Sometimes I have to stop and consider the kind of world we live in. We recently traded cars for a new rig that is loaded with more electronic gadgetry than I knew existed. With its “Continually Variable Transmission” I never feel when it shifts; with its “Lane Departure Warning” it starts chirping at me if I cross a painted highway line; with its “Adaptive Cruise Control” it never lets me get too close to the car ahead. All I have to do is stay awake, but I think some models even have “Snooze Recognition.”
There’s more, such as the automatic engine shut off whenever the car stops at a light. I guess it’s an environmental thing, but thank goodness there is a switch to shut-off the shut-off; even though, it must be reactivated each time we get in the car. The heated seats will probably be appreciated, as will the defrosting mirrors.
Have we gone too far? We used to get along pretty well with three gears, a clutch pedal, a stick shift, and a scraper to take the frost off our windows. Of course, I must be careful saying such things around the wife who might take a well-aimed swing at me with her purse. But, oh, those ’57 Chevies! Speaking of them, they have a tale to tell, too.
Couple the Bel Air trim level with a 283 V-8 engine and you had a car many a high school senior dreamed about driving to escort the girls with around town. But something strange occurred that year. Sales reports showed that Chevy lost sales to Ford for the first time since 1935. It’s hard to believe the reason for it - the ’57 Chevy had tubeless tires, the first car to have them. There was buyers’ resistance. That, plus the all-new body styling by Ford helped Ford’s sales. The funny thing about it is that the Chevy is more popular today as a classic.
I never had the opportunity of owning a ’57 Chevy. School kept getting in the way, but a car I was ready to jump behind the wheel and buy on time after I graduated from college was a 1964 Mustang. Something about a strike as I remember prevented the dealers from having any on their lot, and when I went to buy, I settled for a ’62 sedan which always left me yearning for my first choice.
I learned to drive in a ’49 Ford, a dull, dusty, rattletrap of a car that wouldn’t start in cold weather. Dad called it a “lemon.” The only other interesting cars that stand out are Model “A” Fords. In my growing years there were still a number of them running about. An old gentleman in town drove a green pickup model that ran like a top. I don’t know if it was his only vehicle, but it could have served as a good road car. It made such an impression on me that I keep a 1931 model on my shelf that looks just like it.
Another gentleman, a bachelor who lived in the sandhill area southeast of Sheldon, drove Model A sedans. If memory serves, he went through several of them. He never went to town often, but when he did, it was in one of them, and they got him there and back. My friend Ralph from school days had a Model A he always tinkered with, but I don’t think he ever got it running well.
If I keep traveling back in time, I will end up on main street where a large number of horses and wagons stand parked. But in an old 1915 issue of the Sheldon Progress we can read where the city council voted to remove the hitching posts from main street. The wooden boardwalks remained, but they would be removed sometime in the future. To a teenager that seems so ancient. To an 80 year old, it wasn’t so long ago.
It’s time to return to the new car and start learning more about all the goodies it features. I think I know what “Steering Responsive LED Headlights” means. When my wife drove it, I noticed the headlights swiveled to follow the turn of the steering wheel. The “Lineartronic CVT w/ X-Mode” has me stumped for now, but a little study should ease the way into fully operational mode on that space age feature.
Under the section of optional equipment, there was one feature included that was readily understood: “Full Tank of Gas.”
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