It was 1960 and my old 48 Plymouth was on it’s last legs. I started looking around for a replacement and happened to stop by Columbia Oldsmobile on the corner of 5th. And Sycamore streets in Cincinnati, OH. This dealer was located across the street from St. Xavier parochial where I went to grade school. I looked around their used car lot for a car that was in my price range and noticed a 1956 Oldsmobile dark green with wide sidewall tires and a sun visor which fit over the top of the windshield and it had wheel covers over the rear tires a really “Snazzy” car. After some haggling over the price I told the salesman I would take it and he told me he would need one day to get it ready and do the paperwork. I suspect he was really checking my credit which at this stage in life I had none, Good or bad. The next day he called and fortunately for me said that he was sorry but when checking the car they found there was a problem with the transmission and asked if I could stop in and pick out another car. Could this really be?. An honest car salesman? I was really disappointed as I had my heart set on that car. The next day I went to see him and I never got to the car lot as he asked me to look in their garage area and asked me if I would be interested in the car sitting there. It was the most beautiful car I had ever seen. It was a fire engine red 1957 Plymouth Fury convertible, It had a white leather interior and a white boot cap that fit over the top at the back seat when the top was down. It had a push button transmission to the left of the steering wheel, something brand new in the auto industry. It had large tail fins which were the rage at the time. He told me they had just taken it in on trade and had not even cleaned it up to place on the lot. With my mouth drooling over the prospect I told them I doubted that I could afford it and he shocked me be telling me it was the same price as the Olds I had picked out previously. I jumped at the offer and was told again they needed a day to clean it up and do the paperwork. The next day I went to pick it up and it sat there gleaming in the sun with the top down, I felt like a king as I drove it away. It looked and felt like a new car and I couldn’t be happier. I remember going home and parking it in the driveway but my memory is clouded by time as to what Marlene’s reaction was. One memory I have is that while I was the manager of the Ferguson Hills Drive-in theater. (This is another story) I was aware of the jealous looks of people as they entered the theater and saw it parked by the ticket office. We kept this car until 1964 and after returning from my job in Madisonville KY. We realized it was time to move on to another car. By then the convertible had seen it’s better days. There was a hole in the drivers side seat that was big enough to stuff a sofa pillow in and we did to make the seat level. We traded it in on a 1964 Chevy Super Sport 2 door, The first NEW! Car I had ever bought, which also turned out to be a great car.
Friday, June 02, 2006
Next, My Dream Car...............................
It was 1960 and my old 48 Plymouth was on it’s last legs. I started looking around for a replacement and happened to stop by Columbia Oldsmobile on the corner of 5th. And Sycamore streets in Cincinnati, OH. This dealer was located across the street from St. Xavier parochial where I went to grade school. I looked around their used car lot for a car that was in my price range and noticed a 1956 Oldsmobile dark green with wide sidewall tires and a sun visor which fit over the top of the windshield and it had wheel covers over the rear tires a really “Snazzy” car. After some haggling over the price I told the salesman I would take it and he told me he would need one day to get it ready and do the paperwork. I suspect he was really checking my credit which at this stage in life I had none, Good or bad. The next day he called and fortunately for me said that he was sorry but when checking the car they found there was a problem with the transmission and asked if I could stop in and pick out another car. Could this really be?. An honest car salesman? I was really disappointed as I had my heart set on that car. The next day I went to see him and I never got to the car lot as he asked me to look in their garage area and asked me if I would be interested in the car sitting there. It was the most beautiful car I had ever seen. It was a fire engine red 1957 Plymouth Fury convertible, It had a white leather interior and a white boot cap that fit over the top at the back seat when the top was down. It had a push button transmission to the left of the steering wheel, something brand new in the auto industry. It had large tail fins which were the rage at the time. He told me they had just taken it in on trade and had not even cleaned it up to place on the lot. With my mouth drooling over the prospect I told them I doubted that I could afford it and he shocked me be telling me it was the same price as the Olds I had picked out previously. I jumped at the offer and was told again they needed a day to clean it up and do the paperwork. The next day I went to pick it up and it sat there gleaming in the sun with the top down, I felt like a king as I drove it away. It looked and felt like a new car and I couldn’t be happier. I remember going home and parking it in the driveway but my memory is clouded by time as to what Marlene’s reaction was. One memory I have is that while I was the manager of the Ferguson Hills Drive-in theater. (This is another story) I was aware of the jealous looks of people as they entered the theater and saw it parked by the ticket office. We kept this car until 1964 and after returning from my job in Madisonville KY. We realized it was time to move on to another car. By then the convertible had seen it’s better days. There was a hole in the drivers side seat that was big enough to stuff a sofa pillow in and we did to make the seat level. We traded it in on a 1964 Chevy Super Sport 2 door, The first NEW! Car I had ever bought, which also turned out to be a great car.
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1 comment:
Nice writing! I have a question. Are you sure you only kept it until 1964? I seem to remember a red car with tail fins on Enyart, and we didn't move there until I was 5 years old - 1965. I distinctly remember it sitting in the driveway. Unless you sold it to someone we knew?
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