Grandma's Car "Hercules"

[mso489]

My dad's mom, with whom I spent some time as a school kid, had several automobiles when I knew her; I think there were about four. But I especially remember the first one which might have been a 1935-ish Plymouth with the sailing ships on the hub caps. It also had a little interior windshield defroster fan with leather fan blades, and those little triangular windows at the front of the roll-down side windows. Another feature was the engine cover, which was not a solid hood, but little fold-up panels that folded up from either side of the engine compartment. Particularly charming from my child's point of view was the three-speed shift lever that came up from the floor on a long stalk with a knob on the end that trembled slightly as the car idled. I adored that car and missed it when he traded it in on a 1939-ish Chevy.

 

[mawnansmiff]

A distant cousin of mine moved from Utah to California to set up his practice (he was a doctor) and as a gift, he bought his new wife a Cadillac car. This would have been about 1935-1940 ish.

I can't recall the model but it was a huge two door thing with no roof and sweeping fins. I have a photo of it somewhere and apparently she drove that car until she was 102 years old solely to get her to the hairdresser and back every fortnight.

In a letter I have from one of their sons, the car was sold after her death and it had less than 10,000 miles on the clock!

I can't say if she called it Hercules .

Regards,

Jay.

 

[verporchting]

I can't recall the model but it was a huge two door thing with no roof and sweeping fins. I have a photo of it somewhere and apparently she drove that car until she was 102 years old solely to get her to the hairdresser and back every fortnight.

In a letter I have from one of their sons, the car was sold after her death and it had less than 10,000 miles on the clock!

I can't say if she called it Hercules .

Regards,

Jay.

Well it was missing its top and she drove it to get her hair cut so it might have been called Samson? Her name wasn’t Delilah by any chance was it…?

 

[mso489]

Funny how attached you can get to a car. I don't name my cars, and often don't think of them with particular affection, but I admit, I have gone back to visit a trade-in of mine on the dealer's car lot. Lots of memories tied up in these inanimate objects. It's not like a horse or a dog companion or a much enjoyed cat, but a car has a certain vibe and aura.

 

[pappymac]

Yeah. I've never formed an emotional attachment to any vehicle I've owned. Then again, I've never looked at any pets I've owned as something other than a pet. I would never take one of my dogs into a grocery store or Walmart for example. Why does someone want to expose their pet to such stress? It should be noted that I rarely traveled with one of our pets and then it was because we were evading a hurricane.

 

[mso489]

I count creatures I am close to as part of my evolutionary lineage. I guess I turn a blind eye to all the bacon I eat, since I don't keep hogs. But cats, dogs, horses, and parrots, among other creatures, seem to embody parentage to me. Without thinking they are people in any way, I can see the parallels, the lineage.

 

[Hovannes]

There is something about getting an old car to run after it's languished for 40 years.
Hearing the engine catch and spring to life is kind of special.

 

[mikethompson]

One of the mechanics at work has a whole fleet of classic cars. So far I've counted a 50 Cadillac, 75 Cadillac, 77 Ford LTD, and a few other newer things.

Always brings a smile to my face when I see one of them.

 

[winton]

My first car was a 76 Malibu. A relative sold it to me, probably as partly a gift, for $500'ish. My wife was very glad, when I sold it, (perhaps, this was the car I just drove to the junk yard.