He used to drive a beat-up 1960’s era van, which he drove from the time he got it in the early 70’s, until I was born in the mid-80’s. Then it was a Nissan Sentra two-door. Then a late-80’s Chevy Lumina, then a Ford Taurus.
Sucked when I got my license and they’d let me borrow the car. At least with minivans you can cart bunches of friends around; boring white sedans make you look like you’re not quite cool enough to be a plainclothes cop.
Bmalion Oh my god! I’m trying to wrap my head around an Isetta even getting sold in Akron. When would this have been? Where was it, if I can ask?
That’s too funny!
Cnilsen
I agree on the Henry J. But I was a newborn, and therefore had no knowledge of the coolosity of it all. Henry J - Wikipedia
Never. Even by today’s standards they were mostly dull; 1970s-era Plymouth and Chevrolet sedans, and today a Mercury Sable. Mom had a 1968 Ford Galaxy 500 that lasted into the late 1970s; it rusted away on the salt-paved upstate New York roads.
My dad had a Goliath. When I was 3-4 he used to let me sit on his lap and steer. It became impossible to find parts for, so sat in the driveway for a couple of years with a dead transmission, then went to the scrap yard about the time I started school. I’d forgotten about it untill I was going through some old papers and found an ad he’d typed up on an index card (to be posted on a bulletin board I guess) looking for parts. In the age of the internet it might have been kept on the road.
Yea, it’s pretty funny, he sunk all of his money in 1960 into the dealership. Offered parts, service, the works. He thought it would be the next big thing in cheap, short distance transportation. he especially marketed it to the hip, young, college crowd.
Then the VW Beetle came along. Oops.
Nothing too cool growing up, he drove a '68 Mustang for a while. Now that he’s in his 80s, he’s into the 280Z, has 3 of them (including the '78 with the most powerful 280Z engine evar! And a 5 speed, no power anything but does have AC. That’s a fun car.)
