October 2, 2018 (Tuesday)
In 1994, Wanda and I bought a 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis, which we bought to replace a 1990 Buick, which had been stolen and wrecked. The Mercury was a wonderful car, and we drove it almost 20 years until 2013, when I was lovingly given a 2009 model by family members. I’ve been driving the newer car over 5 years now and it, too, is a magnificent automobile. It is certainly one of my favorites.
Thinking back over all the cars we had through the years, another favorite comes to mind. It was a 1979 Ford LTD Crown Victoria, 4-door maroon with a white vinyl top.
Here is a sales picture of a different model, maroon with a white vinyl top, with only two doors (different but similar with same colors).
During the summer of 1979 I went to a local dealer with buying a compact car in mind, but the ride of the demo was much like an old horse-drawn wagon. So we tried the mid-size car and it, too, had a rough ride. The salesman suggested I give the LTD a try, but I balked because I thought it would be too expensive. “Doesn’t hurt to drive it,” he said. I took a look at it. I wanted a white car (for a cooler interior) and it had a white vinyl top. Wanda wanted a maroon car and this one had both colors. So I drove it, and it had a perfect, very comfortable ride with plenty of power to spare. The exterior dimensions had been reduced from the previous year and the interior size was actually larger than previous models. The salesman convinced me that it was reasonably priced, so I bought it.
We drove that car eleven years until 1990, when I ruined the engine. It’s a long story, but suffice it to say that it was all my fault. That’s when we bought the Buick LaSabre, another great car. Again I went shopping for a smaller car, but bought a larger one.
All in all, including the old wreck I was driving when Wanda and married in 1953, we have had 25 vehicles, including 8 new ones, 15 used ones (remember, we had 5 kids), a pickup and a motor home. I’m stretching my memory back across 65 years, so the list may not be totally accurate.
I learned to drive during the 1940s in my my stepfather’s 1938 Plymouth sedan. It was a “four on the floor” with a clutch, a starter and dimmer switch on the floor. Like most cars back then, It had no heater or radio, an no one had even dreamed of air conditioning.
I wrote a blog in 2007, with pictures and information, about this. If this topic interests you, you may enjoy reading it. Click here.