I always loved cars as a child, and my favorite cars were the big Chevrolet Impalas and Caprices. My mother would tell you that I even knew the year of any Caprice or Impala that I saw on the road. How I came to love the big Chevrolets, I have no idea. My dad was not partial to GM cars, and my mother would never own a Chevy because “they stall in the rain.” As an adult, I have yet to own a Chevrolet though I have driven some as rental cars. I suppose if I were to buy one, I would opt for a Suburban since that is the modern-day Caprice.
While I did say that my father was not partial to GM cars, we did own some growing up due to my mother’s influence. My dad will tell you that my mom liked big cars, especially Pontiacs. Her first car, which she bought at the age of 21 for $800.00, was a 1958 Pontiac Star Chief 4 door sedan. Owned by a little old lady who drove it to church on Sunday, my mom selected this car to transport her family. She was the second of five children, and they were a family of immigrants. Forced from their home at the end of the Second World War, they first settled in Germany and then emigrated to the United States in 1952. My Aunt Sue, her older sister, married a man from their hometown in 1959 and settled just outside Detroit. The Star Chief made many trips to visit my Aunt and Uncle and her nieces and nephews at their home in Royal Oak.
My dad did not own a car when he married my mom in May, 1966. He was fresh out of the Army and had just started working at Harbison Walker in downtown Pittsburgh. When he needed a car, he borrowed his father’s car. My parents had met at church as teenagers when my dad’s family joined my mom’s family’s church. They were in the church youth group together and were friends, but they didn’t start dating until my dad came home from basic training on leave in 1964 and asked my mom to go on a date. She had other plans that evening, but changed them so they could go out.
When it was time to trade in the old Star Chief, my mom replaced it with a brand new 1964 Pontiac Tempest four-door sedan, which she purchased on February 29, 1964 –her leap year baby, as she called it. It was a medium turquoise blueish
That was the car my mom owned when she married my dad in 1966, and it brought me home from the hospital in late January 1968. I only have vague memories of that car, but it served the family well and even brought my sister home from the hospital when she was born in 1970.
My dad had been offered a big promotion at work, but it meant we were transferred to Birmingham, Alabama. So, in August 1970, they sold their first house, saw their furniture loaded on the moving truck, and packed us into the Pontiac Tempest, where we headed south to Alabama. By that time, the Tempest was six years old, and it was time to replace it with something that had air conditioning since we were in the south.
The Tempest was replaced with a gently used 1969 Pontiac Le Mans sports coupe in dark green. I don’t remember much about the car other than we used it on trips to Pittsburgh, to Florida, and one long weekend in New Orleans. I do know that we only had it for a short while, as one day, when my mother was taking my sister out of her car seat, I managed to push the door shut on her. It was then that my parents decided we needed a station wagon.
The LeMans was traded in for a 1970 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser in dark green with wood paneling. It was a used car and my parents bought it from a VW dealer on Bessemer Super Highway in Birmingham in 1972. It was a modern dealership built in the style of VW dealers from the 60s and 70s–all glass, white and blue. While they were with the salesman, my sister and I hung out in a VW camper van, pretending to drive it. I can still see all the VWs lined up in a row in the showroom looking out onto the road. I loved looking up at the sky through the vista roof, and that probably contributed to my love of sunroofs in my cars today.
Unfortunately, the Vista Cruiser developed serious issues and started breaking down. As my parents only owned one car, this marked the end of its time with us. The next car was a brand-new 1975 Hornet Sportabout in white with a blue interior. Purchased new at Bill Whtten AMC in Ensley, Alabama, the Hornet was our first compact car. Certainly, it was smaller than any car we had owned up until that time, but on the night we bought the Hornet, it needed to be prepped. Since no one was in the service department at this point in the evening, they gave us a loaner car to drive home from Bill Whitten Datsun. It was some sort of Datsun station wagon.
Datsuns were not on the radar and we only had it that evening, I would have to guess it was either a Datsun 610 or Datsun 710. The next day, my parents drove the Datsun back and came home in the Sportabout. The Hornet was the family car, and it made three trips back to Pittsburgh in 1974 and 1975. We went up for Thanksgiving both years, and then the third trip was made two weeks later for my Oma’s funeral. She hung on for Thanksgiving so we could visit. I knew she was sick but my parents protected us by not telling us how seriously ill she was. She was 58, the same age I am today. Even then, I knew she wasn’t old.
The Hornet was not my mom’s favorite car. Like many cars at that time, it was prone to issues. It made 13 trips back to the dealership for warranty repairs, with the final one being the day the windshield wipers stopped working during a rainstorm. My mom drove the car to the dealer in the rain, where she had to wipe the windshield with a rag so she could see. After that incident and the trip for my grandmother’s funeral, my mom told my dad she wanted a new car. Car shopping began in earnest with a trip back to Bill Whitten AMC, where my parents saw a tan 1976 AMC Matador Station Wagon in the showroom. The deal was made, and the car came home on January 27, 1976–a day after my 8th birthday.
The Matador was well equipped with intermittent wipers, which my mom loved, reclining front seats, and cruise control. All our cars since the Le Mans had air conditioning, and the Matador had great AC for the hot Alabama summers. Certainly, it was more reliable than the Hornet. It made several family trips, including another trip to New Orleans, Mobile, Michigan, and two trips to Pittsburgh. The big road trip was a week and a half vacation to see my mom’s sister and her family in Detroit, and then we drove to Pittsburgh to see the rest of the family. We came home and got word that my mom’s uncle, his wife, and youngest son were going to visit my grandfather in Pittsburgh. Uncle Steve was my Oma’s brother. He had not been able to come to her funeral but was finally able to visit a couple of years later. My dad knew my mom wanted to see her family, so he suggested she drive to Pittsburgh with my sister and me, as he did not have enough vacation time. In July 1977, the Matador headed north with my mom driving, and we went to Pittsburgh for the week. I know my mom had a great time that week, and the Matador was pressed into service taking all of us sightseeing in Pittsburgh.
The Matador was a great car, and my parents certainly planned on keeping it for several years, but I drove the next purchase.
I love these lifetime accounts of family vehicles, and yours was no exception. The fact that you had so many great pictures to support your story only made it better. Thanks for helping to start my day on a very positive note. By the way, I also shared your early love for full size Chevrolets from an early age since I grew up in a full size Chevrolet family.
You remind me that back in the early 70s, used cars were described as “buying someone else’s problems” for good reason. I think those GM intermediates from around 1970 had very good reputations, but there were always the exceptions.
That Matador wagon was definitely an unusual choice!
I look forward to more!
I’m always fascinated by family histories and especially immigrant families, for obvious reasons. WW2 displaced so many of them.
Your mom went through a lot of cars! I guess we were lucky as I don’t really remember any of ours having significant issues. The ‘65 Dodge Coronet did tend to stall in very wet weather but that was a very common issue with Mopars.
Actually my dad’s 65 Opel Kadett did need a valve job after only three years so that was probably the impetus to trade it in on the 68 Dart.
I always enjoyed reading your account of your family’s journey from Austria. My Aunt Sue recently translated my Oma’s diary in which she wrote about their departure from Botsch (now Batos), Transylvania, Romania to Germany. I knew some things, but to read a firsthand account of what they endured from the masses who were also fleeing the fighting going on around them, constant air raids, the lack of food, and the constant need to keep moving.
Mom certainly had some interesting car choices for sure.
I’m flabbergasted that your mother had such trouble with her Hornet but went straight back to the AMC dealer for her next car.
I like your writing style and I’m looking forward to reading more!
I know, right? You would have thought they would have checked out some other brands. That said, I think part of the decision to trade the Hornet was the sadness of the last trips to Pittsburgh. She kept meticulous records on gas mileage, and the Hornet was disappointing for a compact car. I have no idea what engine it had but I remember hearing her say it was not as efficient as she expected.
Great start! I look forward to more, and also to what I hope are stories about Birmingham experienced as a youth. I’ve spent a fair bit of time there on work projects and find it quite a pleasant place.
I had to laugh at your mom’s declaration that she wouldn’t own a Chevy because they stall in the rain. I’ve heard many a similar statement (reflecting firmly held personal opinions about consumer goods, based on….something personal) over the years. Often from my own mother or her relatives.
My own mom had a similar prejudice against Oldsmobiles. She firmly believed they could not be depended on to start reliably in the winter. Unfortunately for my formative years, she was firmly convinced Ramblers had superior winter starting characteristics.
This was a very enjoyable read, and we have a fair amount in common. Both of my grandfathers were born in Italy and came to the US in the early 1900s. I grew up in Pittsburgh, and my mother had a series of full size Chevys. She had to downsize when she bought her 1973 Monte Carlo, because the big Chevy would no longer fit in our 1935-era garage.
That 1964 Tempest color was likely called Gulf Turquoise. I owned a 1967 Pontiac LeMans convertible in 2008 to 2009 that was the same color with original paint.
My first car was a GM ’72 Buick Skylark. I understand the frustration with it stalling out in the rain. Until the Buick was fully warmed up, you could run over a damp sponge and it would DIE! After it warmed up you could treat it like a submarine and it would be fine. Never could understand what caused it.
Great read, and so nice to have the pictures to go with it!
My formative years was mainly Jeeps and station wagons. My mom had just graduated when I was born, and my dad was still in high school. So I spent a lot of time riding around with grandma and grandpa. And they always had a station wagon as long as grandpa lived (until 2004).
My folks had bought 1 new car in their lives. A 78 or 79 El Camino, with what I have learned was the “soft cam” problem. The dealer kept refusing to fix it, and at one point my dad threw the keys across the shop floor and told them to keep it. Never again. Buy a used car that has likely cleared the point of failure from faulty manufacturing.
From 1980 or 1981 they had their share of beaters, 67 Cadillac Calais, AMC Hornet, 77 Wagoneer. First decent vehicles were a Cavalier wagon (mostly for summer) and a Jeep XJ. I drove the Cavalier as my first car because I liked it being a wagon.
And what do I drive? All the cars I bought myself have been well used survivors. Mostly station wagons and a Jeep XJ. And had a couple Dustbuster vans because I was in love with them at age 13 when they were introduced.