Or rather, cars of my parents. But since my mother took no interest in cars at all the title reflects what it was.
Born in the mid sixties, I have been intrigued by (mainly old) cars all my life. There is no clue as to why this is. I did not grow up in a car or mechanically minded family.
My mother was a teacher but had to stop when she married in 1960. This was normal practice back then. However it was possible to do temporary teaching which she often did, I have memories of my mother teaching our class for days when our teacher was ill. She was never a car person, did not much like driving, only when it was really necessary.
Fathers are often a role model for car enthusiasts. My father was not: two left hands, no interest at all for anything mechanical, cars were just cars and not worthy of special attention. Our family car was just that, transport for the family. It was not needed as transport to work.
My father was an office worker all his life and walked or cycled to the office. As such he never really needed a car. Life was different then. A milk cart would pass our house once or twice per week, as did the green grocerer. The baker and butcher were nearby at walking or bicycle distance. So he only started his car life when he was approaching 40. He did like driving though, even for short distances he would take the car. We had Sunday drives, hour trips just to see the landscape and country. Having lived all his life in the same town, he knew most farmers and new building activities in the area and had stories to tell. I loved those trips, anything better than being stuck home on a boring Sunday with nothing to do. There was no tv and no internet. Sometimes my parents listened to opera records, we would escape and play with other children in the neighborhood. As for the family cars, in hindsight some were quite interesting.
Cars were never bought new. My father knew the owner of a garage nearby who always would have a car for sale and happy to trade in the old car.
The first one, his first car in the mid to late sixties, was a grey Citroen Ami 6. The “berline” (sedan) version, with the reverse-sloping window. This had the famous 2CV mechanics and very soft suspension. Of course at that time being a Citroen, it also had wacky styling!
Not our car. I love that shape
“Please all stand by the car, yes this will be a nice picture”
I do remember sitting on the back seat with my brother and baby sister, going all the way on a holiday to the beach. This was probably a 3 hours drive which, for someone living in the Netherlands where the borders are at most 4 hours away, was a huge undertaking.
The Ami is one car I would love to try now. They are from a period when it was possible to market a car which was very different in many ways. It seems that art has been lost now, modern cars are so much like each other… Surviving Amis are quite rare, not strange knowing these did rust away after only a few years. In the Netherlands there is a following for these (as are for most older Citroens), most cars now have been imported from rust free warm southern Europe countries. Prices are high, too high for me just to have a try. One day though…
The follow-up for the Ami in our family was a rather obscure, even then, white Glas 1204.
Smaller than the Ami, two doors, with a growing family? I can only think the local garage offered a good deal on the Ami, and glad getting rid of the strange Glas. The Glas was seen by my father as a fast car (!), but then any car compared to the slow Ami would be. The one recollection I have of the Glas is that on a summer day when we were on our way home, the horn got stuck. My father stopped the car, did not know what to do with a full family in the car and knowing it was just a short trip to home, just started again. We drove for a couple of minutes with a loud screaming horn. It must have been quite horrible and a bit of humiliation to drive in a car like that. I am sure my father was not impressed. We only had this car for a short period. Regrettably there are no pictures of the Glas in our posession.
I never saw the same model Glas again until at an indoor classic car show a few years ago. I recognized it immediately for certain details. I cannot say it impressed me enough for wanting to try one now. This is a closed book.
Third car was better family suited, a light blue “big” wagon – two door Opel B Rekord.
From this car I have more memories. It could be started without the key by turning the key slot and the speedo was a horizontal yellow arrow which turned to red at the formidable speed of 100 km/u (60 mph, we yelled when this happened). Saturdays were spend washing the car, a task my brother and I would gladly do because when done, and the car still wet, my father took us for a fast drive “to dry the car”. Another sign my father loved to drive.
The Opel was written off while we were on holiday. On holiday meaning the whole family was packed inside the car (three children on the back seat, the baby twins along with luggage in the luggage space behind the rear seat). No belts for anyone of course. Suitcases were mounted to the roof on a roof rack. On a day out, a gold colored Opel B Kadett drove into its passenger side. There was a large dent, the rear fender touched the wheel. Amazingly though, with us all unbelted, none were hurt. A local garage bashed out the wheel arch and said it was safe to drive so we continued our holiday for a couple of days driving around with that big dent. It must have looked pretty awful. I cannot imagine something like this nowadays, you would hire another car but those were the days, early seventies in the Netherlands.
These Opels were sold very well in the Netherlands (most were 2 door sedans) but are rare now. I do not see the attraction other than being a rare car.
Next car was a great Peugeot 404 wagon.
A big wagon, four doors, three seating rows, four speed on the column. When it was bought (5 years old) it just had received new front wings and sills because the originals were rusted through. We all loved the car, very comfortable, ample space for us all. A few weeks before I was 18, my father would take me out for driving lessons on Sundays; I learned to drive in this car. I remember being so concentrated on getting the gear shift right, I forgot to look where we drove and we nearly steered into a ditch.
My father claimed the Peugeot had the best brakes ever. Later I found out he probably thought so because they were power (servo) assisted and he just never had the experience before. The Familiale served us well being practical and reliable. But the rust! It got to the car again after a couple of years, the front wings and now the hinges for the tailgate had rusted into the roof so much it could not be used anymore. That meant the car had to go.
Like Citroens, Peugeot has quite a following here in the Netherlands with most surviving examples imported from warm countries.
When we had the Peugeot I was used to reading Britsh classic car magazines. So, when my father needed a replacement for the rusty Peugeot, I suggested a Jaguar Mk2. Why not? These were cheap, I only read good stories about them and of course, they were very stylish, fast and luxurious. All things we never had in a car before. What was not to like? Of course my father was not buying into that. He feared expensive maintenance costs, not unlikely if you have to depend on a garage for everything. However my brother and I managed to persuade him into buying a 4 year old Triumph 2500 TC. More on how that happened in a later COAL.
The Triumph, while much liked by my father, brother and me, did last for four years. From then on only more common, run-of-the-mill cars (Japanese mainly) would be bought. That did not matter to me much because by then I had left home and was much into my own cars.
Replacement for the Triumph was a Mitsubishi Galant 1600.
A very different car to the Triumph. This Mitsubishi felt much lighter, tinnier. It was not a bad car but could rust just as fast as the Triumph or the Peugeot. It had a towing bracket which was great because I could use it towing a trailer full of canoes for a long weekend with friends. I also used this car with a trailer to pick up my Triumph Herald I bought in Belgium (more on that in a later COAL).
A Toyota Carina was the successor I think.
A similar Toyota Carina. Not my parents’ car
Toyota Corolla 4 door. Not my parents’ car
Months later they realized this was not very practical to them, and traded it in for a similar car but with four doors. This one was kept for a longer period.
A Honda Concerto followed as the next car.
The Honda Concerto they had was not very remarkable, I do not recollect driving it much. I am sure it was a good car, but unremarkable. My father wanted it gone when the drivers door window fell down the door a second time after the garage had repaired it.
My brother said my father also owned a dark blue Mazda 626 for a while. I cannot remember that car at all.
Another, maybe more, Corollas were bought and traded in.
A light blue Mitsubishi Space Star was the second to last car.
Never an option, this must be the only Space Star with leather
There was nothing wrong with the cloth seats, not torn or dirty, but they liked to have the dog on the rear seat and leather was easier to clean! Typical of my father was that he felt it was not necessary to have the head rests also covered in leather.
Not typical of my father was his last car. Now in his mid eighties, he decided he wanted a large luxury car. He even knew what he wanted (very uncommon for him). Knowing he would not find one at his usual garage he asked me to help: selling the Mitsubishi and finding the new car. It proved somewhat difficult to sell the Mitsubishi. This was a good car, had no mechanical faults and the paint was flawless. My father always had small dents and scratches repaired immediately, at his advanced age he liked his cars in good condition.
His last wish for a car was very different: a Renault Vel Satis.
A rare car now but even then it was not a common sight. He liked the shape and presence on the road. It was higher than other cars which helped getting in and out.
After a frantic search (not many were on the market) I found him a nice dark blue Vel Satis turbo with automatic. Luxuries all around (cruise control, navigation, heated seats, tire pressure display) but strange for a large car, without park distance control.
I added an aftermarket rear PDC to the car which was not as easy to do as I thought it would be. The Renault had the modern CAN BUS electric wiring system which meant I could not use just any wire for a 12V split takeoff. I had to feed a wire from the battery in the engine room, through the bulkhead to the dashboard and to the rear of the car.
My father loved that car and was proud he was driving such a dignified car. One of the Renault’s idiosyncrasies was that once the car was rolling, you could not set the navigation system. Instead of seeing this as a nuisance, my father thought it was another proof that the car was a very safe car.
It took me a long time selling the car after his death, a big old car (for Dutch standards) is not much wanted here.
He looks very proud of his Vel Satis. If you have any interest, the Youtube channel Big Car has extensive interviews with Patrick le Quement, who was the Vel Satis’ patron saint and lead designer. Seems like a very down to earth guy. Overall a very good channel for random vehicle histories.
My father was fond of that car. I did not share his enthusiasm. Too big, the shape is a bit awkward – not beautiful.
I have seen videos of that car channel and that guy. A good basic source for information. The problem I have with these channels is that not much is new, and that the presenter usually do not have own experience with the cars.
I really enjoy these stories about parents’ cars. Parents who like cars (but are not crazy about them like those of us here) and their decisions to buy this one but not that one – this is something I find endlessly fascinating.
There was certainly much variety available in the Netherlands, and it is interesting how your father was never loyal to one brand or one country in his purchases, going all over with French, English, German and Japanese.
A Mitsubishi Space Star – there is a great name!
My father did not care much about car makes, and was not quickly influenced by advertisements or such like. That made him a little different to other people, he was not afraid to try another make.
The Space Star was actually assembled here in the Netherlands. Not that this fact put any weight on his decision to buy one.
” … This was probably a 3 hours drive which, for someone living in the Netherlands where the borders are at most 4 hours away, was a huge undertaking…”
A few months after I had returned from the Netherlands KLM consulting assignment I got a phone call from a dear friend from Amstelveen saying she was in the USA “on-holiday” and could I drive out to see her.
I asked, where she was.
“California … Los Angeles” was her happy reply.
I was still living on Long Island in New York with 3 roommates working at Grumman, finalizing my divorce, living on a very limited budget, and trying to stabilize my relationship with my son Chris after being overseas for three months.
I tried to explain that such a drive was about 2,900 miles (not kilometers) and would take a solid 40 hours of rather speedy driving, not counting stops to sleep.
I got the feeling she thought I was making this up; it was an unsettling experience. The memory of that call is buried in my mind with many other sad life time memories that occasionally churn through my mind on sleepless nights.
” … Please all stand by the car, yes this will be a nice picture … ”
Indeed – what a great photograph!
We sometimes forget that what we see here as a big distance is nothing for other people living in other countries.
Last weekend I was in Groningen, a solid 3 hour journey by train. This is seen as a very long trip here 🙂
Really nice. Thank you. It brought back memories – and questions: my father also wanted a nicer car as what he suspected would be his last one – and he bought a … Citroen ZX. A very decent car, but certainly not the car I would pick if I wanted to go in a blaze of glory. What will I pick when my time comes? Good question. Hopefully that “last” car has not been manufactured yet.
As for the size of the US compared to any country in Europe? France, my country of origin, is larger than the Netherlands, but after 20+ years in the US, I still get caught from time to time at under-estimating the distances.
Exactly. No wonder plane traffic is much more common, and necessary in the US.
So much recognizable things to enjoy! Not only the cars, but also the sceneries and backgrounds. Indeed, you didn’t need a grocery getter because groceries were brought to you. Work was always nearby, a short walk or bicycle trip was enough to get there. All the same here (born in 1966).
Regarding your father’s last car, a retired man (a former teacher) living in my tiny town has a dark blue Renault Vel Satis as a daily driver.
Another splendid piece of work! Only one advice, please set the images on media file when putting them in the article, so they can be enlarged when clicking on them.
Thanks Johannes! I had not thought of leaving the enlarged files media section, will test next time.
Dion, this was a wonderful read. Having spent my first formative 7 years in Austria, I can relate to this on many levels, and do wonder what my father would have bought if we had stayed past 1960. I can well imagine him buying an Opel Rekord, but a sedan, as wagons then were still the domain of small contractors and farmers and such.
The 404 Familiale was of course the best car your father ever bought! 🙂 I deeply loved our 404 wagon, and wish we still had it.
The Vel Satis is an interesting choice. I approve! It had some unique aspects that I really liked, like being taller than all those low-slung German sedans everyone was buying.
Easier entry to the car was definitively a positive argument for selecting the Vel Satis. My father was long man (for his generation) and he probably would have like the current SUV trend.
Thanks for taking the time to write this up and post it, Dion, especially as these cars weren’t even really yours. My parents were a bit the opposite, as my father had no interest and never even learned to drive, so my mother made the purchase decisions and the driving. But my father kept the purse strings very tight, so they only owned four cars in over 50 years, and the last was only purchased after my father died. None had automatics, but the last one had power windows and door locks, and AC. My mom loved the first two but didn’t like AC. After all, who needs air conditioning when they make it so easy to lower the windows? My favorite of your photo’s is the family with the Ami6. Even standing still, it looks like it has a bit of that famous body roll.
As for distances, we’ve been watching a few Dutch and Belgian TV shows lately, Undercover and Public Enemy, and especially in the former, they seem to drive between Benelux countries and even France and Germany several times a day. Not sure how realistic that is.
If you see the Benelux as one (still small) country, just for the sake of it, then it’s realistic. France is south, Germany east, all along the borders of the Benelux.
I’m in the southeast. Many people who live or work nearby the Dutch-German border only fill up their car’s fuel tank in Germany because gasoline is cheaper there.
The days of border controls are history, just cross the border (and drive back home) as often as you want.
Same here. The Belgian border is just 15 minutes away and gas is much cheaper so there is always a queue for the first gas station in Belgium.
I quite liked the process of writing down all the details I remembered, and searching for pictures of them.
Just 4 cars in 50 years really is very low! Amazing.
From that Glas to a Vel Satis? That’s what I call progress. The Glas looks like a crude drawing of a “car” that I might have made at about age 10. The Vel Satis, on the other hand, looks quite handsome. Too bad they didn’t sell them here in the US.
Yet another great and well written article ~ please keep them coming .
I like the looks of the Ami, Pops bought a new Pug 404 Break in 1967 and direct imported it, what a fantastic car it was and good looking too ~ then and now .
His was the same dark blue .
I also enjoy looking at the brick works you park on ~ looks like maybe your parking area is marked with white bricks ? .
-Nate
At first the drive was paved with simpler tiles. I still remember the work men laying down the nicer pattern with cobblestones when I was about 10.
Hey it seems your father was the owner of a multiple car`s brands dealer saloon
That was an interesting selection of family cars. Who can explain the idiosyncrasies of Dutch fathers, and who can explain why car guys come from non-car families.
Always fun to see scenes from the Netherlands, I haven’t been back in 20 years
Dad had a lot a rides.
But it was a long period – 50 years.
What a fascinating COAL! I would love to own a “so ugly it’s cute” Citroen Ami 6 and parade it alongside all of the ’60s muscle cars at Detroit’s annual Woodward Dream Cruise. And I see a curious symmetry between your father’s first car and his last, the Renault Vel Satis, both French cars with the same rear window!
I also laughed out loud when I read about the Glas 1204 driving with its horn stuck on. That’s one way to clear traffic out of your way!
What a range and a progression? Did you think it would have ended with a Vel Satis?
I quite like that Triumph 2500TC, and probably a wise choice to go with the TC with carburettors rather than the 2500PI with doubtful and notoriously unreliable early fuel injection.
My father always like bigger cars but was afraid of high maintenance costs. At the end of his life he gave in and bought a car he liked. Before, cars were bought without too clear preferences.
About the PI – a classic example where the Brits got it wrong. They were quick on the scene with Petrol Injection, too quick. It was under developed and quality issues made it worse. All at the expense of the customers.
Nowadays a PI system can be made very reliable and a car with one fitted is much nicer than a car with carburettors. If only…