This is like the first vehicle I ever drove and it was brand new when I drove it.(The one I drove was green though, I was 10 YO)
Posted on 06/21/2014 10:04:44 AM PDT by TurboZamboni
The days when a bare-bones "stripper" car came with vinyl seats, rubber floor mats and no air conditioning are long gone.
Today, convenience and cold air come standard for all models, along with a long list of niceties that were once the sole domain of the loaded vehicle. A base Chevy Spark, as one example, offers aluminum wheels, ten standard airbags, power windows — even six months of OnStar service, in case you lock your keys in the car. On the surface, the new car market is offering better values than ever.
There is just one small problem with nearly all entry-level models of the modern day: You can't ever find em', and when you do, they usually come loaded with surprises. We may learn about that teaser of a price from the manufacturer's advertising, or the dealer supposedly suffering a bone-headed overstocking whose pain can be your gain. But actually finding that car is another matter entirely.
Recently, I searched for an absolute bare bones 2014 Nissan Versa S, base model. How many were there for the genuine manufacturer's drive-out price of under $13,000 in metro Atlanta? One. Just a single car to serve a metropolitan population of six million people.
Two weeks ago I walked over to a Mitsubishi dealer near Myrtle Beach, S.C. There were 20 Mirages on the lot, and out of those 20, there was one basic car with that ever so rare five-speed manual. The price: $12,500, before a whopping $1,995 surcharge for window tint. The old days of stain guards for carpeting and VIN etchings on the windows have been replaced with $700 processing fees, $800 destination charges, and $2,000 aftermarket trim packages with low-quality leather and fake wood made out of real plastic.
(Excerpt) Read more at autos.yahoo.com ...
the emergency brake
This is like the first vehicle I ever drove and it was brand new when I drove it.Yeah, I remember. I also remember that high beam switch would act up sometimes and I’d have to stomp on it a few times to get the headlights back to low.
>>My Uncle had a 55 Buick in which the starter was in the accelerator. You turned on the key then pressed on the accelerator. About half way down the starter kicked in.
Not a particularly good idea imo.<<
had a mid-60’s Dodge with column 3-speed manual shift.
YECH!
I had 2 Sables with bench seats. Loved them.
.
Valiants where sweet cars! Had a 1969 green with green vinyl top. that slant six could purr!
It had all the options: AM radio, leather seats, heater, wire wheels, lap belts and ash tray, lol. In some ways, that was the most fun car I ever owned.
I’d take that truck in a hot second and I’d drive it every day.
Remember when the high-beam switch was on the floor?”
You bet. I took my “older” car in for repair a few years ago and they gave me a rental. Not only took me forever to find the switch for the high beam but I had to ask how to get the car out of park. Never quite understood why you have to push the brake pedal in to move the transmission to drive or reverse. Grandson laughed at me because I drove around for two days with the rear wiper going. Couldn’t figure out how to turn it off.
I just see no need for all this stuff on a car. People are so lazy and spoiled.
One way to go is to buy a lightly-used car from Enterprise Car Rental. Their database extends all over the country; so if you want a car from another state, you pay a little extra to have it driven to you under their existing transfer arrangements. You can limit your search to cars with under 15,000 mileage. Many of their cars are fairly simple because businesspersons or travelers often just want to get from Point A to Point B; but in paying a depreciated price for a slightly used car, you can accept a few extras like AC for a car that has been well-maintained on a daily basis.
I am buying a new car for the first time in 25 years, I looked at 2-3 year old models, but there is such a difference between them and the new one. I figured I might as well get all the bells and whistles in the new technology. I probably won’t ever buy another one, so I am treating myself.
i have nothing against them, they just were never even an option in the rest of the cars i've owned but i do think dating has suffered since they were pretty much eliminated, there's nothing like having your date actually sitting next to you on a date
I know a girl whose Mother conceived her in a 61 Rambler in which the seats made into a bed. Her parents got married a few months later and their next four probably started out the usual way.
She and two of her siblings were queens of their respective colleges.
I’ll be at “Back to the 50’s” tomorrow and will see dozens of those.
11,000+ cars in one place(all pre-1965)
Here's what I loved about my first car, a used 1962 Beetle with no air conditioning: it had little triangular windows between the driver or front passenger windows, with a separate crank. You could angle them just so, to blow air on your face. Crossed the country in a car like that, including the deserts out west.
That just seems so odd. I want all the bells and whistles. Well maybe I could do without the monitors in back of the seats. I never sit in the back of my car and I don't have an interest in my passengers watching some movie while I am driving.
I personally think electric windows are a danger. If I ever end up in the water I want to be able to crank a window down.
This seems to be a problem with just about every car nowadays. The factories/dealers make the money from all that “standard equipment” which used to come on luxury cars. The gov’t. has done more than their fair share to make a cheap car as expensive as possible,too. For somebody who wants cheap,reliable basic transportation....good luck. Those disappeared back in the 70s or thereabouts. The “cash for clunkers” program got a lot of affordable used cars off the market. When these “basic” cars are older & hit the used lots,they will probably cost more to repair the various “luxury” items & gov’t. required “safety” & emissions items than the piece of crap was worth in the first place. Some of that stuff will have to be fixed to make it saleable & in many cases this will mean it is fit for nothing but salvage. The higher priced used cars will just be a bit more expensive to fix & I have a hunch many of them will not be cost effective to sell,either,except as salvage.
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