I loved the blend of history and personal anecdotes! Your reflection on “our ordinary lives contributing to history” sums this up brilliantly. It’s fascinating how cars shape our lives, yet their future feels uncertain. I remember being in a Hillman Imp with my family (7 of us). I can't imagine this now. :)
Thank you for your comment. I remember the Hillman Imp! The idea of all the kids squashed in the back with no seatbelts is unthinkable nowadays, but was usual then.
This brings back so many memories of my first car. The Simca was my grandmothers car, it was pale green with the gears on the steering wheel and a dip switch on the floor to switch between high and low beam. It was a bit of a juggle coordinating the feet with the clutch, brake and dip switch. A story that I must share.
Thank you for sharing your memories. We forget how hard old cars were to drive. It seemed every button or switch seemed to need a strong yank and the coordination of an octopus!
No, I don't miss driving a manual car at all, and it's a mystery to me why they are still widely available in the UK (I'm in New Zealand). Though I'm prepared to believe that others feel differently (my son in law for example). It's true this is a skill that will be lost... but it was only needed because that was how cars were designed/engineered when invented, not because it's a generally useful life skill.... You might as well say I miss the old crank handle start cars, ignition keys (or push buttons) have caused us to lose the real skill of persuading a car to start.
A very interesting point about our nostalgia for things that have been replaced by better design or engineering. As you say, who would still want to use a crank handle on a car! Until recently rental cars in the UK were mostly manual, which I agree seems an unnecessary extra challenge for tourists, who also have to drive on the opposite side of the road!
But driving a car is the only time I operate 'machinery', which is why I enjoyed the extra complexity of using gears. I will be sad when I lose that skill.
They were certainly popular in the U.K. I was once told they were designed for farmers, so the suspension had to be so good that not one egg on a tray of eggs would be broken, after driving over a field!
Loved your article, especially your thoughts on what our descendants might think of the way we use automobiles today and what the changes are that will have been made over 100 years.
Thank you for your comment. I was reflecting on how we think of how people lived their lives 100 years ago, and how sobering it is to think about the changes in the next 100 years, and our influence on those changes.
One of my early cars was a 1959 Morris Minor. Four speed of course, choke? I don't recall, but maybe. I do remember punking out due to my lack of driving finesse on more than one hill back in that day. It was sooo cute! Looked like a cartoon car, a rather less than blushing red. Sturdy but not quite comfortable. Bought it for $100 US. In those days one could buy a car cheap. My next car was a 1962 Chevrolet Impala. The guy I bought it from had painted it two-tone- white and purple. This one I drove out to Calif where I spent most of my adult life -- before Mexico days. It made it swimmingly! I only lost the water-pump, repair for a 'new' used one, $12USD. And back to the hwy. Those big old 8-cylinders could really do it. At that time passing through Texas (ugh, even then) gas was 11 cents a gallon. Car days!
What lovely memories, thanks for sharing. Hill starts were really hard. I remember complaining to my father that I would never get the knack, and he said, "look around you, every kind of person is driving a car - some really clever, and some not so bright. If the 'not so bright' people can do it, so can you!". I have never worked out if that was a compliment, or not!
I loved the blend of history and personal anecdotes! Your reflection on “our ordinary lives contributing to history” sums this up brilliantly. It’s fascinating how cars shape our lives, yet their future feels uncertain. I remember being in a Hillman Imp with my family (7 of us). I can't imagine this now. :)
Thank you for your comment. I remember the Hillman Imp! The idea of all the kids squashed in the back with no seatbelts is unthinkable nowadays, but was usual then.
This brings back so many memories of my first car. The Simca was my grandmothers car, it was pale green with the gears on the steering wheel and a dip switch on the floor to switch between high and low beam. It was a bit of a juggle coordinating the feet with the clutch, brake and dip switch. A story that I must share.
Thank you for sharing your memories. We forget how hard old cars were to drive. It seemed every button or switch seemed to need a strong yank and the coordination of an octopus!
No, I don't miss driving a manual car at all, and it's a mystery to me why they are still widely available in the UK (I'm in New Zealand). Though I'm prepared to believe that others feel differently (my son in law for example). It's true this is a skill that will be lost... but it was only needed because that was how cars were designed/engineered when invented, not because it's a generally useful life skill.... You might as well say I miss the old crank handle start cars, ignition keys (or push buttons) have caused us to lose the real skill of persuading a car to start.
A very interesting point about our nostalgia for things that have been replaced by better design or engineering. As you say, who would still want to use a crank handle on a car! Until recently rental cars in the UK were mostly manual, which I agree seems an unnecessary extra challenge for tourists, who also have to drive on the opposite side of the road!
But driving a car is the only time I operate 'machinery', which is why I enjoyed the extra complexity of using gears. I will be sad when I lose that skill.
I thought deux chevaux were only for French people! (Seriously I didn’t know they were sold or owned outside France. Greatest car ever!
Looking forward to the photo organizing guide!
They were certainly popular in the U.K. I was once told they were designed for farmers, so the suspension had to be so good that not one egg on a tray of eggs would be broken, after driving over a field!
Photo organising guide is coming soon.
Loved your article, especially your thoughts on what our descendants might think of the way we use automobiles today and what the changes are that will have been made over 100 years.
Thank you for your comment. I was reflecting on how we think of how people lived their lives 100 years ago, and how sobering it is to think about the changes in the next 100 years, and our influence on those changes.
One of my early cars was a 1959 Morris Minor. Four speed of course, choke? I don't recall, but maybe. I do remember punking out due to my lack of driving finesse on more than one hill back in that day. It was sooo cute! Looked like a cartoon car, a rather less than blushing red. Sturdy but not quite comfortable. Bought it for $100 US. In those days one could buy a car cheap. My next car was a 1962 Chevrolet Impala. The guy I bought it from had painted it two-tone- white and purple. This one I drove out to Calif where I spent most of my adult life -- before Mexico days. It made it swimmingly! I only lost the water-pump, repair for a 'new' used one, $12USD. And back to the hwy. Those big old 8-cylinders could really do it. At that time passing through Texas (ugh, even then) gas was 11 cents a gallon. Car days!
What lovely memories, thanks for sharing. Hill starts were really hard. I remember complaining to my father that I would never get the knack, and he said, "look around you, every kind of person is driving a car - some really clever, and some not so bright. If the 'not so bright' people can do it, so can you!". I have never worked out if that was a compliment, or not!