For a good number of CC’s readers, winter is starting. And with winter, more time to stay indoors. Meanwhile the moments outdoors change in nature, for better and worse. But this collection of images looks at the better side of those moments. A gallery of big and small outings, and light and heavy snow. With quite a varied sample of vintage metal.
Just wonderful ! .
-Nate
The black somewhat elderly Cadillac convertible with the skis on top is the shits. That’s what I want to drive up to the ski mountain this winter.
Same! But just how on Earth does that rack mount? Looks like a clamp on the windows, but then how do you open the doors?
It has to be attached to the side rails of the top.
Just this week I saw a Mustang convertible driving on an Interstate with a big box strapped to the convertible top. I can’t recall ever seeing that before, and certainly not on a highway.
I’ll bet he didn’t drive very fast. Should have got skis short enough for the trunk or backseat.
When my mother was in Austria in ’54-5, she went skiing for the first time with coworkers. She was told to reach up, and that’s how long the skis she rented were. She never skied again. My father tried it once in California in ’52, and the big blister told him he had a bald spot. The late step-monster took him skiing again when he was overweight and 70–eight months after a hip replacement. I
shouldcould have killed her.My Dad and his 39 Chrysler royal
Boy that ‘58 Impala looks nice. I’ve grown to really like the ‘58 Chevy, certainly better than the bat wing ‘59. The most conservative of the GM offerings that year, it wears this body style far better than it’s GM siblings. Perhaps the only one year model in Chevy history. GM panicked when it first saw the Forward Look cars, rushing in the ‘59’s as a result. Maybe they should have just toned down the ‘58’s instead for 1959, then bring out the smaller, attractive,’61’s a year early. Would have been a lot cheaper.
The 4th photo ( Woman posing with 1958 Chevrolet ) looks to be taken on the ice of a frozen lake.
I love the shot of Dad and the three girls in front of the Ford Mainline. None of the girls is really into the occasion, judging by the looks on their faces. Dad, however, is having a great time getting ready to throw a snowball. Mom seems the most uninvested – “You all go for the picture, I’ll stay in the car. I’m cold and am ready to go.”
I will add one to this. I think that this is taken in Pennsylvania in the 1930’s.
any idea “where” in PA?
A roof rack on a convertible. Now that’s not something you see every day. 🙂
That one had me chuckling heartily too.
The picture of the 1965(ish?) Chevy pickup needs to be shown to everyone who insists 4WD is necessary for winter driving.
On a plowed and in this case, dry road. I tried 2wd pickups on compact snow and ice, even with limited slip, no dice, especially on hills. Chains are cheaper, but Im too old for that now.
Great work selecting these pics Rich. A couple of them are exceptional. Before average temperatures started to climb consistently, it was not unusual for ice fishers on nearby lakes and rivers, to leave their large cars or pickups on the ice for long durations. Frigid temps ensured ice thickness was plenty safe.
Such an unusual combination of nostalgia, and realism in these photos. They really do bring us back in time.
Great shots!
I suspect that many folks these days would be amazed to learn that people once managed to around in the snow without 4- or all-wheel drive… much less RWD.
Several of those cars may have snow tires. Although the many that have whitewalls leave me thinking that those aren’t winter tires. I don’t recall whitewall snow tires.
My current daily driver has rwd, and I am constantly encountering people who remark that I “must be crazy” for driving a rwd car (instead of its more commonly available awd variant) “in the winter”. I have never in over a dozen years of ownership gotten stuck or have had any incidents related to loss of traction.
I do have snow tires, and I don’t expect to venture off of (albeit snow/ice covered) pavement.
Whitewall snow tires did used to be a thing. If you look closely, the 58 Impala pictured is wearing them. Recaps for cars were popular too so a summer tire could be recapped into a snow tire.
Two good points! I had whitewall snow tires on my ’69 Javelin,
It seems so!
I have always been embarrassed to admit that I did once (I think it was in the first half of the 1980s) purchase recapped tires. Those always seemed kind of janky, and I never did it again…as my economic circumstances kind of improved and leveled off right around the mid 1980s.
But I never heard of recapping tires specifically for winter. Hummmm.
Yes, we always had snow tires growing up; I think some were whitewalls. When I lived in the East, I found my rear drive Mazda 626 with snows was far better of than friend’s FWD/no snow combos.
Now living in the CO Rockies we have a mid-sized AWD CUV and a 4Runner. Both have snow tires for winter, and make quite a difference, especially when braking and in corners.The 4R becomes a true snow beast.
My mom’s ‘66 Corvair had snows that had whitewalls, but they were mounted on the inside so they wouldn’t show, as the fronts were blackwall. My dad thought whitewalls were frivolous.
A couple of observations based on five decades of driving in California mountains. FWD is no advantage over RWD, except maybe empty pickups. My BMW did better than the Fiesta or Honda. Modern “all season” and “all terrain” tires advantages are negated by the excessively wide sizes on modern vehicles. Tirerack recommends taller, skinnier sizes for winter use. When I went to 255/70-15 all terrains from stock 215/75-15 highway tread on the F-150, snow and ice traction was worse.
I forgot about my first car, a ’67 VW, unstoppable in winter with 155-15 Pirelli radials. It sunk to the axles in soft sand, where wide tires work best.
Beautiful scenery and definitely beautiful cars. I love that first pic of the ’57 Plymouth and that ’58 Impala looks stunning.
Ever notice how thin most of the people in these vintage pics are. What changed?
Chicken McNuggets. It doesn’t even matter if you eat them. Since they have been around every body keeps getting bigger.
If only I’d thought of a roof rack…
December 2003
Better of had though about garage storage in winter and a full restoration of one of the few remaining 300 convertibles who have escaped senseless demolition derby destruction through derby association mandate of which prohibitted full-sized Chryslers from entering the ring
Any thoughts on the “CWC” front number plate on the ’58 Impala Sport Coupe?
Photo #6: The two door Chevy with the child standing in front.
My oldest brother bought a green two door as his first car.
It came from the north and had gapping holes in the floor boards of the back seat.
Me and my sisters would put our feet on the hump in the middle while sitting in the back.
Difficult to choose the best photo. It’s a great Christmas gift. Thanks.
When I was a kid almost everything was RWD, except for Saabs. My ’71 Chevy Nova got stuck in the blizzard of ’78 and got towed, on a level road. The worst vehicles I ever drove in snow were my parent’s AMC Gremlin, and a Ford Aerostar I had. When my son had an ’82 Cadillac, that was pretty good with RWD going up a hill with snow.
Great photos – several 1958 models when I was a year old.
What’s the final wagon?
’58 Ford- it appears Ford sold this as a “Country Sedan” despite it clearly being a wagon.