Sunday, May 16, 2010

Another Of My Obsessions.... I Don't Have Just One

Those close to me know that I have a *thing* for vintage cars. It probably all began back when I was 15 and got my first car, a 1952 Plymouth Belvedere. Of course, since I went to boarding school all year, I only got to drive it during the summer. Anyway, someone had previously painted it a flat gold/yellow color then added the most ridiculous black racing stripe from front to rear. Everyone called it *The Bubble Car* and I adored it. The original felt interior was still beautifully intact and I could swear it was large enough to house a family of five. 
 

It had a standard transmission which meant you had to shift to one of the three gears and use the clutch pedal. It was like driving a barge and was a true *Gas Guzzler Extraordinaire*. Luckily, in the late 1960's the gas stations were prone to having weekly gas wars when gasoline would go down to like 15 cents per gallon, which is when I'd fill her up. Although the car was 16 years old, everything inside it still worked perfectly and it had all kinds of little special features. You could seat 4 people in the front seat as well as the back, comfortably.


Anyway, back in those days drive-in theaters were a huge part of our lives, especially during the summer months. Every summer the one nearest my grandparents would offer weekend deals for a car load of people for $5.00, so we'd pile as many people as we could into the car and the trunk of the car and go see a triple feature. It was a huge bargain and kept us entertained and out of trouble (supposedly). I'm pretty sure I knew a few girls that became pregnant during their nights at the drive-in, but it didn't happen in my car.  We never had room for such antics.


It would have been the greatest Road Trip car too, but I was occasionally forced to stop and hydrate the radiator with someone's garden hose when it got over heated. Obviously, I never ventured too far from home with it, just neighboring college towns. 


But, I have to say that back in those days the big car makers really knew how to make cars for comfort and elegance. The inside of that car just seemed so swanky to me then, that it might as well have been a Lincoln Continental or a Cadillac Coupe De Ville. I'm still fascinated by really elegant restored automobiles, but mostly the 1930's through 1953. Those were the days when cars seemed like something you could sail upon the sea.




The Bubble Car practically drove itself as it nobly cruised down the narrow, bumpy streets of Oklahoma City with my friends and I. Those were the last summers I would go to see my grandparents and those summer friends. Perhaps that's why I miss cars like that....




What was your very first car? Tell me. It won't show your age (much), I promise!





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16 comments:

TheVinylVillager said...

My very first car was a 1991 Mercury Tracer (the ford escorts snobby cousin) It had over 100,000 miles on it when it was handed down to me, but it did get a fresh coat of paint and a CD player. Ill never have as many memories in a car as I had in that one!

Snooty Primadona said...

VV: Snort! Believe me, I know...

Queen of Halloween said...

Mine was a 67 Mustang given to me by my first husband [now ex] in 71. It was a beautiful light purple called "evening orchid". Definitely loved that car except for the lime green shag carpet that some fool "glued" to the interior? That was the car I sped away with to my freedom...;)! Sure wish I still had that car right now but like me it got old...;{ Happily it met the junkyard and not me
Thanks for the jogging on that great memory!

Snooty Primadona said...

OMG! My brother had a yellow Mustang convertible w/ 4 on the floor (V-8 engine). That was such a cool car... not that he ever took me anywhere in it. He didn't. ;-)

Moms Musings said...

My first cart was a 1962 Mercury Comet that I bought before I even had a license. My boyfriend (husband) did all the driving.

Heather Kerrigan said...

I love vintage cars too. My car would be an aqua'57 Chevy Belair. Instead I drove an Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser station wagon. :o(

Mental P Mama said...

My brother and I shared my mother's cast-off 1969 Wildcat convertible. The thing was a rocketship! My brother still has it! Completely restored and with "Antique" CT tags!

Diane said...

I bought a '67 plymouth Fury named Fifi! She had 3 doors that opened and one that didn't! She actually had many more quirks than that... She was worth the $100 I paid for her!

Tammy said...

Great first car memories! My first car was a 1966 Dodge Dart, we called it the "party dart". Some good times were had in that car!

Snooty Primadona said...

Tammy: One of my friends had a Dodge Dart & we used to call it the *Dodge Fart* because it was so falling apart...

abb said...

Dodge Dart for me as well.

Anonymous said...

I am sad to say that I have never owned a car by myself. By the time I came to actually "have" a car, it was with my husband.

This is because my family robbed me.

Yes, they DID!

We had two VW Beetles (in South Africa we called them "bugs") in our family - one yellow, one pale green. EVERYONE (except my father of course - he got to drive the nice cars) had one or more of those cars at one time or another. Both of my sisters, and my brother.

But, being much younger than all of them, by the time I got to 18, both the bugs were dead, and all I got was a little girlie motorbike. Like a Vespa, except not as cool.

Until some bitch knocked me off it, that is.

kim-d said...

Oh, I love vintage cars! Every year, my husband and I would go to the annual MN Street Rod Association's Back to the '50s car show. Beautifully, beautifully restored cars. There was a 1948 Hudson named "The Tub." And the "big, fat" Mercuries, and the Oldsmobiles with the chrome grilles that looked like a big mouth. For me, though, it's gotta be a '57 Chev. Although, if funds weren't an issue, I'd have a whole FLEET of vintage cars.

My husbands first car was a 1955 Crown Victoria...really beautiful; mine was a 1966 Chevy BelAir...not so beautiful, but the Heavy Chevy was mine, and she was a damn fine piece of steel! :)

Suburban Princess said...

I mentioned you in my blog today!

My first car was a 1986 Pontiac Sunbird! Yikes!

Daryl said...

It wasnt 'mine' it was the family's.. a British Racing Green Plymouth Fury ... loved that car...

imbeingheldhostage said...

Mustard coloured Nova. Yeah. Nothing to brag about...
I love your drive-in story! It's hilarious people were in the trunk.

 

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