Let’s revisit the theme of female drivers in the past. As I told in the first installment of this series, it’s a topic of particular interest to me since at my home Mom was the sole driver in the family. A curious, but probably far from unique situation.
So here’s a second gallery of ladies and their rides, back in the day. A mix of female drivers and vehicles that go from the common to the distinctive.
Related CC reading:
More Vintage Snapshot Galleries Here
Some favourite cars of female family friend drivers, when I was a kid, included both generations of the Corvair, the ’68 and ’75 era Chevrolet Nova, and the Chev Monza. All small, easy to drive, and affordable to own. As the Chevrolet brand, had a lot of strength with the public, including female car buyers. Before the import boom, took off.
My sister lived close to her workplace, and simply never had the desire to drive. So, she renewed her learner’s permit annually for years, with an easy written test. Her husband, handled virtually all of the driving besides. Many ladies were no yet inclined to liberate themselves with cars, well into the 1970s. Here in Ontario, it was generally referred to, as a ‘365’ licence. In 1994, the province introduced graduated licensing. At the same time, I had female friends, who drove at seventeen.
The muted metallic and pastel paint colours of the ’50’s and ’60’s, certainly helped mask/subdue the dirt buildup on autos back then. As many roads remained unpaved, with car washes less common.
I am also from Ontario. My mother, who was born in 1915got her licence at 16 and became the primary driver in the family. Her older brother was away at university and her mother never took up driving. Her dad died when she was 17, so at that point she did not have much choice.
My dad was an automotive engineer, but whenever mom was in the car she drove. She said that it had nothing to do with my dad’s driving, but after she had children she developed a sort of phobia about being in a car that she was not driving.
When I was growing up we only had one car, but when my brother and I reached driving age we got a second car. It was a 66 Corvair Monza with a 4 speed, so we could learn to drive standard. After my dad died she continued to drive standards, except for her 72 Duster.
When I bought my Citroen 2CV she was 77, but she demanded that I let her drive it, with the umbrella handle gearshift and all. She had no trouble at all.
I remember the 365 license. Now it’s the G1 I believe. Which is weird, because you graduate to a G2, and then earn your G license. Kind of backwards. Then final license you get should be a G3 maybe.
My how women’s styles have changed .
I really like the ’53/’54 Bel Air, the color is fantastic .
-Nate
Love the juxtaposition of the Cadillac 75 limo and the VW in the second to last shot. And the trio with their sunglasses and their Buick hardtop.
The lady in the first photo of the ’62 Chev is wearing body color matching gloves !
That poor Chevy looks so tired though!
Nice to see ladies not all covered in tattoos!
Miss seeing “people in general” not covered in ink and piercings.
Really? That’s your concern? I miss when people drove cars and not generic plastic boxes, conversed with other human beings, and weren’t consumed by social media.
I totally agree. I’m so tired of seeing gross iron piercings and tattoos I could scream. The ladies in these photos look like they care about their appearance.
Amen to that! You can include woen with green and blue hair and women that look like Aunt Bee in ripped jeans and crop tops.
My mom.drove a 1968 Oldsmobile station wagon..then later..a 1976 Oldsmobile cutlass…later she had a 97 Buick century..
Before WWII few women drove. Cars were large, cumbersome and not easy to drive, with their clunky, non-synchronized manual transmissions. By 1950 newly empowered women became drivers in droves, thanks to the automatic transmission and a bit later, power steering. Now, driving was a breeze. I don’t know of another automotive feature that did more to sell more cars than these.
It’s also important to remember that (in the US) a woman could not sign a car loan by herself until 1972!! My unmarried aunt drove cash money clunkers because, even though she could have afforded a car payment, she was legally prohibited from getting a car loan.
Why does this myth persist? Women could take out loans. It depended upon the state and the bank issuing the loan until 1974 (Equal Credit Opportunity Act) when the law mandated that the banks could not discriminate that way. For example, in California, women could take out loans on their own since 1862 as per state law. There were women’s banks that loaned money to women since 1919. What changed was that banks could no longer tell a woman that she couldn’t have a loan just because she was a woman.
I do not know where you got your information, but your statement is false!
In August of 1970, my yet to be married to me fiancee purchased “our”/her 1970 Malibu ht without a co-signer with $100 down. She had not gotten her driver’s license yet and wanted the car to motivate her to pass the test.
I think a lot of this misunderstanding regarding women and loans is made up for sensationalism on social media.
My maternal grandmother (1907-1990) drove a Morris Cowley in the late 1920s. After a minor accident, she had it resprayed red, and it was known locally as the Red Menace.
In the late 1970s, she drove a bright blue Mini Clubman at high speeds around the lanes of Kent. I was torn between excitement and fear when we visited her.
That ’57 (or ’58 ?) Fairlane convertible looked like a fun time. Especially the look of adventure on the young lady getting behind the wheel.
My favorite in the series as well. There’s a kind of Thelma and Louise vibe going there.
My uncle always remembered his “57 Fairlane” fondly! Apparently it was “black” out/”red” inside.
Think it was his first new ((or quite near new)) car.
The trio in the 59 Buick LeSabre reminds me when my dad had one. 59 Buick Electra 2dr hard top. The back windshield came up past my head. I could look out and the SUN could bake me when I road in the back.
My mother helped me deliver the Sunday morning Newark NJ Star Ledger in 1954 driving nothing less than a Isetta. (sp). Had to open and close the entire front portion to get in and out 68 times
And I’m remembering this on nothing else than Mother’s Day.
What an incredible MOM..
Wow!!
There’s a dusty gray ’63 just like the first picture in my neighborhood, and the owner could be that lady’s husband.
In the late ’70s and into the ’80s, a little old lady by the name of Mrs. Odegaard lived just down the street from a business that my Dad owned in Springfield, Ore. Mrs. Odegaard owned a 1954 Buick that she drove weekly to the grocery store and church. Loved seeing that old ’54 because that was the year Buick that my uncle Johnny “JB” Bartlett drove as an NHRA Jr. Stock drag racer in the ’60s and ’70s. I have a picture somewhere of Mrs. Odegaard’s ’54 parked in her driveway. Of course, she and her ride are long gone, but the memories remain…
Great seeing the 1954 Ford Victoria. I could not see that it had the Crestline marking on the rear fender as the one my mother had. My mother’s was a Fordomatic as well. Sky Blue was the color with a white roof and white interior.Very fond memories of my childhood on this Mothers Day. And fond memories of that Victoria. Our next car was a ’67 Ford Galaxie 500 that was a 4 door sedan and Turquoise colored. Unfortunately the frame rotted and the rear bumper fell off at only 7 years old and 25K miles on it. Next up was a ’70 Ford Maverick 2 door coupe with no power steering that my mother and sister hated!! After that Maverick also rotted terribly we went on to a ’70 & a half Olds CUTLASS Supreme that I took my drivers test in. Loved that car and it’s Rocket 350 V-8. I would later buy a ’76 CUTLASS Supreme for myself ….
My grandparents were married in 1920 and that same year bought a new Buick sedan. My grandfather taught my grandmother to drive it. They lived in Western Kansas (not farm people) so when he was at work she could get errands done. I have two wedding photos of them, one is of them looking all newly married next to their Buick.
The two vehicles I remember them owning were a’50 Riviera two door hardtop and later a’57 Caballero four door hardtop wagon. Both huge and elegant. I have several photos of all of us with those cars.
My folks brought me (their last son) home from the hospital in a Ford business coupe -after me they bought a’56 Fairlane two door hardtop since they needed a car with a back seat.
They are all long gone now, It’s just me now but what good memories!
The gal getting in the Ford rag top, what a wicked smile!
I saw a woman in her late 40s pull up to Walgreens in a new(wish) Camaro 1LE. I was impressed, but I felt a quick pic snap would have been awkward. She was quite attractive as well.
Cherish the old Kodak photo of my Mom, Stella, shoveling about 2 feet of snow in front of our 1955 yellow and black Mercury Montclair. Of course she was dressed in her full length, Joan Crawford style mink coat, purple velvet hat with veil and matching gloves, plus purple suede boots. You needed to be properly outfitted when Ike and Mamie were reigning! 🧕☃️
In the 1950s Mom drove convertibles, her last new one was a 1960 T-Bird. She kept the top down even when there was frost on the ground. One memory I have was a cold morning driving me to school (must have missed the bus again), top was down, Mom wearing her leopard print fur coat over her nightgown, silk head scarf, sun glasses, and her ‘mules’ (those strapless high-heel shoes with fuzzy toes for morning wear). She always kept a number of silk head scarf’s in the car to wrap her hair and be color coordinated even when wearing a fur coat over a nightgown. The family convertibles stopped when the hair styles got bigger in the mid 1960s.
I have 55,57,59,60,62,68,69,70,72 for my Old Chevies, the 62 is one of my Favorites , was my 1st car, a SS 327 4 speed.. Great bunch of Pic’s as usual;
I had a petite elementary school teacher in her fifties, who drove a mid-1970’s two door Mercury Marquis. Light yellow, with a black vinyl roof. Perhaps the most unique combination of lady driver, and car type, I recall from my childhood. Seeing over the long hood, must have been fun. It was a rural school. So highway driving the beast, must have been less a challenge, than navigating urban traffic congestion.
My best friends’ moms in the 1960’s drove a ‘64 Ford wagon, a Porsche 356, a ‘68 Ford wagon, a Beetle, an 88” wheelbase Land Rover Series II, and a Mercedes Fintail. My own mom drove our Volvo 544 then 122S in that decade.
What a great post. The ladies look terrific no matter their age.
I do like the gal with the big smile getting into the Ford convertible. And baby moon hubcaps. They were so common back in the day. My mother never got her driver’s license, just relied on dad and later me for rides here and there.
The last lady in the dark Mercedes coupe looks classy and empowered.
Great photos and a great subject matter.
#1 A dressed up lady with a straight but dirty ’62 Chevrolet Bel Air 4 door sedan with a 283 V8 and what looks like plastic seat covers. It is springtime wherever she is and she is in her spring fashions.
#2 Perhaps an early winter photo with a warmly dressed lady and a ’52 Mercury Custom 4 door sedan. It is wearing a ’56 issue Pennsylvania plate and that is very likely the photo location as well.
#3 Three ladies about to go for a ride in a ’53 Ford Customline Fordor Sedan with a Missouri plate. The car seems to be a six cylinder since I don’t see a fender ‘V8’ badge and it does have the Fordomatic transmission.
#4 A lady enjoying a clean ’53 or ’54 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe. It looks like a late summer photo.
#5 A lady and her fur piece with a ’55 Oldsmobile Super 88 4 door sedan with an Ohio plate. It looks like a late fall or winter photo.
#6 No telling what these two were up to. A ’57 Ford Fairlane 500 Sunliner with Baby Moons and rust in the lower fender. They are taking advantage of a warm fall day to do some top down motoring. In the street is a ’60 Impala Sport Sedan and across the street in the driveway is another ’57 Ford, a Country Sedan.
#7 Three ladies enjoying a warm day in a ’59 Buick LeSabre 2 door hardtop. The one in the driver’s seat has an outfit that almost matches the car color wise. In the background on the right is a ’59 Chrysler Saratoga 4 door sedan and I am not sure about the one on the left.
#8 A new looking ’65 Mustang with two ladies in it and the third person is the photographer. The car is a six cylinder since there is no badge on the fender and it is wearing Colorado plates most likely issued in ’65, but it could be ’67 or ’69 as well. Across the street is a ’60 Cadillac Fleetwood Seventy-Five and an early sixties VW Type 1. It may be a cool summer day, perhaps with a breeze at a lake overlook of some sort.
#9 A sharp ’68-’71 Mercedes-Benz 280SL with a California plate and decal on the bumper that looks like a military installation ID. The driver looks like a California girl who loves the sun.
Thanks for the photos.
Here’s my Mom as we’re about to leave for San Diego from Minneapolis. As a bonus, you get me.
Well, as far as women drivers and Mustangs are concerned, Ford did have an advertisement in 1966 titled “Six and the Single Girl”, that touted the advantages of Mustang ownership and the economical six cylinder powertrain.
In the 1980’s my mom drove only Volkswagens, as she had her whole life. I, on the other hand, had a Mercury Monterey (less fancy version of the Marquis), and a little later the Halloween Partymobile (1976 Ford LTD wagon). Then she had a Ford Escort, and the last car she had was a ’91 Taurus… she said it was a cumbersome, annoying thing to drive
The 54 chev belaire hardtop stands out for me