What Was Your Father's Old Car?

[EVmeritus]

My Dad was a Ford Guy. No interest in GM or Chrysler and forget about those foreign cars.
The photo is a 1955 Ford with the rocker panels already starting to rust out (Buffalo winters were rough)
I'm sure that he would be proud that I'm driving a Ford F-150 Lightning.

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[chl]

I believe in this picture my dad had propped me up on his Edsel, although I don't remember much about it except hoping he had a good grip on my arm!

Looks kind of like a 49 Studebaker. The color, door handles, hubcaps, and that chrome strip.

Yes, and I think they were somewhat similar in shape up front.

I can't say for sure, but now I'm thinking you're right because the chrome pieces do look like a Studebaker.

My dad once told me he owned an Edsel but never mentioned owning a Studebaker.
If he were still alive I'd ask him.

OK, call it a Studebaker, I stand corrected!

 

[chl]

Doesn't seem to be an Edsel.

Yes I think you're right, more like a Studebaker as another post noted.
He owned an Edsel but I guess it's not the car I am sitting on...

 

[FirstF150InCasco]

Yes I think you're right, more like a Studebaker as another post noted.
He owned an Edsel but I guess it's not the car I am sitting on...

Your dad was bold. Studerbaker and Edsel were not for timid people!

 

[saturnschildren]

1963 Lotus Elite, he bought in 1965 as a daily driver for my mother (he was driving a Austin Healy 100/6 with a transplanted Ford engine) at the time. When he retired a full restoration was his first project. Last year he turned 89 and decided to pass it down to me.

 

[chl]

Your dad was bold. Studerbaker and Edsel were not for timid people!

Yes, he was the wildest Presbyterian Minister in Alexandria back in the day!
All my friends nick-named him "The Rev."
My brother and sister and I called him "daddy-o."

And of course, all the church ladies loved him.

LOL

 

[Mal106]

Another dad car anecdote. I had moved away courtesy of the Air Force and on a visit home I noticed a Ford Taurus that he was driving. I had always thought he was vehemently anti foreign cars and I knew that Ford was built in Canada. When I asked him if he knew where that car was built and that I thought he was against buying foreign cars; he was quick to answer. He said, "sure I know, it was built in Windsor Canada. I'm not against foreign cars, son, but I was in WW2, I just don't buy Japanese or German cars."

 

[chl]

Another dad car anecdote. I had moved away courtesy of the Air Force and on a visit home I noticed a Ford Taurus that he was driving. I had always thought he was vehemently anti foreign cars and I knew that Ford was built in Canada. When I asked him if he knew where that car was built and that I thought he was against buying foreign cars; he was quick to answer. He said, "sure I know, it was built in Windsor Canada. I'm not against foreign cars, son, but I was in WW2, I just don't buy Japanese or German cars."

A lot of people felt that way about German cars especially after the Nazi's atrocities became widely known. BMW, Mercedes and VW all contributed to the Nazi war effort - one might say they were forced to and had no choice, but everyone has a choice in my opinion.

Ford was not completely "innocent" in some respects either though.

Henry Ford caused a lot of controversy due to his published anti-Semitic views before the US officially entered the war. And that hurt sales and got him removed. He later sort of apologized and claimed he was unaware, but that is hard to believe.

Also, "Ford's German subsidiary, Ford-Werke, produced vehicles for the Nazi war effort during WWII" and " In 1938, the Nazi government awarded Ford the Grand Cross of the German Eagle, which was the highest honor the Nazi regime bestowed on foreign citizens."

Once the US entered the war, Ford helped the US war effort as did pretty much all American industrial companies.

The history of Bayer aspirin provides another complicated story of Nazi involvement.

The current controversy surrounding Musk and Tesla has some disturbing similarities to those dark days of history.

 

[Effonefiddy Lightning]

A lot of people felt that way about German cars especially after the Nazi's atrocities became widely known. BMW, Mercedes and VW all contributed to the Nazi war effort - one might say they were forced to and had no choice, but everyone has a choice in my opinion.

Ford was not completely "innocent" in some respects either though.

Henry Ford caused a lot of controversy due to his published anti-Semitic views before the US officially entered the war. And that hurt sales and got him removed. He later sort of apologized and claimed he was unaware, but that is hard to believe.

Also, "Ford's German subsidiary, Ford-Werke, produced vehicles for the Nazi war effort during WWII" and " In 1938, the Nazi government awarded Ford the Grand Cross of the German Eagle, which was the highest honor the Nazi regime bestowed on foreign citizens."

Once the US entered the war, Ford helped the US war effort as did pretty much all American industrial companies.

The history of Bayer aspirin provides another complicated story of Nazi involvement.

The current controversy surrounding Musk and Tesla has some disturbing similarities to those dark days of history.

How so are the similarities?

 

[Jseis]

‘53 Ford Custom; flathead w/overdrive. I came home as a new born in it. That V8 thrum was used to put me to sleep as a cranky babe.

 

[chl]

How so are the similarities?

Not to go too far astray from the dad's car thing, but the same kind of antisemitism seems to permeate the posts liked and shared by the Tesla CEO, and like Ford's were back then, Tesla sales have been hurt by that and other political involvement by the CEO.

Since you asked, and only because, here are some examples:

• In November 2023, he endorsed a post claiming that Jewish communities push "hatred against whites," calling it the "actual truth". The post also included anti-immigrant sentiments.
• Critics likened this endorsement to the "Great Replacement Theory", a conspiracy theory that was cited by the perpetrator of the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, according to CBS News.
• Musk has previously targeted the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), threatening to sue them and blaming them for a decline in X's advertising revenue.
• He has also made other controversial statements perceived as antisemitic, including comparing George Soros to a Jewish supervillain and making jokes about the Holocaust, according to Forbes.

But really, this only came up because of the story of a WWII veteran who usually bought Fords and did not want to buy foreign cars, e.g., from Japan, because he fought the Japanese army in the war...but of course Ford was involved in helping the another AXIS member, Germany under Hitler, build up his military before the war, and held some of the same antisemitic views as Hitler.

I think that's enough said about that, eh?

 

[scoobybri]

The most memorable vehicle my dad had was a 1979 F-150 Supercab. We called it the Farm Truck. 3 speed manual with the shifter in the column. Red with white side panels. My dad bought it used in 1987 and ran his landscaping side business from it (and this was back in the day when there weren't a million landscaping guys out there.) He did this side gig to pay the tuition for my private schooling because we lived in an area with terrible public schools. Man worked 8 hours and another 3 or 4 in the evening.

When I graduated high school in '89, he passed it on to me...with the following issues. No reverse gear. Made for many creative parking situations. AND the flywheel was missing several teeth which, if it stopped in the perfect position, would not let the starter engage. Randomly, my friends and I would have to get it rolling fast enough to pop the clutch to start it when the flywheel hit that magic location. I did get the reverse gear fixed by a friend of my dad, but after about 6 months of other issues popping up, my boneheaded 18 y.o. self traded it in for a new base Ford Ranger...with a 14% loan. (Zero credit at that point.) And when I say base, I mean base. Zero options. No radio, no AC, no passenger mirror, no rear bumper. That truck lasted for 11 years before it literally went to a farm for retirement.

 

[Effonefiddy Lightning]

Not to go too far astray from the dad's car thing, but the same kind of antisemitism seems to permeate the posts liked and shared by the Tesla CEO, and like Ford's were back then, Tesla sales have been hurt by that and other political involvement by the CEO.

Since you asked, and only because, here are some examples:

• In November 2023, he endorsed a post claiming that Jewish communities push "hatred against whites," calling it the "actual truth". The post also included anti-immigrant sentiments.
• Critics likened this endorsement to the "Great Replacement Theory", a conspiracy theory that was cited by the perpetrator of the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, according to CBS News.
• Musk has previously targeted the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), threatening to sue them and blaming them for a decline in X's advertising revenue.
• He has also made other controversial statements perceived as antisemitic, including comparing George Soros to a Jewish supervillain and making jokes about the Holocaust, according to Forbes.

But really, this only came up because of the story of a WWII veteran who usually bought Fords and did not want to buy foreign cars, e.g., from Japan, because he fought the Japanese army in the war...but of course Ford was involved in helping the another AXIS member, Germany under Hitler, build up his military before the war, and held some of the same antisemitic views as Hitler.

I think that's enough said about that, eh?

The problem for me is that there is more attention to one certain group who make claims against the other and not nearly enough from the others who make equally outrageous claims. I let you figure that one out.

 

[Zprime29]

Most memorable vehicle my dad drove was a green (remember when they still made cars in green?) Silverado with a camper shell on it. He build a platform that split the bed area for storage underneath and we put a foam pad/sleeping bags on top. Of the 3 kids, two of us would lay down in the back with the dog during road trips so whoever was on the back bench had a little extra legroom. We'd leave the back window of the truck open to the camper area for some air. One time the dog was chilling at the window when my dad had to brake hard. Dog slide right through the opening into the cab and landed on the center console. She was a little nervous about going near that window again.

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