year old boy to get excited over in 1983; the Grand National debuted in 1982 and didn’t come back until 1984 so it was only when he brought the Riviera in for service (which was a lot!) that I got to drool over the new GNs.
Finally, in 1987, my Mom gave the Delta 88 to my brother when he joined the Navy. Now that I was 14 with a drivers license just 2 years away, I was already lobbying heavily for a chance at the Delta for my first car- I had big plans for that burgundy velour bench seat, and I genuinely loved that car as I was learning to drive in it. But since I was the only kid left in the house by then, we didn’t need a big family car anymore. My Mom was making decent money now so she convinced my Dad and pulled the trigger on a new white Corvette. I never liked Corvettes, I would have rather had the Delta 88, but while at the Chevy dealer, my lust was primarily directed towards a shiny new black Monte Carlo SS with t-tops on the lot that was parked next to a burgundy IROC Camaro, also with t-tops. My teenage-infused car lust was spread equally between the Monte SS and a sexy new black K5 Blazer also on the lot.
2 years later I inherited my brothers 1977 Grand Prix which I still have but it would have been a lot cooler if I could have convinced Mom to get the Lil Red Express!
My old man always ordered his cars. in ’72 he ordered a Torino. Naturally I was hoping for a Gran Torino SportsRoof with a 429 Corba Jet under the hood. What he brought home was a Gran Torino 2 dr. with a 351C in a very pretty metallic blue. Not quite what I hoped for but not bad. After that was a ’77 Monte Carlo. I was afraid we were in for a very period and very typical Landau with it’s gaudy padded vinyl half-roof, but he ordered a very nice S model with no vinyl roof. Car had a 350 4bbl. with heavy duty suspension (you could plainly see the large rear sway bar under the axle). I figured that car was about as good as it got this side of an F body, so I was pleased. No embarrassment riding in that one.
My dad bought a 1987 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe, just in time for me to turn 16. Silver with a 5-speed manual. He chose it without (unsolicited) input from me, and I certainly was not going to argue with his choice.. That car was high style and high performance in the late 1980’s and he even let me drive it unsupervised from time to time.
When I was in the 8th grade, my father drove a taxicab yellow ’77 Buick Skylark that I hated. I remember someone selling their ’82-ish BMW 320i down the street and I tried desperately to talk him into it. No dice. He eventually wound up buying a baby poop brown Pontiac Grand Prix.
The old Pontiac was getting a little used up so dad was looking for a replacement. An independent dealer popped up a few months before just down the road and on that lot was a 1957 Chevy Nomad. To me it had everything we needed, a long roof, tail fins and all that good looking chrome and all for only $1500.
He didn’t want that old thing and instead bought a 1971 Country Squire from the same lot. It was only five years old at the time so it had to be better. Right? It was a Friday afternoon when the test drive and the deal were done. Saturday afternoon on the way to work it overheated in spectacular fashion and came back home on a hook. It ran long enough on Monday to get to the bank to stop payment on the check and back to the lot it went. A few days later the dealer showed up at the house with the car fully repaired and offered it up at a sweet deal. Water pump, transmission, rad and all belts and hoses replaced. The offer was turned down.
I kept telling dad he should have bought the Chevy.
We had a succession of Chevy wagons through the sixties and early seventies, which for a family of five kids was a good choice. My father also had a beater 61 Biscayne sedan as a company car. In 1968 he replaced the Biscayne with a new Camaro. Base model with a six/3speed manual. I suggested an RS or SS but it was still a big step up from the Biscayne. Two years later he traded the Camaro for a 70 Buick Skylark coupe. I tried to convince him that a Chevelle SS might be a better choice…he went for the Skylark.
Dad always drove Fox-body Mustangs, no complaints from me on that. However mom first had a 2 door ’88 Tempo, decent enough I guess but nothing that impressed me as a kid.
In December 1991 she decided to buy a truck, and traded in the Tempo on a new loaded ’91 F-150 XLT Lariat, two tone deep emerald green/prairie tan. However, after an accident that spring she was ready to trade again. The truck looked like nothing had ever happened but her and Dad both said the it just wasn’t right after that.
So in October 1992 it was back to the Ford dealer again. She was considering a new Taurus, but the car I wanted her to buy so bad was a loaded 1992 Mercury Cougar 25th anniversary edition. I thought it was such a classy, elegant looking car. The color scheme was even similar to her truck Tourmaliene green with prairie tan interior. It was the only two tone anniversary edition I have ever seen (it had the same stripes the special editions had, only in tan).
Sadly, she thought it was too much car, so she ended up buying a ’92 Mercury Topaz coupe.
I just wanted my parents to buy anything new. Dad would look for months to find the right deal on a used Ford. Had to be an automatic because Mom couldn’t drive a stick shift. His folks always had Fords. I would have been real happy with an orange 1973 Charger like the really cool Avon lady drove.
Biggest disappointment: the two year-old 1974 Pinto that replaced the aging but comfy 1965 Country Squire. Downsizing during the oil crisis meant one of us kids had to sit “on the hump” of the tiny back seat more than once. Poor ventilation, cracked carburetor body, slipping C4 tranny, rust (in sunny So Cal??) and 11 mpg. But Mom liked the color (copper metallic).
In 1988 my parents brought me along to M.J. Sullivan Cadillac-Hyundai in New London to cross shop these new Hyundais with the trusty Hondas they’d looked at over at Westbrook Honda. I of course immediately wander over to the gleaming Cadillac Brougham d’Elegance at the other side of the show room and much to everyone’s amusement climb in, probably grinning from ear to ear. These of course remind me of grandpa’s Grand Marquis which I love riding in, except they’re even bigger!
15 years later I came home with one. My mom, by then driving a Prius, was appropriately appalled. Dad just laughed. But they both came to appreciate it when I drove them on a long, traffic-jammed trip to Lake Winnie. They could not believe it was getting over 20 mpg and I had to prove it to them. Mom finally said “I would never drive it, but I think I get it”. As for me, it was exactly what that 5 year old had dreamed of. It was the greatest example of wish-fulfillment I’ve ever experienced. Perhaps that’s why its intermittent eQjet issues and the 307 that had some problems made me so mad. It wasn’t just a car that was being troublesome, it was a dream come true that was being disturbed.
It’s the car example of not meeting your heroes. I still love my big land yachts, but now when they break down I take it more in stride. In all, it was a good learning experience.
My dad had a ’66 Toranado, in “Champaigne” or something like that. I hated the color, but other than the really lousy brakes, the car was rock solid. When it was 2 years old, he started looking at new cars, he always got rid of cars at the 2 year mark, selling them to friends most of the time. I wanted, desperately, for him to buy either a ’68 or ’69 Charger, or a Road Runner, with a 440 in it. He got a 440 in the car he did buy, a ’68 Imperial, in (IMHO) an ugly bronze with a black vinyl top. It was infamous for the A/C getting stuck on max and freezing the hell out of us. Somehow the car always knew when we had just been swimming when it went into deep freeze mode. He got rid of it early because of my mom’s complaining about having to wear a sweater in the summer when riding in it. My mom hated the Imp, and my dad decided to drive it instead, but it was supposed to be her car. She ended up with a ’69 Avocado green Caddy, which hung around longer than any car my parents ever had, until my dad passed out while driving it, smacking a pole, and knocking out the power in a large section of Toledo in 1973. My dad lost his insurance, and never drove again, and I got my license the next morning, mostly because he needed a driver. Mom got stuck with a ’69 Lincoln Mk III, which both my parents hated. My dad traded it to my uncle for the Caddy above.
Actually, none. My father worked for the Carnation Milk Company from 1952-1968. Consequently he had company cars. A new one every two years at least. Then worked at Westgate California for four years with two company cars the first which is in my care now. California Canners and Growers saw a wide variety of company cars from a 1972 Gran Torino to a 1973 Porsche 911E to a 1974 Mercedes 450SL to name a few.
I really didn’t have any one car ever in my mind because so many passed through the family because of his work and I’m not counting my mother’s cars.
911E and 450SL as *company* cars? What line of work was this??
I wanted Dad to buy a lightly used 65 Thunderbird, loaded with every option. Instead he bought a lightly used 65 Thunderbird with basic equipment (“too much to go wrong” with the other one). No matter, we both loved that car, and even as a teen I got to drive it a lot (did I say I had a great Dad?).
I didn’t much car what they got as long as they got the biggest engine, and AC. I was an early childhood proponent of AC. My AC prayer was answered with our ’72 Comet LDO 4-door, and I got a taste of big torque with the ’76 460 Elite that replaced the Comet.
I’ve been told I selected this car at the tender age of 3 by refusing to get out of it on the showroom floor. Unfortunate that they traded Dad’s ’67 Cougar to buy it.
We had many nice cars when I was a kid, so my car lusts weren’t too strong until I neared driving age, and then they kicked in strong. My parents divorced when I was 14 and I kicked in to full lobbying mode by 15 or so to get my mother to buy a Volvo 740 Turbo wagon or a Peugeot 505 Turbo wagon. Eventually I got mom to the Volvo dealer, but never to the Peugeot dealer. She bought a 1984 740 GLE Wagon with a 4-speed overdrive manual transmission. Not a turbo, but at least there was a clutch pedal.
At that same time my dad had two cars, a 1984 BMW 533i 5-speed and a 1984 Saab 900 Turbo 5-speed 4 door sedan, so I was in driving heaven whenever I was with him, but I still begged him a time or two to consider a Maserati Bi-turbo! He rejected the idea immediately and repeatedly for good reason!
I have two. One was my dad was replacing his ’85 Audi 4000S in 1993 and at the time Consumer Reports really liked the Taurus and Bonneville. I remember test driving a Bonneville SSEi with him and wanting him to buy that but for some reason he preferred the Taurus. He also test drove A Taurus SHO which I pushed for as well and he was getting ready to buy it but decided against it due to possible insurance issues as my brother was getting ready to start driving…he ended up with a ’93 Sable LS instead. My second one was my Mom was getting ready to replace her ’95 Mercury Mystique GS with an ’98 Expedition Eddie Bauer but a comparison test in Car and Driver came out and I suggested she look at sedans instead. We test drove a Volvo S70, an Audi A6 and a Lexus GS300. I remember practically the entire Summer of 1998, we debated between the S70 and the A6. I preferred the A6 as did my Dad due to his history with Audi. In the end, she ended up buying a 1999 Lincoln Navigator 4×4…which was nice but different than an Audi.
I really wanted my dad to keep my grampa’s 68 Cutlass Supreme hardtop 4-door for me–I was ten when he sold it in 1988 and I’ve never forgiven him. I begged him; was already into the hobby and this car was in pretty good shape.
My parents needed a new car…but apparently I thought they did more than they thought they did. I used to hang out at a local Ford dealer and when I was 17 took over a new ’78 Gold Fiesta with orange/black houndstooth upholstery and a sunroof for them to see. I thought it was just the neatest little car! My Mother took one look at it and say no…in any color.
But I had better luck with my grandparents. In late ’79, I talked up a brand new ’80 Mark VI Signature Series sedan. Endlessly. In any case, on Christmas Eve my grandmother let it drop that they’d bought the car and were picking it up in a couple of days! Later, I also talked her into an ’89 Continental and a ’91 Sable LS sedan.
Something with a radio, a/c and REAR LEGROOM ! Dad was a complete cheapskate with cars and seemed to think “packaging efficiency” and actual space were the same thing.
The year was 1963. I was only ten but could already identify pretty much any domestic car made during my lifetime. The ’59 Brookwood Nomad’s wild styling was already looking dated and dad was looking for a new ride. It was going to be another wagon, but another Chevy or maybe a Pontiac? The brand new Rambler Classic’s shape really caught my eye. Being Motor Trend Car of the Year didnt hurt as well. I bugged him endlessly to buy one. Mom liked the individually reclining seats and headrests. Dad was solidly a GM customer by then, but my pointing out the Rambler safety features won him over. One problem, no V-8 option, yet. Mid year the V-8 was offered and there was a new powder blue Classic 660 V-8 Cross Country in the driveway. I had double satisfaction because it was the first car he let me drive a few months later at age 11.
Don’t take this the wrong way, but could you have been the only 10 year old boy in the U.S. who lobbied his parents to buy a Rambler station wagon? 🙂
Of course, you could also have been the only 10 year old boy in the U. S. Who actually convinced your parents to buy what you lobbied for, so hats off!
Corvette Stingray wasnt in the cards for a growing family, even if dad secretly lusted for one as well.
Mom’s input was of course a deciding factor, although she didn’t drive at the time.
My parents bought their first car before I was born, and their second in 1960, then replaced it in 1964, when I was first 3, and then barely 7 and had no influence in either case. Then my mom bought a car in ’86, after my dad died, and I was long out of the house. At that time my mom was interested in a Saab but didn’t want to deal with the salesman, so I test drove a 900 for her. I decided she wouldn’t like it, and I guess she took my advice and bought a 245 to replace her 122S (both Volvo wagons, same dealer in 1964 and 1986).