Text by Patrick Bell.
As we celebrate mother’s today, here is a variety of ladies that posed with cars that were their transportation on the highways and byways of the day. Take a look and see what you think.
We begin at the beach, where three ladies looked like they were having a good time. Their beachmobile was a 1961 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Sedan that was equipped with the Hi Thrift 6 for power, along with a rear mounted antenna and the standard hub caps with whitewalls. A 6 cylinder Bel Air Sport Sedan seems like an unusual combination to me, but Chevrolet did not supply individual body style production numbers during that era. They only built both Bel Air and Impala Sport Sedans in the same year from 1959-1961.
A pleasant looking lady was posing by a 1950 Studebaker Champion De Luxe Starlight Coupe that was close to new with a California license plate used from 1947-1950. This was the first year for the “bullet nose” Studebaker, and the Champion was the low end series of two. In the background was a 1949 or 1950 Chevrolet Fleetline De Luxe 4 door sedan.
This may have been race day at the dirt track. The lady closest to the 1953 Ford Crestline Victoria had an outfit color coordinated with the car, and a corsage as well. The Strato-Star flathead V8 was in its last year of production, and was standard on the Crestline series. There were picnic supplies in the trunk, and a 1953 Alabama license plate registered in Etowah County where the seat is Gadsden. I am unsure of the car on the right edge, but further back was a Jeep CJ.
This lady was packed and ready to go on a cool morning where a light snow had fallen overnight. Her ride was a 1956 Ford Fairlane Sunliner that was wearing a California license plate with a 1961 sticker and a San Francisco dealer’s frame. The dual exhaust indicates it was equipped with one of the two available Thunderbird V8’s, and it looked good for a five year old.
The lady at the wheel looked like she was waiting for someone or something, and had at least one kid in the back seat. She was driving a close to new 1959 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Holiday Sport Sedan with a same year Michigan license plate issued in Ingham County, the home of Lansing, the state capitol. The Ninety-Eight was the top of the line series, and this model was the best seller that year.
These ladies had all the necessary items to keep warm and look good, including the fancy hats. The one on the right looked like she had her own camera and case. Behind them was a 1960 Chevrolet Bel Air 4 door sedan with whitewall tires to highlight the standard hub caps.
The lady on the left was carrying a pair of boots, while the other one had mud on her red coat. Perhaps they were delivering supplies. They had posed along side of a 1963 Ford Falcon Deluxe 4 door wagon with a luggage rack and deluxe wheel covers. It was the most popular Falcon wagon for ’63, though sales were down from the year before.
Somebody was driving a nice new 1962 Chevrolet Impala Sport Coupe that was equipped with the Hi-Thrift 6, and new style narrow whitewalls to go with the standard hub caps. The window sticker was still there, and it looked like she was showing it off to the people in the background, maybe her parents? Over 700,000 Impalas were produced that year.
Here was a lady wearing white with red accents that looks right at home in a red car with a white top. It was a “Bullet Bird” style Ford Thunderbird that I will narrow down to a 1963 model going by the first year remote outside mirror. It was likely a southern car as it had SelectAire conditioning, but manual windows and seat. And the lady may have been giving it a test sit, as the key was not in the ignition, nor in her hands.
This 1962 Corvair was posted by reader Roger628 with this comment: “Got room for one more? 4-year old me with my mom. Purchased used from the local Ford dealer in September, 1964. Basic 500 Coupe with a PG. I remember my parents picking it up and me being vehemently against it. True story! (this car is funny, the engine is the wrong place, I don’t like it). I also remember the pre-purchase inspection and the mechanic pointing out a profuse oil leak from the engine. What else was new?”
This shot looks like three generations, with grandma in the middle holding a lit cigarette in one hand and a sassy looking, misbehaving granddaughter in the other. And Mom on the right was wondering what is going on now. They were at a motel likely near an airport since there was a sign on the roof.
Parked from the left were a grey 1965 Rambler American 440 4 door sedan with the optional head restraints and aftermarket window deflectors, a red 1966 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Luxury Sedan with an Ohio license plate, and a white 1965 Dodge Polara 2 or 4 door hardtop with a Missouri plate.
Our final two images are of a lady with a 1970-1972 Volkswagen Type 1 that could have used a good detail job. She was wearing the same outfit in both photos, but they look like they were taken at different times and places, and there was a box in the passenger seat in the lower image. In the background of the upper image looks like a 1976 or 1977 Ford Maverick LDO 4 door, or a same year range Mercury Comet Custom 4 door.
Thanks for joining us and Happy Mother’s Day!
These 1950s-into-1960s photo series are always easy for me to drop right into, and today they’re populated by a mix of my mother, sister, grandmothers, neighbors, teachers, etc. The clothing and hairstyle fashions are period-perfect, needless to say.
Thanks much for the Mothers Day celebration!
That Hughson Ford license plate frame on the snowy 1956 convertible brought back memories. Their advertisements claimed Hughson was the oldest Ford dealership in the country, from 1903 if I remember correctly. Pre-Model T.
Lehan Ford in Stoughton, Mass used to claim to be America’s oldest Ford dealer dating back to 1903. I would imagine there were others too.
The ladies standing next to that `60 Bel Air sedan look for all the world like Aunt Bee`s friends going to a church social in Mayberry on the Andy Griffith show.
Notable that the Chevy Bel Air still had some sportiness going for it in 1961 and 62, when you could get 2-door hardtops in both years and a 4-door hardtop in 1961.
Ours was a 2-door sedan in 61, but it did have backup lights and the deluxe heater (4 sliders instead of 2). No radio or whitewalls though!
These are great ! =8-) .
Moms drove a battered “A” Model Ford in the late 40’s and early 50’s, by 1957 (? IIRC) Pops was making enough $ that he bought her a fully loaded HC “Travelall”, V8, automatic, two tone blue and white paint with stainless steel body strips, it even had a DeLuxe (?) AM radio mounted in the center of the windshield above and behind the rear view mirror, we were never allowed to turn it on =8-^ .
I was there i the late 50’s and early 1960’s loads of Bel Airs and Impalas were sold with the 235 “Mileage Maker” i6 engine and two speed ‘slip ‘n slide powerglide slush box .
Pic. # 3 sows two fashionable ladies in the background are some men with their rugged CJ2-A Jeep, it’s so clean it looks new .
The car on the right edge, maybe a ’52 Mercury ? .
Nice to see some happy ladies .
-Nate