With local car dealerships going out of business, I feel fortunate to continue to get local servicing.
Recently, I took my 2002 Mercury Mountaineer in for servicing. It was ready for its 75,000 mile check-up. That alone was expensive, but they found problems with brakes and transmission. The bill came to more than $2,000.
After bringing our SUV home, I mentioned to my wife that the amount would have been a good down payment on a new car. The explosion that followed could be expected on a 4th of July. Loudly, she accused me of being a "car nut."
I guess I have been a car nut since I was 11. In 1942, my family lived in Texas, on a three-block-long dirt street with few homes. On that dirt road, my dad taught me to drive a 1939 Ford. Drive forward using all gears, then back up. Over and over. By 15, I had a learner's permit and drove on family trips.
I just like cars; I only have had 27. And, I kept a list.
In 1952, upon returning home after 13 months in Korea as a Marine, I purchased my first car. It was a 1946 Dodge Coupe. I bought it, very cheaply, with money I had sent home while being overseas.
However, this monstrosity was not for a Marine stationed on the west coast with proximity to beaches. On my next leave home to Enid, Okla., from Camp Pendleton, I traded it in with more money for a 1949 DeSoto convertible.
But, the DeSoto convertible design was not "sexy" enough.
So, in early 1953, I went home again, and bought a 1951 Buick convertible with black cloth top. And, now, although I had monthly payments, I had a sexy car to attract girls on the beach. And, it did.
In fact, I met one girl. And, marriage was discussed.
However, I took my discharge and went home. Came back to California and attended Occidental College at Eagle Rock. Unfortunately, my GI Bill compensation for attending school did not follow me, so I returned to Oklahoma.
I bought a beer bar in Oklahoma City from my best buddy and traded the convertible for a '49 Chevrolet panel truck and lived in the back of the bar.
Four months later, the girl from my Buick convertible days on the beach came back for our wedding. I sold the bar and traded the truck in for a new 1954 Ford two door, and enrolled in the local university.
I graduated in 1957. No new cars in this period.
Next came high school teaching in Pasadena. We had children. We bought a 1959 Ford station wagon. When we moved to Azusa, the era of two cars was necessary as I needed a commuter car. I bought an Italian 1959 Fiat Bianchina, about the size of a golf cart. This was a tiny two seater with red interior. An overhead cloth panel could be pulled back, making it a convertible.
In 1963, Ford introduced a beautiful small Falcon station wagon.
However, in life things happen. I did not like teaching and found a job in aerospace; and, we were transferred to Sacramento. Sold the Bianchina - just too small - and purchased a 1955 Ford. But, that just wasn't flashy enough. So, traded for a British 1963 MGB convertible.
I kept changing our family car. That beautiful paneled Falcon was traded for a 1965 Ford station wagon and then traded for a 1967 Ford station wagon.
We moved from Sacramento, back to Southern California. Before leaving I traded the sports car for a 1964 Ford Ranchero pick-up.
Our family grew up in Redlands. I worked for Lockheed and purchased a 1971 Ford station wagon, trading the 1967.
But, then I was transferred to Lockheed in Sunnyvale and traded the Ranchero for a 1973 Ford Courier pickup with a camper shell, which we kept for 10 years. In San Jose, as our family grew up, the family car changed from station wagons to a 1974 Buick Regal, then a 1976 Chrysler Cordova, then a 1979 Pontiac Grand Prix. In 1984, I purchased a Ford LTD Brougham with cloth top.
As the Cold War continued, my job became concerned with missiles fired out of submarines.
For my commuter car, I replaced the Courier with a 1984 Ford Mustang, then a 1987 Ford Tempo, then a 1989 Ford Probe. And, now, as the children left, and we retired to Aptos, the family car became a 1991 Lexus, then, a 1993 Mercury Villager van.
However, in 1992, I retired from Lockheed, and wanting to become young again, I purchased a 1996 Chrysler Sebring Convertible. Actually, at this stage, I found I didn't like the sunburn or my hair blowing in the breeze. Therefore, I sold the Sebring and bought a 2002 Mercury Mountaineer SUV. The Villager and Mountaineer we brought with us when we moved to Morgan Hill.
In 2004, we bought a Mercury Monterey for the town car. The Mountaineer is still our travel car. It has been in most states west of the Mississippi as well as Canada. Last year, we traveled 3,500 miles in our SUV. This summer, we plan a trip to Canada.
I have had 27 cars in 57 years.
Car nut? Maybe.
Burton Anderson Burton Anderson, a U.S. Marine veteran of the Korean War, has lived in California for about 50 years. He has a background in the aerospace industry. He may be reached at bandtp@aol.com. The Board of Contributors is comprised of local writers whose views appear on Tuesdays and Fridays.
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