A Boomer’s first love was likely his or her first car. It was one thing to drive the family sedan, but it was something else indeed to have your very own car. For most Boomers, that car was titled in the parents’ names, but if you had the keys, it was yours.
My first car was a 1949 Pontiac two-door sedan. It was solid black with a little chrome here and there. I would not have been more pleased had it been a Ferrari.
The car came in the form of a Christmas present in 1961. After we had opened all the presents under the tree, my dad handed me a small box with a single key inside. A key? To what, I thought.
Then it dawned on me and I raced outside to see the black beauty in our driveway. I jumped inside and started it up and was delighted to see that it had a three-speed, standard transmission – and a clutch. But there were two problems in driving my new car. First, there was 14-inches of fresh snow on the ground and second, I had never before driven a standard transmission. But neither of those obstacles mattered. I was up and down the snowy roads all Christmas day and even learned to start and stop on a hill – in the snow.
For options, my car was “loaded”. It had a radio and a heater. I was thankful for both. The heater had two settings – off and inferno. It would melt a pair of nylon socks, but the powerful heater felt good on snowy days.
Back in the 50’s and 60’s, cars weren’t just cars, they were rock stars. And Chevrolet led the charge with its 1956 and 1957 models – things of beauty. And the Impala, introduced in 1958 – what an automobile, with a classic design and powerful engine options. In 1966 came the Chevelle Super Sport with a 396 cubic inch motor. They would fly. Then the Camaro series, with the SS 350’s. The 67 Nova SS 327 was another Chevy classic.
Ford was never far behind with models like the 57 Thunderbird Roadster, the 65 Mustang convertible, the LTD series and the Ford Galaxy 500’s. The 64 Fairlane T-Bolt was also a sweet machine. Pontiac introduced their first muscle car with the GTO and Plymouth rolled out the sleek Barracuda and the 64 Sport Fury 426. Mercury threw its hat in the muscle car ring with the 67 Cougar while Olds introduced the Cutlass 4-4-2 convertible. None of these cars, by the way, had EPA’s blessing for good mileage. These were gas-guzzling beasts that would lay rubber for an entire block.
Among the roses in the car world came a thorn: The Edsel, the wrong car at the wrong time. The 1958 Edsel was given the dubious honor as the Worst Car of All Time. It was ugly with an unheard of vertical grill; it got terrible gas mileage and was expensive for the cars of that era. While Ford had promoted Edsel as a super car, it was really just a strange looking, over-priced Mercury.
In the midst of the muscle car revolution came an odd looking car from Germany, the Volkswagen Beetle. In the mid-60’s the efficient Beetles listed for around $1,250 and you couldn’t talk the car dealer into any kind of discount. They wouldn’t even throw in a full tank of gas. And every model and year looked the same. Volkswagen rarely even changed paint colors. But in the long run, the Beetles prevailed while the muscle cars succumbed to recessions and higher fuel prices.
Still, the classic cars of the 50’s and 60’s were things of beauty. They were more than just steel and rubber; they had souls and personality. The cars of that era will never be matched.