rmvw guy Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 Tony, pictures? I would love to see this. Great story about the special seat. I do remember standing up in the back and looking out between my Mom and Dad so I could see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Myers Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 (edited) I had a '47 Chevy Fleetline four door when I taught auto shop. One of my students told me a story about one his dad had. Seems they would "play" airplane when they drove, with the dad as the pilot in the front and the young boy in back as the "Bombardier". As the "game" went, they would talk "airplane" back and forth, " Pilot to bombardier . . ." " Release bombs." at this point the boy would pull up on the "Bomb Release" the rear door handle. All was well when they were going straight. Untill . . . one day, they rounded a corner, yep, "MAN OVERBOARD!" They boy fell out onto the pavement , none for wear, he got up and ran after Good ol' Dad. Last time they "Played" "Airplane" Edited October 27, 2014 by Greg Myers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmvw guy Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 Greg, We may be in danger of turning this into a different thread but, still enjoyed your story. My family had a two door '41 Dodge when I was born. I was the first to fall out the door going around the corner from the back seat when I was two. From then on my family had 4-door cars since the whole reason for a 2-door was to keep kids in the back from falling out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Myers Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 I think Mr. Dalton answers the OP in post #3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Haigwood Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 Growing up in the 50's & 60"s we only had on car in the family. My parents almost bought a Renault Dauphine as a second car around 1963 (about $1,500.) but decided against it.As I remember no one seemed to have more than one car to a household. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmvw guy Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 (edited) I think Mr. Dalton answers the OP in post #3 I'm a little slow sometimes, what is OP? I looked back at post #3 and still didn't get it. In the mean time I am still looking at old pictures. This is the old Dodge my family had when I was born that I fell out of, I think it was a '41. I am probably a little bundle in the back seat. Actually, I think my Mom might be pregnant with me here. Edited October 27, 2014 by rmvw guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisBcritter Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 I would enjoy seeing more pictures of your memories if anyone has any. Since you asked... My parents' first car, a '48 DeSoto... ...which they traded in on a new '53 Bel Air... ...which they traded in on a new '57 Century... ...then I came along, so we moved to the suburbs and got a '53 Bel Air sedan as the second car... ...then the Buick's Dynaflow lost reverse, so we traded it in on a used '59 DeSoto (of which I don't have any photos), but we sold it shortly after because we had use of my uncle's '58 Bel Air while he was overseas with the Army... (only image I have, scanned from 8mm movie film) ...and after my uncle came home and took his car back, we got a used '61 Dodge... (God, that kid was a doofus)... then we sold the '53 Chevy and got a '56 210 (taken when it was new; the family friend in the picture sold it to us in '65)... ...which we traded in on a '63 Dodge 440 wagon (no photo again, some old biddy in a '62 Continental hit it), which we traded in on a '65 Impala... (stupid cat messed up the slide)...and the Dodge was replaced by a '64 Biscayne... ... which was replaced by a '69 Delta 88 (this was taken several years later, after demonstrating why 5 MPH bumpers were mandated), which was the first car I rode in at 100 MPH on a long empty stretch of I-24. Thanks for the thrill, Dad. Over to you guys... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmvw guy Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 Thanks for taking the time to post these Chris, nice collection. Would make great model subjects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Myers Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 OP = Original Poster Post #3 refers to a Ford add espousing the possibility of a second car . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmvw guy Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 I think Mr. Dalton answers the OP in post #3 Is the OP for object of the post? I think you are right he answered it. So it's okay to keep this going? This is the off topic lounge right? I am just enjoying the day here while my 3 year old grandson watches Toy Story again, More pictures and memories is what I like. Thanks guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmvw guy Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 (edited) Thanks Greg, Like I said, I'm a little slow sometimes. And so is my PC. Edited October 27, 2014 by rmvw guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10thumbs Posted October 27, 2014 Author Share Posted October 27, 2014 Hi guys, this thread is by no means going off topic, I'm enjoying and I'm thankful for the participation. I mentioned back in 1959 my dad bought the first second car. Well, here it is, all shiny and cool as a car could be in my book. Sunroof too. This was a nice winter day in Florida, 1959. If you don't mind, I blocked the faces. The little twirp in the shadows, well guess who. Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10thumbs Posted October 27, 2014 Author Share Posted October 27, 2014 By the way, there were no 2nd cars on this street. The Buick in the background was soon replaced with a new white 59, cool car. Dad soon followed with a white 60 Olds. He called me in sick that day from school so I could ride with him about 50 miles out of town to take delivery. What a day! Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 another thought... those 1950s developments were designed for one car families. They had one car garages, and at best held a second car in the driveway. There was no accounting that as the families aged, and kids started to drive, that some of these homes would house 4-5 drivers and each would own a car. The streets were pretty narrow in some of them, leaving only room for a car to squeeze by if a car was parked on either curb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 And since we're enjoying pictures of old family cars... Here's my mother, sister and me standing next to our new 1962 Studebaker Lark sedan! "Mommy, what's that chewing sound?" "Don't worry Tommy, that's just the Studebaker rusting." And here's our trusty 1966 Valiant somewhere in Switzerland probably 1970. That's my grandfather in the picture Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclescott58 Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 My Dad was the family's only driver in 1957.I think Dad still had at that time our 1949 Buick Super sedan(the one with my "special seat" which was the rear seat armrest folded down.That way I could see over the back of the front seat and out the windshield when I sat on it.Imagine doing that today-the nosy busybodies would have you in court in 5 minutes).Early in 1957 Dad had also purchased the Old Bus,a 1927 Chevy woodie.I still have pics of it as he bought it,missing the rear of the roof and without tires.He partially restored it,traded it away in 1967,and I bought it back in 1982.I still have the hulk(it was damaged in an accident about 8 years ago)and I'm gonna restore it when I find some cash. Tony, your story reminded me, that an uncle of mine had an early 50's Hudson in the early 60's. It too had a rear seat armrest that I thought was a special seat for kids. Something our '61 Comet didn't have. Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrObsessive Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 Well, I 've got a vintage pic for you, since we're sharing family car pics............ Here's my sister and I standing in front of my Mom's then new '68 Javelin. Hmmm......not sure where the tan mark on the photo came from. There was another pic of my sister and I standing in front of my Dad's car that same day------he had at that time a 1960 Valiant, but no one seems to know what happened to the picture. On this particular street we lived on (this was taken in 1968), all the families owned just one car. I do remember a neighbor at the end of the block who had a '58 Chevy, and he also owned a Yamaha motorcycle in which he was quite proud of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Goschke Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 Excellent! Is there a way that we could have access? Maybe a pic? This is the drift that I've gathered, a commercial on TV that when you have one Ford, why not another? I would really like a look at this kind of material. Michael OK, Michael, here's that '55 Ford ad. Mom, Dad, three kids. New house with a two car garage. These folks were more like the wealthier families that lived "up the hill" from us, where the bigger houses were... And here's a '57 Chevy ad. The copy isn't about being a two-car family, but it's pretty obvious that this young family's doing OK, maybe somewhere in So.Cal. with the Modern home and the Corvette in addition to the new Bel Air. Maybe Dad works for a defense contractor like Lockheed? Out of the perhaps 200 1950s-era ads in my little collection these are the only two featuring a two-car family. Incidentally, in thinking about this topic I did manage to remember several early two-car households in my old neighborhood. One, where the lady of the house had a red '57 Thunderbird – definitely had another car, but can't remember it 'cause of that T-bird! Two, was a family further down the street that bought a brand new '60 Ford Country Sedan and kept their '53 Buick Special four-door as a second car. Three, my little sister's friend's family had two English Fords - pretty unique at a time when foreign cars were few and far between. Mr. Green, who probably weighed close to 300 pounds, made quite a sight banging through the gears and tearing through the neighborhood in that little white Consul! Four, my friend Sal's family, who lived in an ultra modern custom home on a wooded hillside overlooking the Delaware Canal, had a "loaded" white '61 Country Squire (with fender skirts!) for mom, while Dad had a dark red '63 Cadillac Fleetwood sedan with a black vinyl top. Five, was a couple, who had one daughter (unusual in a neighborhood where practically every house had at least two kids), always had Jaguars, a sedan and a sports car (made them even more unusual!) Their first Jags I remember were a MK-VII sedan and an XK-140 drophead coupe. The drophead was always in the carport, while the sedan got the driveway! Of course all us car kids made a pilgrimage to their driveway when the mister bought one of the earliest XKE coupes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaronw Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Well since this seems to be drifting... I ran across some import data, the issue of when did imports arrive was brought up earlier. 1955 imports account for less than 1% of US auto sales. 1960 imports make up nearly 10% of US auto sales. 1962 imports drop to 5%. 1975 imports are up to 20% of sales 1976 imports sales drop to 13% 1979 VW sells more cars in the US than AMC. 1980 imports account for 26% of US car sales. Comparison to the present 2013 The Big 3 account for 47% of US auto sales. Toyota sells more cars in the US than Chrysler. More than 50% of "import" cars are built in North American factories (USA, Canada or Mexico). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisBcritter Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 OK, Michael, here's that '55 Ford ad. Mom, Dad, three kids. New house with a two car garage. These folks were more like the wealthier families that lived "up the hill" from us, where the bigger houses were... OK, now we have statistics - 300,000 American families have two Fords. Note it doesn't say two new Fords. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisBcritter Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 If you don't mind, I blocked the faces. The little twirp in the shadows, well guess who. Michael Hey, if you can't laugh at yourself... I made a face and it stayed that way - in Kodachrome... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moparfarmer Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 I remember we got our first car in 1958..My dad never drove and my mother took her driving lessons on a 57 Chev 210 4 dr ht..Mom and dad bought a 58 Plymouth Savoy 4 dr sedan..Black/white with red/black interior..One of our neighbors had two cars, he leased(fairly new then) for his company..Everett's had two 58 Pontiacs..A Pariesienne 2 dr ht for him and a Strato Chief wagon for the mrs..I remember this like it was yesterday... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclescott58 Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 (edited) Hey, if you can't laugh at yourself... I made a face and it stayed that way - in Kodachrome... Hey didn't your mom warn you, "You make faces like that, it will stick permanently?" I heard several adults, when I was a kid warning us kids about that. Little did I know it was true until I saw your picture here Chris! What we weren't told, is this would only happen on film! Little did we know. Now with cameras on cell phones and everyplace else, it's can be more true today than ever before! Bewere kids. Scott Edited October 28, 2014 by unclescott58 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclescott58 Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 I remember we got our first car in 1958..My dad never drove and my mother took her driving lessons on a 57 Chev 210 4 dr ht..Mom and dad bought a 58 Plymouth Savoy 4 dr sedan..Black/white with red/black interior..One of our neighbors had two cars, he leased(fairly new then) for his company..Everett's had two 58 Pontiacs..A Pariesienne 2 dr ht for him and a Strato Chief wagon for the mrs..I remember this like it was yesterday... Any pictures of the Pontiacs? Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Hey didn't your mom warn you, "You make faces like that, it will stick permanently?" I heard several adults, when I was a kid warning us kids about that Yes she did! And at four I thought that would be so cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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