Really *long-lasting* domestic car!

Brings back memories, I had an "elderly" '57 Plymouth 4-door, (1st car) 2 speed pushbutton auto Six-- hated it, took about a year to run it into the ground. Difference is I wouldn't dig mine up again. It would be too much like "Night of the Living Dead"

"tak" ..

LOL not to mention the gas mileage.

You'd be really safe in a crash! If you're wearing a seat belt, and it's not a head-on collision, that is. Those things were solid steel.

Natalie

Solid steel in places, iron oxide in others, ;-{

Just remembered, No seatbelts

"tak"

WHOA - I thought cars got seat belts in the 1940s?

Was it just optional? I was born in 1958, so by the time I was even aware of cars, they all had them.

Natalie

Nope.

No seat belts in any of the cars we had when I was little in the 50's. It was sometime in the 60's before we had a car w/seatbelts. My mother still automatically threw her arm in front of my sister (also born in '58) when having to stop short 'cause she was so used to the child not being belted in.

Cathy

"Cathy F." ...

My aunt Cheryl *still* does that. She's only 3 years older than me, but quite hyper.

Natalie

LOL. ;-) I'm sort of surprised my mother doesn't still do it. (My mother sometimes reminds me a bit of Tigger. ) OTOH, it's been a long time since I've ridden in the car with her driving, so maybe she still *would* do it...

Cathy

"Also buried with it were 10 gallons of gasoline - in case internal combustion engines became obsolete by 2007 - "

the funniest part... hahaha... SORRY to let you down guys!

"GO Mavs" ...

LOL yeah, they probably thought we'd have Jetson-esque cars by now.

Natalie

Nat, Chrysler started having seat belts as standard equipment in the early fifties ....about 1953 as I recall, about when the early postwar Chrysler products (which were warmed over prewar models) were ditched in favor of a boxy style ....Chrysler was promoting safety in those days, and that's why lots of Fords and GMs (which looked a lot sexier) were sold, and folks stayed away from the 'safety minded' Chrysler stuff in droves. That's why about 56 and 57, Chrysler products did a turnabout and made cars with huge fins and pseudo-aerodynamic looks. So yes, the '57s all had seat belts. I had a '57 Ford sedan on which they were standard, and I used 'em.

"mack" ...

Thanks.

Like I said, we *had* seat belts, but usually didn't wear them. Even on cross-country trips.

By the time I had my own kids, I made sure not only they, but anyone else wore them - I still insist on it!

Of course, that was after I'd worked in an Emergency Room. That'll convince

Natalie

Beg to differ, but at least my Plymouth didn't have seatbelts. You may have crossed brands, IIRC, It was Ford who tried the safety angle in the mid-fifties with seatbelts, padded dashboards and "basket" style steering wheels.

Back when I was a young lad and Toyota was new in the country, I remember a picture and newspaper article about Toyota burying a bunch of brand new cars because the defrosters could not be made to meet the US standards. I presume they took all the good parts off of them first before burying them. You have to wonder why they couldn't part them out and crush the left over steel. But I distinctly remember they burried them to get rid of them.

"tak" ...

So that's twice that Ford miscalculated what the public wanted, huh?

Natalie

Twice? They hung on to the Model "T" for too, too long, The Edsel Died young, and the Mustang II was a pos. Others probably remember other duds from Ford, Chrysler, and GM. Do we get to hear about car losers?

That sounds like a really boneheaded solution. You sure you didn't dream that? LOL

Natalie

"tak" ...

All carmakers have duds - I mean, being out of touch to a disastrous degree. Like now.

Natalie

Illinois passed a law. Any new car beginning 1965 model year and any used car beginning with the 1961 model year had to be fitted with seatbelts when sold. But the catch on used cars is if you never sold it, you never had to put seatbelts in it.

We got seatbelts for our '63 Chevy II in 1965 sometime. We bought a 62 Corvair but it had been in Illinois from 1962 to 1965 so it also already had seat belts by the time we bought it in 1970.

Charles of Schaumburg