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First Car

In the news today, gas prices reach $4.00 a gallon.  It seems that the old notions of supply and demand no longer drive the economy.  I never really understood much of economics anyway, but this whole speculation deal really leaves me scratching my head.  I make it a point now of combining errands and working out an "always turning right" kind of route to follow.  I am thinking it is time to up my number of "no car" days as well.
My first car was a used and abused old Chevy Impala that was approximately the size of the QEII.  I bought it in 1968, I think.  It was an automatic transmission, which was good, but it had no radio, which was really bad.  I remember having to hang a transistor radio off the open ashtray on the front console.  Yet, I feel free to tut-tut anyone driving around with a cell phone to his/her ear.
After my son was born, the radio was less important.  I put his car seat in the middle of the front passenger seat--it literally just hooked over the back of the seat.  The proximity to the driver was an important safety feature.  You remember that automatic reflex of  the right arm flying across the front of the baby to keep him from flying out of the car seat and through the windshield, right?
Oh, yeah...before the car seat, my son rode in a portable basket bed in the back seat--free to roll around as much as he could.  At least it could be wedged between the front and back seats so the bed itself didn't roll around too much.
Seat belts?  Hadn't even heard of such a thing.  And what a dangerous notion anyway.  How would you get out of the car if there was an accident?
The car's most notable mechanical feature was its reluctance to start.  It required that I get out of the car, open the hood, remove the air filter, and bang (almost like I had a clue about what I was doing) on a flap like thing that may have had something to do with a carburetor.  In my own driveway, this was manageable.  It tended to be very inconvenient when I stalled out a downtown red light.
I drove that car until even hitting that flapper thing would not get it to start.  It took me two years to drive that car right into the ground.  Good ol' Blue.

1960 Chevrolet Impala
Merely a representation, NOT the actual car that I owned!

Comments

  1. Even if it wouldn't start, too bad you didn't keep it. It would be worth $$$$ today, to collectors of old cars. They collect and then restore. :-)

    Gentle hugs,
    ...♥...

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  2. Just filled up my little Mazda which was down to a quarter of a tank and it came to $40.00! I am NOT ready for this!!!

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  3. This did bring back some good memories. Those days were not so bad at all.

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  4. Oh, gosh - does this bring back memories! We actually drove around with our twin babies in a basket we laid in the deep back window well of a Mustang (it was late 60's!) When they could sit, we got flimsy car seats that had little plastic steering wheels attached that could have broken their ribs (or worse) if we'd had an accident. Who knew? Nowadays it takes an engineer to install the baby car seats. (And some know-how about unbuckling to get them out!)

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  5. I wonder if 30 something parents still throw their arms across the front seat when they have to brake suddenly, even though their kids are in the back.

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  6. I so remember the days when two-year-olds stood in the front seat of the car and only Mama's arm kept them from certain death.

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  7. I can remember stuffing so many people in cars when I was in high school and college. People would sit on each other laps and even lie across the seats. How crazy it all seems now.

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  8. Ahh, such good memories. I suppose every mother our age has that automatic reflex to this day to flip out that right arm if stopping too quick.

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  9. Hot car!!! Ah, remember those days well!!! Things have sure changed, for the better, when it comes to car safety. Thanks for the memories.

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  10. My husband has a story about a car his mom had that had no backseat! He used to stand on the ride to school in the mornings! ~ We used to have an old car when we first had kids that had a small hole on the floor in the back seat! The boys loved to drop little toys out the chute!!

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  11. Those wonderful memories you had on your first car made it unforgettable. But, I got to say that your first one looks like a pretty cool car for that time, and I hope that you still have it with you to show it to the young ones. =)

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  12. We'd love to see the real photo of your car! It seems like you had a hard time learning how to drive it. Well, everything's worth it in the end. :D

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  13. The Chevy Impala was one of the hottest cars back then! Now, there’s a remake version of it. So how do you like it? If my dad saw that car of yours, he’ll remember his younger days for sure. He always wanted a Chevy.

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