I HAVE A CONFESSION TO MAKE. I may have to give up my membership in the Democratic Party to say this, but I will no longer live with the secret shame: I think the pre-Oil Crisis cars made by American car companies up until the late 1970s were just wonderful.
I know — they were almost 20 feet long and thus impossible to park in a place like San Francisco; they tipped the scales at almost 3 tons and had the aerodynamic qualities of a brick, so city gas mileage was usually in the low teens at best, and highway mileage not much better; they spewed pollution so profusely that in my neighborhood in Richmond I was sometimes unable to see the El Cerrito Hills that were perhaps a mile away; and in the days before airbags and crumple zones, they were not a good place to be in a car accident. So I understand their disadvantages.
And yet … I still remember them fondly.
Part of this has to do with my memories of the car my parents owned. It was not one of the cars I describe above. In 1969, my Dad bought a brand-new Volkswagen Microbus, and he spent the next 10 years fixing it. He’d previously owned a ’59 Beetle that was a great little car, and so he felt a certain loyalty to the brand. My Dad was an engineer, so I suspect an additional factor was the reputation German cars had for being well-engineered.
The’69 VW Bus was not, however, a prime example of German engineering prowess. For one thing, it had a 57-horsepower engine that was barely adequate to push the roughly 3,500 pounds of bus (with passengers) up to the minimum speeds on some of the interstates of the day. Trying to run an air conditioner on such a low-power engine would probably have dropped the top speed to 45 mph. The additional weight of sound-deadening materials was likewise an unrealistic luxury in such an underpowered vehicle.
This meant that a trip down to my uncle’s ranch near Santa Maria on the Central Coast was a lengthy ordeal. If the temperature on the way was above 85 or so, the interior of our VW began to resemble one of those tin boxes they used to put Southern prisoners in when they got mouthy with the guards. We had the additional burden of having to scream to be heard over the noise of an engine that was straining at its limits to propel us at speeds in excess of — well, 50 miles per hour. At best. Down a hill.
Sometime in the early- to mid-Seventies, my family took a camping trip to Oregon in that car. My memories of that trip are mostly fond — it was the last family trip before my late older brother had the accident that left him paralyzed, and we saw some truly stunning scenery as we traveled through the Siskiyou Mountains and up the Willamette Valley. But I also have a vivid memory of being on Interstate 5 somewhere south of Redding on a blistering August afternoon, sitting in a puddle of my own sweat on rubber seats and seeing a Mercury Colony Park station wagon glide by us at 75 mph. The Mercury’s windows were up, and the family inside was basking blissfully (or so I imagined) in the chill of its air-conditioned interior. I would have given my favorite bike and a year’s worth of desserts to travel in that kind of comfort.
Another part of my memories of the road behemoths of 40 years ago is a kind of middle-age nostalgia common in men my age. There is a strong temptation in midlife-beset men to want to make the world a museum of their youth, and I am not immune to this.
It is hard to convey, at this remove, how completely American car companies used to dominate the American market. As recently as the mid-70s General Motors commanded almost 50 percent of the American car market, and Ford and Chrysler had most of the rest. Before the Arab oil embargo of 1974, the formula for winning the American market was virtually unbeatable: Build It Bigger. The 1976 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham, for example, was 5 feet longer than a top-of-the-line Mercedes of that era, had an interior big enough to stage an opera, and had a trunk vast enough to allow a mafia hitman to clean up after a very busy night.
On some level, I miss those old juggernauts.
Matt Talbot is a writer and poet, as well as an old Benicia hand.
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Matt I am confused. What year did you say you traveled hiway 5. If I am not mistaken it may have not been even built during that time you refer too. Cars from the 50[‘s, 60’s and 60’s were without a doubt the cars you could have taken to war and won .. The Volkswagon was a very over rated car. I had a Morris Minor 1000 that would run circles around the Volkswagon. I do believe Matt you must have read something about this and I question if in deed you actually expienenced. it. Just my thoughts. I will need more proof Matt.
Bob,
Time to call you on this. It is so damn easy to throw constant barbs at someone else’s work when with a little research on the internet, in this case less than 3 minutes, you can see that Interstate 5 in Oregon was completed in 1966, and a few years later in Northern California. There is your proof. You always talk about the agenda of the mayor or anyone you don’t agree with, however, you are too damn myopic to see your own agenda. Matt wrote an interesting article and you immediately say you don’t believe him and will need further proof. This was a very interesting article, but you and your agenda refuse to acknowledge it. By the way, Matt and I could not be further apart politically. You are constantly on this agenda of yours to prove everyone else wrong and to show everyone that you are right, except you aren’t. You come across as an old blowhard when you get like this.
John it is more about his broad expierences than all about facts. Everything he says we all have heard from many others. Thats my point. I could have wrote that same article. I do believe you are above that. I am correct on the mayor and also on Matt.
John, as a follow up. Matt seems to have vivid memories of something that happened 40 years ago. The car going by at 75 miles per hour. The heat and the sweat he is sitting in. He does use the word imagination, so I guess I should just take it as that. But I do not. What got me thinking about Matt and his articles was his trip to the left bank in France. He seemed to know exactly what they were saying AND thinking. Now I am sorry I do not believe that at all. Did that expierence happen to someone? Maybe and maybe not. So I do believe it is his vivid imagination that creates some of these articles. Some find then interesting andf entertaining. I do not. I have heard very similar views spoken and written many times in the past. That is not blowhard just a very correct observation of his writing. Just as you have witnessed by writing and comments and you make a comment. So be it.
Wait, I thought you said all this had been written by other people, then you don’t believe it. Well, the stories in Shakespeare have been copied, expanded upon and rewritten throughout the years, so what? I am in my 70s and I can remember quite clearly the trips we took from MD to MA in my dad’s old Woody, complete with stops at Howard Johnson’s for blackberry ice cream and the smells along the old NJ turnpike. Honestly, Bob, why can’t you just read this article, smile at the nostalgia, remind yourself of similar experiences you might have had a child, and agree that this is a great story from someone who has fond memories of childhood? Instead, you have to go on and on about how you just don’t believe he could remember, that I-5 wasn’t really there (take a minute to check out the AAA history website and you’ll see it was, unless, of course, you don’t believe them, either). Lighten up and get over yourself.
It has nothing to do with this article. It is his pattern of writing.. Believe me J, I am 82 and have many memories revived by my many meetings with friends very often in my age category. As we talk it brings back memories about our past but I am not so sure about the sweat. Yes I am into nostalgia. Again it is not about this article. I should have explained that at the outset. If that is the big rub I will except the criticisim on not being clearer.
There is a very simple, in fact ridiculously simple solution to his writing style. if you do not like Matt’s writing style then STOP READING HIS ARTICLES!!!
I find your poor typing skills and inability to proof read before hitting send irritating as hell, but if it bothers me too much I just move on.
i think that is fine. I expect no more comments from you. ,the editor in chief. But I do thank you for reading.
Had three VW’s, a bug and two busses. This booked got me through a lot of jams.
I once changed a clutch cable with a screwdriver, pliers and crescent wrench while broken down in Carmel Valley.
Just in case:
http://tse2.mm.bing.net/th?id=JN.bgDcq9CGoVjGBYLecFhE%2bg&pid=15.1
We, also had a series of VWs – 2 bugs and 3 microbus/campers. My husband always said you could fix any VW with a paper clip and a rubber band! Lots of great memories ( which I am sure are real! ) in all those wonderful old vehicles. My great nephew, in WA, is trying to acquire a VW camper van to fix up and have some adventures in.
I want one of these:
http://dub-box-usa.com/
That is so cool. I sent the link to my nevvy. Thanks.
I crossed the Indian Ocean in a VW Type 128 once. Got attacked by pirates. Managed to come out unscathed. Just caused a bit of perspiration. Don’t think I would have made it out without the VW.
Tom, I need proof. I don’t believe the pirates in the Indian Ocean left you unscathed.
Ask the mayor. She was with me. She’s quite the swashbuckler.
Tom, I do not agree with you on much, but I can’t stop laughing right now. Best damn laugh I have had in a long time. Arrrggggghhhhhh!!!!
I am very pleased with the attention my very truthful comments have gotten. Some of them are very funny. I do appreciate humor and the attention I am getting. It does prove that I am correct. The KING of comments speaks and everyone listens. I do thank you for the comments and the special attention you give me. Again thank you very much. Keep tuned in more to come. It is very hot today and I do feel the sweat appearing on my very expensive leather shoes. I would tell you the name of the brand but you would not understand. I do feel you do not shop at very expensive shoe stores. Must have an appointment. I could arrange it. What a life on top of the comment world. Does not get any better than that.
Dude, don’t go all swashbucklery on us.
John lighten up. Its just a comment section. Laugh and have fun. It is not the end of the world.. Give some take some.
Oh my! Are you late for tea?
I do not drink tea. But if it was you I was showing up for tea with I would not even bother to show. You have no humor. The Good Humor Man would even refuse to sell you a popsicle.
Very logical. Since you’re getting attention, everything you say must be true…just like George Zimmerman, Dick Cheney, Jack the Ripper, John Dillinger, Josh Dugger…it must be a true algorithm, indeed. Then, of course, the presence of old man leather shoes covered in sweat, for which you need an appointment to inquire, is further proof of the absolute veracity of Bob’s comments. I agree with John, and with him, too. It’s been a very hot day and lots of laughter helps cool things down!
I settle for nothing less than shoes made from hides of champion race horses.
J, Everything I say is true. Not like Hillary and Bill Clinton. Bill lied under oath and it now appears Hillary is all over and out. Here comes Joe. J enjoy the weekend and stop worryng about poor Matt. He will get along just fine. As will all the commentors that are not taking all this too serious.