Today being Thanksgiving, I felt it would be a good time to start the day with a different kind of post. Rather than our usual automotive content, to give an open thanks to all you CC readers out there, from the daily faithful to the casual ones who have enriched this site by being there and through your participation in our community. Be it through commenting, becoming contributors, or sending us personal mementos, each has found a moment of value here at CC.
Talking about the latter, I also felt that as part of that official thank you, it would be nice to highlight some of the vintage images readers have submitted in our comments section through the last year. With that in mind, let’s take a look at this non-comprehensive, randomly chosen, but not less enjoyable collection of images.
Before we begin, I’ll just add that many of these first appeared in response to the Vintage Snapshot galleries we’ve featured these last few months. As most of you know, those galleries have become a site staple, have given much to talk about, and have been rather instructive to my/our automotive interests.
So, off we start. Our opening image above belongs to CC contributor Eric103 and was uploaded to our first Life In The Station Wagon post, from 2023. I thank Eric for the endless efforts he’s placed on finding the locations and background stories of many of the random photos I’ve posted in those galleries.
I can’t ignore a nice Beetle image, a bias that comes from me owning a ’68. Here’s the orange one that belonged to Stephen Pellegrino, shot sometime in the ’80s, and properly uploaded in our Beetles In The Open gallery.
As many of you know, Stephen is a regular contributor here at CC and his current automotive fleet is quite different than this old Beetle. It’s a transition that I won’t deny I envy to some point (in a good way!), and that I hope to emulate in the future.
(Update: The orange Beetle didn’t belong to Stephen. Story in the comments section.)
Reader Dennis uploaded this really nice image in our Van Life post. I get period vibes on my senses just by looking at this photo.
Reader Ted Mathis added this lovely pink ’58 Buick Special photo to a Cars and Trailers post. It’s an additional photo from a collection that he kindly sent us for posting.
Reader Mike P added this photo of himself and a ’61 Electra, taken at the San Francisco wharf in 1965.
Reader Tom posted his nice ’53 Chevy, shot in 1987.
How about some more 1970s fashions? Jim Matusiak uploaded this ’73 Montego in our Time Outdoors gallery. A car that in his words “died on the roadside while on the way to pick up a brand new 1980 Mazda RX7 –another great ride.”
One of my favorites, added by Chris in Australia in a Cars and Families gallery. Shot in New Guinea in 1970, commenting: “Our housegirl Esther, Mum, Maternal grandfather Albert, my sister Andrea and I. Bluey the dog looks bored with it all.”
Ed Stembridge added these two fun ones to the Life In The Station wagon post, with their 1968 Country Squire being loaded up and a whoopsie.
Louis D shared these two of his mom, a nice addition to the Female Drivers post of 2023. The 1950 Studebaker Champion was not only the family’s first car, but the one his mom used to learn to drive.
Alfred H. Beaucom added this to our Cadillac Owners gallery: “This is so Texas… Me and my 1976 white Eldo convertible in Houston. Wonderful memories with that car.”
A ’56 Chevy 210 posted by RetroStang Rick, his dad’s first car.
T. Turtle added this fun one to the Driveway As A Playground: “Late 60s in Israel with me, my sister and our cousin inside dad’s 64 Fairlane.”
Tom Wasney shared his love of Buicks with this cool ’52 in our Buicks Owners gallery: “Actually owned 5 Buicks, 38 special, 39 special, 40 super, 52 special and 72 boat tail Riv…”
Reader Phil: “I became a shade tree mechanic the day I brought this home. And it was only 10 years old at the time.”
The 1960 Rambler image was uploaded to one of our Rambler Dealers posts (where else?).
PRNDL shared this really charming one to our Ford Owners gallery. And notice that 1950s three-tone treatment!
Mark posted his “first vehicle” in our Gremlin Owners gallery, a 1973 one bought in 1979.
Talk about DeSoto (Owners Gallery) and fans of the long-gone brand appear from all over. Here’s Captain Gort’s contribution with this used 1955 Desoto Firedome bought by his parents in 1958.
A car that “served us well and it became my first car in 1966 when I turned 16.”
Staying with defunct brands in our Studebaker Owners gallery, reader Warren Richardson added a “photo of my family’s 1960 Studebaker Lark V8 wagon… This wagon had some serious corrosion by 1965 and I spent many hours in our garage repairing the body with Bondo…”
210delray shared this memorable image of his Volvo 240 covered by snow, from the blizzard that struck the Washington DC area in February 1983.
Jim Woods added this really cool shot of a 1955 Mercury Montclair droptop in our Mercury Owners gallery.
CC Contributor DougD shared a camping excursion in the 1970s showing their 1972 Matador and 1968 Sears pop up trailer.
A shot by Jason W. on our Truck Owners gallery: “Only good shot of me and my truck. An honest working truck, a 76.”
I’ll close with these two images uploaded by Todd Stanley in The Great Outdoors gallery. A couple of snapshots taken by his grandpa: “The story is that he worked at Los Alamos National Lab… On his days off, he would go out with friends/coworkers and explore the area…”
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I could go on, as there’s much more from where these came from. My apologies for not being able to accommodate all, as there’s much to see and share. But in all, just a heartfelt thank you to all for making us part of your stories.
On a similar note, I thank all editors, authors, contributors, and collaborators who make CC such an enjoyable place to be. They’ve all made my work a more than worthwhile effort. Also, a big thank you to our Chief Editor Paul Niedermeyer, without whom there would be no CC to begin with. At the time he offered me the opportunity to steer the CC ship in May of 2023, it sounded both humbling and daunting. It’s an effort that I don’t regret doing, enjoy wholeheartedly, and couldn’t have done without his guidance and support, and for which, I’m thankful.
So yes, much to be thankful for this 2024.
Note: I owe you all an update on my whereabouts and ongoings, which should come soon –or so I hope. In the meantime, for those curious about me, a great deal is told in my COAL series. Link HERE.
Young PRNDL approves! Thanks for re-posting the photo of my dad’s ‘57 “FordOrange” car and me back when I was still good looking.
Wishing a happy and blessed Thanksgiving to all of CC’s staff, contributors and readers!
Thank you Rich and the whole CC community. CC is so very much one of the things that I am thankful for this year…and every year.
I love this featuring of contributor photos! It made me wonder if I have any old photos around of the year that a power outage on Thanksgiving day resulted in my having to drive an entire partially-cooked turkey dinner five miles down the road to complete cooking at a guest’s house, only to then have the power come back on, and hence to repeat the drive…guests included…back to my house. That resulted in quite a memorable Thanksgiving, and an Isuzu Trooper (a Trooper II of course) with its interior well-basted in turkey grease. I guess I have another year to look for those photos. And when I find them, CC will be where I share them.
Wishing all a happy and peaceful day. With a grease-free rear seat.
I always enjoy the photo pieces, but these photos that are personal to CC readers/commenters/writers are extra delicious. I don’t see a turkey in the bunch.
And thanks to those who keep this place running day to day. This remains a favorite place for me to stop into as time allows, as much for the friends as for the cars.
Snow Covered Volvo:
Boy, does that bring back memories while living in up state NY!! I lived in the very back of a 300 unit apartment complex which failed to clear snow till mid-day. Since I had the AWD CUV, I would be the first one to blaze a trail early in the morning for work. Never failed on how many would immediately follow my footprint (ie: Pied Piper) to the entrance of the complex.
On the weekends, it was fend for yourself!!
Happy Thanksgiving to all here at the best car enthusiasts’ site ever.
And thank you Rich for the shout out using my Dad’s first car. He and my mom are coming over for dinner today, so I’ll have to share this with him. He actually found that old photo and sent it to me to post here when it was appropriate, so again, thanks from the bottom of [our] heart[s].
Ha! I didn’t expect to open CC this morning and see a picture of myself!
Yes, that opening shot is of me pretending to do homework in the back of dad’s 1976 Buick Century, along with our dog. It was a ridiculously staged shot – I have no idea why mom and dad took this shot, though there’s a similarly staged picture taken at the same time of my sister doing her homework inside the house, so I guess they had a reason.
From a car standpoint, the interesting thing is that this shot shows the bucket seats in dad’s Century. He absolutely hated bench seats, and Buick was the only brand to offer a bucket seat option in mid-size wagons, so that’s why dad bought the car. He had the Century for 8 years, and I don’t think we saw another one like it the entire time. I’d love to know how many people actually ordered that option.
Well, thanks for compiling all these photo albums, Rich, and I hope folks enjoy their Thanksgiving today!
Our 76 Century wagon had the more conventional bench seat; I was not even aware of the bucket option. We had it for 11 or 12 years until it rusted away. That time frame encompassed my learning-to-drive years so I have a soft spot for them.
I don’t remember buckets on offer in ’73 when dad ordered a Century wagon. I had to talk him into the deluxe notchback interior–the base seats looked and felt awful, but I still learned to hate vinyl. He got the heavy duty suspension, which quickly made the cowl groan. On long trips, I would stretch out on one quarter of the back with luggage to the roof on the rest, because 3 of us couldn’t sit comfortably in the middle row. The crummy emission controls led him to replace it with a ’77 Electra.
I’m pretty sure that ‘76 was the first year for the bucket seats option. Dad had to special-order that car. His office was across the street from the Buick dealer, and I remember being very excited when dad came home one day and said he saw our new car being unloaded at the dealership. These were great wagons; my folks owned this car longer than any other car.
I like the VW bus pic with the young couple drinking, um, something!
Happy T-Day everyone!
These are all terrific photos. It’s good to see some of the faces behind the names – even if they are very youthful faces.
Rich, thanks for all you do. It’s work putting one piece together, let alone multiples along with the other things you are doing for the site.
May everyone enjoy their day, whether it is Thanksgiving locally or not.
Thanks for including my 52 buick.. Have had literally hundreds of cars over the years.. Worked for a living but was always buying and selling on the side.. Owned that 52 twice and it has actually resurfaced again and someone I know owns it… Sold it 40 years ago and it never went back on the road, found that the registration was still in my name , funny.. I’m 73 and thank God still able to be playing cars. Currently owning a 98 328, 02 530 and just got a 93 525 bimmer. And also a 63 comet convertble just like my 1st car.. Happy Thanksgiving and god bless
What an unexpected treat! Thanks so much for doing this; it reflects the care and love that you (and so many others) bring to CC. I am so thankful you showed up here with your superb COAL series and that it led to the current outcome. The results have exceeded any expectations I might have had.
I’ve been feeling a bit emotional about the site lately. I am so thankful for the many connections and friendships it has engendered. I feel inadequate in maintaining some of them and expressing my feelings about that, and I rather regret that there hasn’t been a CC meet-up in so long. I would really like to see that happen again. The Rambler Ranch in 2025?
In any case thank you all for helping to create a place where we can connect with consideration, respect and caring. In this day and age, that’s something to cherish and nurture. I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving with your loved ones.
What a great post, the perfect topic for Thanksgiving!
Oddly enough, I was sorting through the image files in my hard drive this week and stumbled across this picture of me, my daughter and my ’87 Scorpio- Seems like this is a good place to share it.
While it seems like yesterday, since I’m holding my infant daughter this picture must be about 27 years old.
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Thanks for the Thanksgiving treat! Here is my entry, my 5 yo sister and 7 yo self in front of our new home in suburban Boston early spring ’61. This was the first family car, purchased new shortly after my sister was born, use your CC skills to figure out what it is.
I think its British, either: Austin A40 Somerset or Riley 1.5
Wish me luck!!
Or….Austin A40 Devon
MG Magnette ZA
And Mom getting out of Dad’s car, a ’60 Alfa Giulietta Spider which would not be with us much longer. Often the four of us would go out in the car together, Mom in the passenger seat (with a seatbelt) holding my sister in her lap, I would sit on the transmission tunnel. One night my Dad took the two of us out for an errand, I was in the seat and my sister on the tunnel. Dad made a quick top and the then reflexive arm extension in front of my sister, but not quite quick enough to stop her from bashing her head on the dashboard. A few stitches later she was fine, but my Mom and the car were not, it morphed into a new Chevy Nova II a few days later.
Nice pix all of them .
-Nate
What a pleasant surprise to open this posting and see that you included the pic of me as a little guy standing in front of dad’s 61 Electra 225. Man how i loved that car! I wish dad was still around so I could learn the story around his searching for and finding that particular car – it was full optioned and he bought it used in the summer of 62. We have lots of fond memories in the black Buick, with many long road trips as well as everyday running around town. Thanks for the great feelings and conversations generated by this community of car lovers!!!
I loved this. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
What a pleasant surprise to see all of these! I had a busy Thanksgiving yesterday, so didn’t open this post until today (Friday).
Rich has been wonderful in starting a new tradition here at CC with the Vintage Photos series. Looking forward to more, and I’ll continue contributing from my old photo collection in the comments.
I always feel like I have gone back in time , viewing old photos like these ! My favorite pick has too be the ’61;Buick Electra 225 . I always loved those big GM makes !! It’s really sad , that the automakers no longer build cars. that way any longer . Always enjoy seeing the old pictures !
Because I believe in historical accuracy, I have to tell you that I did not own the orange VW Beetle shown in Photo #2.
The true story behind this photo is:
In 1988 I was attending NJIT in Newark NJ. I authored a series of articles for The Vector (the college newspaper) which featured old and new photographs taken around the city. I found this extraordinary photo from 1892 of High Street & Clinton Avenue, once the heart of the city’s elegant mansion district. I needed to take a picture of what the same location looked like now. So a friend of mine (who had recently bought a Dodge (Mitsubishi) Colt new), drove me to the location so I could take this picture. That’s his car behind the Beetle, which just happened to be parked there.
In 1922, one mansion was removed to make way for the Hotel Riviera, which still stands today. All the other mansions are long gone.
Ironically, at the time I never considered that my photo would be significant because of the presence of the orange Beetle. Most Beetles are also long gone, especially orange ones. So my “modern” photo has now become “historical”. That’s what the passage of time will do!
The number of untold stories/pics among the CC faithful are beyond comprehension. For my Rambler to be chosen for this gallery was an absolute, total surprise!
I would like to thank everyone, especially those responsible for CC, the best for the upcoming year!