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| Plymouth - 1958 |
For those of us who grew up in the
1950s, we saw the Brass Era cars as antiques and the
ones from the 1920s and 1930s as old cars, with some
as collectible classics. Most were good for jalopies
and building hot rods. They sat in wrecking yards and
low-value used car lots.
Few paid much attention to these cars, and as youngsters
we were discouraged from wasting our time and hard earned
money on them. "That smoking Duesenberg will cost
you a fortune to keep running. Where are you going to
get parts? It will not even pass inspection. It is a
gas guzzler." I heard it all. I found a 1937 Supercharged
Cord, one that I could have for a song. "Where
are you going to keep it? You will soon be going away
to college and you can't take it with you and we are
not going to have that eye sore sitting in our driveway."
Thirty years later, I bought a Cord just like it, but
paid a lot more. A little after seeing that first Cord,
my grandmother wanted to give me her 1933 Plymouth coupe
with 48,000 miles on it, and still looking like new.
I did not get it either, for the same old reasons. I
made up for it later.
The next generation has stories about the "could
have had" cars of the 1950s. But we were there
when those cars were new. Those cars now dominate the
"classics" of car shows, museums and auctions.
Before they disappear like the Mercers, Stutz Bearcats
and Pierce Arrows that our grandparents enjoyed seeing
in their youth, let's reminisces about the 1950s. It
is not too late to bring one home.
A selection from www.McLellansAutomotive.com.
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