Sunday, July 15, 2007

Talking about My Ride - Fun Monday

Tiggerlane, the Neophyte Blogger is this week's Fun Monday hostess. Here is what Tiggerlane is requesting, "I wanna see your CAR! It can be your current car, the first car you ever had, maybe your first new car with that new-car smell, a car you wrecked once, or even the dream car you would drive - given all the money in the world! Oh - and if you have a truck, SUV, lawnmower, whatever the local authorities allow you to drive, let's see it!"

Although these cars are now long gone, I am highlighting three cars. The first is my parents 1957 Chevy; it was a beautiful machine, a turquoise car with a cream-colored top. This was my parent's second car, but this was their first brand new car. The lovely student nurse on the front porch is my sister, Margaret.















After two years, the transmission in the '57 Chevy broke so my parents traded this dream car for an ugly 1959 yellow and putrid green Chevy with teardrop taillights. The '59 car is important to me because this is the car that I learned to drive. Learning to drive this monster was not easy especially without power-steering. Moreover, if you look closely, those fins are similar to airplane wings, and in a storm or on ice, the car seemed as if it was going to take off like a jet plane.











Finally, this is my 1970 green Gremlin, or I should say my Big Bad Green Gremlin. That was the actual name of the car color. Unfortunately, in this old photograph, you cannot see how Big and Bad the green really was. The racy-looking green car did have some drawbacks, one of which was the sporty-looking black vinyl interior. Coupled with no air-conditioning, black is a poor color choice for a car's interior. Imagine riding home from a vacation in Chicago rush hour traffic with a two-year-old and no air conditioning. Whew, way too hot, a trip like that gives real meaning to the concept of road rage.

This car is special to me because this is my first car. I paid cash, $2,000. When Daddy D and I bought this car, we traded in a big 1962 Oldsmobile that had been a gift from his grandfather.

The country was in an energy crisis so we traded in our gas guzzling car for a smaller more fuel efficient car, or at least, that was our plan. Unfortunately, none of these three cars ran very well. When I hear the expression, "they don't make things like they used to." I am thinking if we are talking about cars that is a good thing.



In this picture, I am holding our first born son, who is not quite 2 months old. To see the rides of other Fun Monday participants visit Tiggerlane.

41 comments:

Pamela said...

I went a different way with my post... Now I kind of wished I'd shown some car pictures. I had a real HOT ROD.

I learned to drive on a 57 chevy stick

my4kids said...

Oh but the classics are so nice...I'm speaking of the first one, that is.

I still see those green gremlins around somedays. My mom actually had one when my sister was little, I think it was the same color.

theotherbear said...

What a groovy green gremlin car!
Love the photo with you and your baby and the green car.
Also your sister looks just beautiful!

willowtree said...

Well, there's something I never thought I'd see! A '57 Chevy and a Gremlin in the same post. You do the Chev a disservice.

Robinella said...

We had a Gremlin after my parents divorced. It was a putrid brown color but it got us where we needed to be. I love your blog because you have the best pictures. I'm more impressed with great old pictures than I am of new stuff with powerful lenses.

Lynne said...

Ah, the old Gremlins ... I knew several people that had them and none of them really ran well! :) That green was a popular color.

I love the photo of your sister. Our old family photos contain those kinds of photos that almost look hand colored. It must have been the process of that particular era.

MommaBoo said...

Oh my gosh! The older cars are AWESOME! (I always love your "retro" pics!)

And the green Grmlin.....PERFECT!

Hope you have a great Monday!

Raven_Dase said...

I would love to have one of your older cars to fix up and drive occasionaly! Your Gremlin is cute to!

Beckie said...

I have never seen a green quite like the color of that Gremlin...

Have a good Monday.

Jodi said...

I love the Gremlin!! My sister had one... it was a baby blue color. I definitely like the "groovy green" much better!!

Anonymous said...

Great pictures! I love Gremlins (it's fun to say!)

Anonymous said...

Great post! I'm like Pamela and went a different way with my Fun Monday post. Love that green Gremlin!

Shauna said...

I remember the Gremlins. . .boy I thought they were so ugly!

AfKaP said...

Those pictures are SO cool! Love the Chevy - but the Gremlin OMG - what a color! Who thought that was a good color for a car?! Of course they were strange cars so it fit!! I loved this blog especially the first picture (not because of the car!!)

Anonymous said...

I hear you about the learning to drive without power steering. My dad's '65 Mustang is what I learned to drive with. Not only NO power steering, but it had the stiffest clutch pedal.

Your first photo is great. Love the turquoise color.

captain corky said...

Sweet cars MJD! Great picture too.

Anonymous said...

There sure is something about those old cars! Even the flashy green ones LOL

Margaret said...

I remember the Gremlin! It was from my era too. My first car was a root beer brown Celica. I loved that car.

Tiggerlane said...

OMG...the Gremlin! That wasn't one of those exploding cars, was it?

And your sister looks beautiful in that photo...stunner! Thanks for participating!

ChrisB said...

I'm having great fun seeing all the old cars as they are very different to the ones we had back then.

Beccy said...

Funnily enough I loved my first car and it was pretty reliable but I did spend a lot of money keeping it road worthy.

I love the look of the second chevy and as for your gremlin...it looks the same colour as my sitting room walls.

Kaytabug said...

I have a thing for classic chevy's. I haven't seen a gremlin for YEARS!! total 70's car!

Frema said...

I love seeing all these pictures. Both you and Margaret were smokin'! :)

Tink said...

Omg, the Gremlin is a hoot! My Dad had a girlfriend that owned a green bug. We nicknamed it "Booger."

Luke said...

Hopefully, that wasn't your Amityville Horror house in the background of the second picture. A house haunted by evil spirits is much more ugly than any car.

Debs said...

Great pics! I love the cars with fins.

Anonymous said...

I love that picture of you sister. Why is that green Gremlin parked sideways in the driveway?

Anonymous said...

I think my parents may have had a that same chevy...then again, all I know was they had an old blue chevy with bumpy seat covers...

I love to see these old pics!

Anonymous said...

Hey, MJD...thanks for the explanation, but you know me well enough to know that if our car just makes it close to a driveway or parking lot, we are pleased...:)

Anonymous said...

my mom had one like the green gremlin i think... hmmmm i don't remember it being to comfy or reliable... neat pics!!

Dallas said...

Ooh, I love the green gremlin. Very cool. What great memories.

Robocop said...

Got to love those old cars.

Anonymous said...

I went with a boy in high school that had a purple gremlin. You sure don't see many of those on the road today.

raffi said...

my first exposure to a gremlin was rear-ending one... my front end taco'd while the gremlin stood its ground with just a fair scratch... i was so resentful.

debi said...

Love the pictures as always.Some cool old cars. What can I say about the Gremlin? It was the Edsel of its time I think. My husbands first car was a Gremlin. I love the pic of your sis.

Amy W said...

I like seeing all these old photos.

Anonymous said...

I guess the upside to that shade of green is you'd never have trouble finding your car in the parking lot. LOL, you might even wish you could LOSE it!! :)

I'm trying to imagine learning to drive on a car with fins! My daughter will be 15 in less than a month and I'm glad cars are a bit safer (in some regards) than those tanks of yesteryear.

Great vintage photos of ALL of you...you, your sis...and speaking of Margaret--SHE HAS ON SHORT SLEEVES WHEN THERE'S SNOW ON THE GROUND?!

daddy d said...

There a lot of cars on the roads. Sometimes of day there are many more that other times of day. Sharing the road has to be done, but is hard to do at times. However, sharing rides over the years in green, red, white, silver, blue cars has been just super.

Anonymous said...

Hey Molly Mouse.....you didn't even mention the Volare'....it did have its problems but ours lasted 12 years until some jerk ran a red light...drunk of course..it was only driven a couple times a week and when it was wreaked it had only 52000 miles on it.
ah the good old days......I had the 68 Javelin SST....oh yea...every single gal needs a hottie like that one.
REM

Claudia said...

Those cars are AWESOME!! I've seen a few of those old 50's cars here in CA and they are pieces of art. The gremlin is adorable.

Anonymous said...

What broad daylight isn't today?