WHAT WOULD YOUR FIRST CAR BE WORTH TODAY?

The Dollar In The Good Old Days

I remember rolling my eyes when my grandparents started lamenting the good old days: “We never missed school. We walked 10 miles uphill in the snow — and then back downhill in another foot of snow & ice.” So I bet the young car salesman with the pasted on smile was wincing when my husband reared back from the $66,738 sticker on that new Silverado and yelled, “What the hell! Back in my day, a good truck only cost $1,800. My first car was $600 and my dream car, a 1965 Impala Super Sport, was only $3000.”

I could see the young salesman biting his lip while I was chuckling inside remembering another day my car-loving hubby had to face reality —

1965 Chevy Impala SS

Why did we stop? We were on a deserted country road in the middle of a hot summer day. He looked over at me nervously and said, “It’s time.” I could feel my hands getting sweaty. I wasn’t sure if I were ready. He was going to teach me how to drive his prized ‘65 Impala Super Sport with the 4-Speed Hurst shifter.

Even though I was the quiet city girl type, I had seen him race his souped-up winner at the drag strips in Mt. Vernon and West Salem before we were married. So I was picturing myself at the starting line while he was trying to explain how to shift gears.

I grabbed the door handle and jumped out of the car before he had finished saying, “Okay, let’s trade places.” I saw him looking lovingly at his Mag wheels and rubbing his mirror-like hood as I skipped passed him at the front of the car. I’m pretty sure I heard him whisper to his burgundy beauty, “I’m sorry!”

I pushed the black leather bucket seat ahead at least six inches before taking a sideway glance at my husband. I didn’t know if the sun was reflecting off the bean field or my husband’s face was actually that green. While in countdown mode, I wiped my sweaty hands on my legs and unlatched the emergency brake since the car had been idly in neutral. In an excited voice I asked, “Which one’s the clutch?”

He sighed, “Oh, no!”

I pushed in the left pedal and shifted into first gear with visions of taking off down the road to my husband’s applause. Instead, the car started to jump & shake.

My husband yelled, “Give it gas; give it gas!” So, I stomped on the accelerator and took my foot off the clutch. The car shuttered, gave out a loud groan and died. My poor husband put his head in his hands like a grieving man and got out of the car. Then, he stuck his head back in the window and said, “Take it; just go.”

I looked in the rearview mirror as I bounced down that deserted country road in his beloved hot rod, grinding gears. There stood my husband alone in a big cloud of dust — facing reality.

As the years go by, it seems as if we all adapt to the changes in society without thinking too much about them —until we become Senior Citizens that is and realize a $66,738 truck is not really that good of a long-term investment. Ha! I was surprised to find out in the Consumer Price Index calculator that the US dollar has lost 90% of its value since 1965, and something that cost $100 in 1965 would cost $999.35 today.

Now that my husband is older, he’s no longer under our car adding duals and scavenger pipes to the exhaust system; instead, he’s watching the guys on “Iron Resurrection,” “Phantom Works,” “Bitchin’ Rides,” “Road Kill,” and “Rescue Rex” restoring gems like he used to own.

1954 Chevy 4-door

1955 Chevy 2-door

1957 Chevy Bel-Air

1962 Chevy Covair

1964 Chevy Chevelle

… and whenever he gets a chance he laments to the younger generation, “I should have kept one of those cars. Do you know that a collector would pay $70,000 for a restored 1965 Impala SS like mine today?”

Oh well, if we only knew then, what we know now…

It’ll Be OK.

~~~

“The safest way to double your money is to fold it over and put it in your pocket.” ~ Kin Hubbard

COMMENT: DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR FIRST CAR?