When They Were MORE Than Just Cars

There are so many things about the 50's & 60's that have always made me want to go back.  We CAN'T of course, but in some ways, we can still keep some of it with us, in this "loony-bin" called the 21st century.

Restoring and driving the cars we learned to drive in is one of those ways.  It was a time when "Made in the USA" actually stood for something.  They were more than cars, they were AUTOMOBILES, 4,000 pounds of rolling sculpture......2-tone, and even 3-tone paint.

A long list of engine and  transmission options.  You could special -order a car in whatever color you wanted and equipped with whatever you wanted from a LONG list of options.

They were roomy, powerful, comfortable........and whatever car YOU bought-----didn't look like everyone else's.  They had personality.  Lots of chrome, tailfins, big healthy V-8's, doors closed on "bank vault" hinges, and every piece of chrome met every OTHER piece of chrome precisely where intended.....................(They put full-sized SPARE TIRES in 'em too!)

When you plunked down the money for a Cadillac, it didn't look like a Chevrolet with a "Caddy" nameplate.  It was the REAL DEAL.

I can't imagine going to a "classic car show" at a park filled with Toyota Corollas and Ford Fusions.........can YOU?

It's especially rewarding when your spouse is involved in one of your hobbies even before you met....and a couple of Donna's cars have beaten MINE out........but that's cool, I'm ok with that........I just like being around them and IN them.

There's a certain "musty smell" of 50-year old interior too.  It's like "perfume to me!"

Anyway, that being said, here are some select shots from  one of this past year's shows............

Up at the Mountain Home Auto Ranch show earlier this past summer

This '55 Pontiac spoke 2-tone paint & chrome very gracefully

It wasn't just "all show 'n' no go" either.........as this Tri-Powered  370 cubic inch big block V-8 attested to!

Did I mention "tail-fins?"............a very nice 1960 Chevy Impala

Donna's '66 Mustang in its first show, and it won "Best 60's Car"  (This car was pretty trashed when we first bought it.  You'd never know today it was the same car).

As far as I was concerned, the BEST car at THIS meet was this gorgeous '57  Ford 2-seat Thunderbird

This "classy ride" was up from Twin Falls, and its "pre-EPA" 312 V-8 did NOT lack POWER!  Brand new-----this car sold for around $3,100.  Care to venture a guess what it's worth TODAY?

Also up from Twin Falls was this pristine '52 Cadillac Coupe DeVille, which HAD to have been like riding in your living room!

There's no such thing as a classic car show if you don't have a '57 Chevy Bel Air somewhere in it....I think it's a Federal law!......              

If you went to high school when I did.......you've GOT to remember "chariots" like THESE out in the parking lot!

And did I mention "CHROME"?  Look no further than a 56 Ford Crown Victoria.      

And so......as the sun slowly fades in the west, we temporarily leave what WAS, and wake up to what IS.

Dirty rotten shame.