Vintage Snapshots: Me and My Car, Part 3

(first posted 4/11/2017)

Part 1 and Part 2 of this series from Dave Gelinas’ collection of vintage slides were popular, so let’s do another gallery. This one is of a beautiful sunset along with an attractive young woman and a colorful ’58 Pontiac.

Here they are again, set against the last gloaming of a sunset with the dramatic NYC skyline behind them. The flash is a bit too bright, reflected against the Pontiac’s light trunk.

We’ve seen this half of the young couple a number of times before, and here she is on a snowy day in NYC.

Here’s the other half, with their ’56 Sunliner at a view point.

And taking a happy hour break on one of their many outings. Portable radio, of the time.

This is not actually a snapshot, but a staged photo shoot at the Sahara Resort in Las Vegas. The cars, a Lincoln convertible and Mercury wagon, are color-matched to the resort’s exterior.

This one is from Flint, MI., so how much do you want to bet this ’60 Buick is being driven by a Buick employee or retiree?

Getz’s Restaurant in Cumberland, Maryland. Bet the food was pretty good. The quality of restaurant food took a bit jump when we moved from Iowa to Maryland in 1965. Instead of frozen fish sticks that were actually battered and breaded cardboard, suddenly we were exposed to a whole new world of fresh seafood. Crabs, whole or in crab cakes; fish of all sorts, and really great fried chicken. It was one of the few consolations of that move.

I think we’ve seen the Buick woodie before, but not in this pose.

Sadly, this does not appear to be a Kodachrome slide, as the colors have faded, along with the smiles. Even the dog looks unhappy. Maybe they didn’t really like their Hudson?

Lunchtime on the road, somewhere out West, in a scene that is familiar to us. Got to have hot tea from a thermos after a long drive or hike.

Three special friends and their ’54 Buick. Have you noticed how many Buicks there are in all these shots? Well, the early-mid 50s were Buick’s glory days, claiming the #4 sales spot starting in 1949, and even taking #3 in ’55 and ’56. And Buick drivers tended to be the sort of more financially comfortable folks who would have a nice camera and color film.

Here’s a foursome, probably just exiting the restaurant.

The friendly gas station owner, back in the day when running a small gas station was a way to make a reasonable living.

Another Buick driver stopping for a snowball fight.

A real boat of a ’55 Caddy by the lake.

A shriner with his ’57 Mercury. I remember seeing cars with wardrobe bars full of clothes like that back in the day; but it was always a couple without kids, for obvious reasons.

Two friends and a Cadillac, somewhere in Iowa.

A dapper middle-aged woman with a dapper ’58 Impala convertible, both with white tops, and an early Burger King across the street.

Like everyone else in these shots, this young man is well dressed along with his pristine ’50 Ford convertible.

On the beach, with a big Buick.

Isn’t it another Buick, getting a drink from an old-fashioned gas pump?

A ’56 Buick getting its Saturday morning wash.

And another one, waiting for one of those steaks. This is how folks grilled back in the day; not on one of these modern wussy gas grilles.

I love this shot, not surprisingly. These folks are on the road, in their camper van and with a Jeep hooked to it in the rear.  I’m guessing that screen on the bottom of the door is to keep the dog from falling out while on the go with the door open, which undoubtedly it was, it being summer-time.

 

Via Dave Galinas’ Flickr page