1940 Dodge back when compared....today

12/23/2019 in Hickory, North Carolina

1940 Dodge back when and compared to today.

Can you see the mom and dad of today driving a NEW car without these.  Your 4 door vehicle today would not have the following.
1. Multi feature radio, only an after market AM only
2. Heater, and after market purchase.
3. No power steering.
4. No power locks, manual only
5. No heated seats, not available
6. Straight 6 or straight 8 engines ONLY
7. No power brakes and disc brakes not available yet.
8. No automatic trunk opener, a pull cable manually or key opened.
9. Black is only color available
10. No automatic transmission,
11. The stick shift was on the column,
12. A  clutch on the floor to operate the manual transmission.
13. The switch is in the dash not on the column
14. The starter is over the accelerator or under the clutch
15. Most cars had a manual choke to operate when starting.
16. Tires are bias ply and have an inner tube to keep the tire inflated.
17. The oil and lubrication is every 1,000 miles not 3 to 5 thousand.
18. Trucks had to be "double clutched" so don't ask.
19. The battery was 6 volt, not 12 volts.
20. The headlights burned out and you changed these yourself with a screwdriver.
21. No running lights on your car, a manual parking light only.
22. No removeable mats, you clean these like carpet.
23. You have a split windshield with a metal support in the middle.
24. No outside side mirrors an after market you install.
25. Cars had flats often and you learned how to jack up and install the spare.
26. 50 to 60 Thousand Miles was about the max on any engine..
27. The cars were make out of sheet steel as were the chrome bumpers.
28. No interstates and you encountered a "dirt" road on occasion.
29. No leather seats available, seat covers available after market.
30. Running Boards were standard on your Black car.
31. Radio Antenna was added when you install the radio.
32. No front wheel drive, that was for "foreign cars Only".

Christmas 2019 in Hickory, North Carolina

12/23/2019

To my kind and gentle reader,

I am writing this note from Hickory, North Carolina.  Karen and I have been here now 3 days after an 8 and 1/2 hours drive from Birmingham, Alabama about 450 miles.  I am still recovering from this long ride, being 81, I cannot decide which hurts more my hips or my knees.

After talking with Juanita until almost 2:00am,  it is sleeping until 9am the next day.  After breakfast, Karen and her mom have put together a 6 stop shopping list.  Everything from Grocery store, filling station, drug store, ABC store, Barnes and Noble, Aldi, and one other no one can come up with.

There is a honk of the horn and the sound of a garage store closing, I am up and running helping bringing in many sacks from the truck and body of the car.  I told Karen how I seem to feel someone has just arrived.  I think it is women are first to hear a baby cry, and a man hears the first unusual sound of a car engine, or the sound of an electric train transformer being left on over night. Funny thing I was told by an ear nose throat doctor that I had some hearing loss from taking a drug called Topamax.  Go figure.

Pause right now and i'll pick up a little later.