JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: It's something of a truism: characters drive cars their authors wish they had. (Lee Child excepted - I don't imagine he yearns to own a Greyhound bus.) I confess, my lead character drove an iconic sports car, the Shelby, because I was stuck in a Goldfish-crackers-encrusted minivan. But in the case of our own Edith Maxwell/ Maddie Day, her heroine, Cece Barton, has the cars Edith had. Prepare to be drop-dead envious...
It’s a contemporary novel, so why is she driving such an old vehicle? I’m so glad you asked.
In general, cars in California last longer because they don’t have the stress of driving over ice heaves and rust-inducing salt on the roads. I have a friend in Berkely who still owns her 1966 red Mustang convertible.
I can’t find the photo of my young sons sitting in Mel’s Mustang after a visit to the Exploratorium in San Francisco, but they loved the experience.
As I might have mentioned in comments to a post here before, I wrote a proposal some years ago for a cozy mystery series set in California centered on auto mechanic Josie Jarvin, who owns and runs JJ Automotive. Josie only works on analog cars – vehicles made before about 1980, when computers made their way into the engine compartment. My editor didn’t go for it, but Josie is now Cece’s mechanic for her Mustang, and I’m delighted to have Josie play a starring role in this new book.
You might also reasonably ask why I’m so interested in cars of the 1960s and 70s. Don’t we all have a fondness for the cars we first learned to drive and first owned? Well, that’s my era. Growing up in southern California, you couldn’t get anywhere farther than a couple of miles away without an automobile. I got my driver’s license on my sixteenth birthday and never looked back.
After the 1954 Dodge station wagon and the 1964 Rambler station wagon, my family had two 1967 VW bugs, one baby blue, one white. My father taught me to drive in the white one, practicing in the parking lot of the Santa Anita race track when it was empty.
Perhaps more important, I worked full time at a Mobil gas station on Pacific Coast Highway (aka Route 1) in Newport Beach after I graduated from UC Irvine with a BA in linguistics. I know, it’s not the usual path to becoming a mechanic.
Analog cars were all there were. At age 21, I started out pumping gas and changing tires part time at my friend’s father’s station. Customers ranged from movie stars (I pumped Buddy Ebsen’s gas) to nude drivers. By the time I left, I was an official State of California headlight adjuster and smog device certifier, I could tune up American and foreign engines, and I’d tested third out of a hundred applicants (all the rest male) to be an Orange County heavy equipment mechanic.
Our shop looked a lot like Emory Automotive, the family-run place in Amesbury I take my car to now, which makes me happier than I can say!
Alas, love lured me away from the area to live in Japan. I did keep working on my own cars when I got back, including pulling the engine on my VW during graduate school in Indiana, with the help of major tools at the student-run car co-op. Anybody else use the Compleat Idiot’s Guide by John Muir?
Alas again, cars got too complicated for me to work on, and so did my life. Now we have two hybrid Priuses in the driveway (VERY complicated to work on except for simple oil changes, and I’m past that), and a few weeks ago I traded in my more than a decade-old little Prius C for a 2022 hybrid plug-in model, which I love.
But I’m always heartened to see people maintaining and driving their analog vehicles, and I love the Rust and Relics auto shop in my neighboring city of Newburyport, which we drive by on the way to catch the train into Boston.
I guess the love of old cars runs in the family. Last summer, my younger brother David drove his 1965 Rover out from California, a car our grandfather Richard Flaherty bought new. When I was a baby auto mechanic fifty years ago, I used to teach Davey things automotive. Not anymore!
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| David Maxwell investigates an odd noise... |
It’s been great fun bringing a bit of those memories into this new story. I hope you love Deadly Crush as much as I loved writing it. As a side note, if you aren’t caught up on the first book in the series, Murder Uncorked came out in paperback last month, and I hear it’s a hot seller at Barnes & Noble. Check out Blue on the cover!
Readers: What pre-1980 car do you know and love? What was your first drive? Anybody still own an analog vehicle? I’d love to give away a copy of the new book to one of you!
The
beginning of a new year for Cece Barton, widowed single mom and recent L.A.
transplant north, means green hillsides, flowing streams from winter rains,
pruned vineyards—and a murder to solve. She's shocked when she gets a call from
her mechanic, Josie, that she’s found her ex-husband crushed to death beneath
the lift in her automotive shop.
Cece convinces Josie to call the police, even though Josie is terrified. Electrician Karl was an abusive husband, was threatening her, and she has no alibi. Josie’s future is on the line, and maybe her own, so Cece starts her own investigation. With a bouquet of motives and unanswered questions, Cece is going to need the help of her twin, Allie, who owns a nearby B & B, as she dives into Karl’s past—before the killer catches up with her, and the lights go out for good . . .
Maddie Day pens the Country Store Mysteries, the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries, and the Cece Barton Mysteries. As Agatha Award-winning author Edith Maxwell, she writes the Quaker Midwife Mysteries and short crime fiction. Day/Maxwell lives with her beau and their cat Martin north of Boston, where she writes, gardens, cooks, and wastes time on Facebook. Find her at EdithMaxwell.com, wickedauthors.com, Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen, and on social media:
Congratulations, Edith/Maddie, on your new book . . . .
ReplyDeletePre-1980 cars? I had a Ford something-or-other that was my mom's; then a newer car [I have no idea . . . it was green] . . . .
I am not a car person . . . the only car I loved was my Saturn [not pre-1980, though]; over the years I had three different models . . . so sad that they stopped making them.
Thanks, Joan! I don't think I've ever been in a Saturn, oddly.
DeleteCongrats Edith/Maddie. I look forward to reading Deadly Crush.
ReplyDeleteMy first car I was able to drive was our family 1965 (?) Buick station wagon with the gears on the column of the steering wheel.
Then when I was 19 I had an early 1960's VW Bug. It didn't have a gas gage and if you ran out of gas there was a lever on the floor that you switched in the opposite direction and you had one more gallon to get you to the gas station.
My brother had a VW van (60's something) that he used for the proverbial surfing safaris he took to Mexico with his buddies.
We've had Priuses (love them) an now I have a boring but reliable Camry and hubby has a electric Honda which he loves.
I drove a boyfriend's 61 bug out to Indiana from California, and the gas gauge was broken. We had a little notebook to write down the mileage when we filled it, and less than 300 miles later we would fill it again!
DeleteCongratulations, Edith! I'm so envious of your automotive skills, not to mention your writing ones. I learned to drive in a 1974 Ford Maverick 2-door sedan, olive green with racing stripes. My older brother left it at our family home. I've been grateful to have learned on stick shift, as it has made my life with tractors, etc. much easier -- indeed, possible at all.
ReplyDeleteI have never had the car lust that many of my friends share. I am happy to drive an old minivan with AWD. However I'm do have truck lust. My last Chevy 1500 truck rusted out and became unsafe and with the crazy prices of second-hand vehicles these days I've been hesitant to look at another. Does a 65-year-old woman REALLY need a truck? But I have dearly missed having one. (Selden)
Thanks so much, Selden. My Hugh had a series of small used Nissan trucks, but after the rust on the last one made it fail inspection, he took over my 09 Prius for his work as an interior painter. Trucks these days are HUGE. I don't think they make small models anymore, alas.
DeleteI'm also grateful to know how to drive a stick. I even know how to double clutch!
Edith, congratulations! I loved the first book in this series and pre-ordered the second!
ReplyDeleteI learned to drive in 1964 in my dad's delivery vehicle, a Pontiac with a GMC transmission and an 11" clutch, shift on the column. It was very important to be able to drive a standard shift.
The first car I bought was a 1971 MGB. I really loved that car. When it was demolished by a Cadillac whose driver had passed out, I stopped loving things. Although losing nice things is still sad, I don't want to feel like I did when they told me the car was totalled.
Judy, was it a Midget? They were the coolest of all the sports cars of that era.
DeleteI almost bought a little MG when I worked at the gas station! Thank you so much for the preorder.
DeleteThat's a sad story Judy, I hope you weren't IN that car??
DeleteKaren, it was a "B," not a midget. It was a very cool looking car;>)
DeleteEdith, am so lucky that I can support my friends and feed my "habit" (it's reading, Gang!) at the same time.
Roberta, I was in the car and my injury then is the source of my worst pain as an old lady.
Ouch, Judy. I know others with decades-lingering effects of early accidents. I hope reading helps take you out of the pain.
DeleteAlmost Duncan's car, Judy! His is a Midget, which is what we had when I lived in Chesire. Duncan's Midget is now safely mothballed in his parents' garage in Cheshire.
DeleteI learned to drive in a '74 Pontiac Lemans. While considered mid-size at the time, looking back, it was HUGE. I learned to drive stick on a Datsun 310 hatchback. Don't ask me the year. But I love driving manual transmissions!
ReplyDeleteI do too, Annette, and it's sad that Priuses don't come with that option.
DeleteEdith, for years, I would get the new car and Ray would take my hand-me-down, except he hates stick shift. I finally took pity on him and accepted driving automatics. But I also decided to keep my Forester and drive it until it dies, so he now gets to pick his own vehicle.
DeleteWhat fantastic memories, Edith! And congratulations on the new Cece Barton!
ReplyDeleteMy coolest car, until I bought my daughter's 2015 BMW 335i X-whatever sports car a few years ago, was the--hear me out--1973 AMC Hornet station wagon. Sounds dreary, right? Not at all. It was metallic medium green, with Gucci interior. Beautiful perforated cream leather seats with dark green and red stripes, and a header with the iconic locking G's in the "ceiling" of the car. I just loved it. At a party with a group of gay friends bragging about one's Gucci belt, another's Gucci shoes, I won by having a Gucci car. Until someone creamed it by running a red light through an intersection in a Mack truck. Luckily, it had seatbelts, and I was wearing mine, so at least one of us survived.
Before the Bimmer I drove Hondas for 40+ years, learning to drive a manual shift with the first one, a tomato red Civic CVCC that got a whopping 53 mpg. It also had charming details, including black and white houndstooth upholstery. I could park that baby almost anywhere, too. The BMW has the option of paddle clutching, which is so lame I haven't bothered to learn to use it.
The older Civics got great mileage (I get that in my Priuses consistently). My sons shared Rhonda the Honda as their first car and loved it. And a Gucci car! Wow.
DeleteWhat in the world is paddle clutching?
I'm sorry, I meant paddle shifting. There are paddles on each side of the center of the steering wheel, operated by one's respective thumbs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzmwN9880ho
DeleteHonda really disappointed me by building bigger and bigger cars hogging more and more fuel.
DeleteOur two youngest also inherited my Accords as they got older and off to college, until the older one bought her first new car, a 2005 Civic Hybrid. We all fought to drive it when she left it here during her semester abroad.
Let's see -- first was '65 Volkswagen bug and favorite were two Saturns ... 21 years of driving those two! But I love reading books with car sort-of-characters those this series seems perfect.
ReplyDeleteI hope you love it, Maren!
DeleteI must love vintage cars because I've had so many hundred dollar junkers. Sadly, a hundred dollars doesn't go far these days, but then, neither did the cars.
ReplyDeleteLOL, Jerry.
DeleteWhoo hoo! It's almost here...the release of DEADLY CRUSH! I can't wait for everyone to get their hands on a copy to read.
ReplyDeleteWhile I'm not a car guy so I don't really have much to say in regards to the questions about cars for the giveaway, I don't need to be entered anyway. BECAUSE...I've already read the book! I got an advance copy and let me tell you, it was AWESOME!
Seriously, I loved the book and wrote up what I hope was a good review over on Goodreads.
When I've attended recent signings that Edith has done I tend to bring up Josie Jervin during the Q&A because when I first heard the story of the unsuccessful series pitch, I really wanted to read that one.
With DEADLY CRUSH, at least we get some Josie character work and I hope that she's a continued presence in the series going forward (is it too early to start bugging Edith for Book 3? LOL)
And not only is Josie a vintage car mechanic, she's got great taste in T-shirts too! I'll let you all discover what I mean but a hint could be the phrase "Up the Irons!"
So, have you gotten the idea yet about just how much I loved DEADLY CRUSH? Because I'm not trying to be subtle here...it is AWESOME!
You're the best, Jay, and thanks for the t-shirt help (readers, he was my consultant!). Writing book three is next on the schedule after I turn in the one due December 1, and I'll make sure Josie is in it.
DeleteI'll try again (blogger ate my earlier reply) - I'm delighted to include Josie, Jay, and that you loved the story. Also, thank you for being my mechanic's t-shirt consultant!
DeleteHi Jay, I didn't see a t-shirt in the photos above, I assume the t-shirt is in the book? I can't wait to read it.
DeleteMy first car was a 69 Chevy Malibu. My favorite was the 67 Camaro, Marina Blue. The dashboard of my 2013 MINI Cooper reminded me of that Camaro, very analog looking.
ReplyDeleteOne of my college roommates had an early seventies Camaro!
DeleteEdith! Lovely to see you on the front here today. Congrats on book No. 2; I must catch up on the first in this series. I can't believe the second one is out already! You are a demon-fast writer.
ReplyDeleteWe traded our beloved 2005 Subaru Forester (with a CD player and no ports for smartphones) in for an all electric Chevy Bolt EUV last year. We miss lots about the Subaru but also love lots about the Bolt, though is nothing analog about any of it!
Thanks! I'm sad that my new car doesn't have a CD player. I've been getting a lot of help from my son on various connections, but streaming music? I'm not there. So it's the radio or silence, which is not all bad.
DeleteAs a non-driver, I can't comment about cars except to say I like your Blue!
ReplyDeleteGlad to see that Josie played a key role in DEADLY CRUSH.
I read the ARC in October. Thanks for the virtual visit to the Alexander Valley.
I hope to make it back there in person in 2026 after San Francisco LCC.
Sounds like a plan, Grace! It's such a lovely part of the world.
DeleteCongrats on the new book Edith! My college boyfriend taught me to drive stick shift on an orange VW bug. My favorite car was a 2-door 1965 Dodge Dart, yellow with a black top. Such fun to see that your were able to work in the rejected character!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much!
DeleteLucy, my husband drove a 60's something Dodge Dart, he was stopped while driving it by the US Border Patrol and asked some questions. Then asked to see inside the truck of his car. When he was asked who he worked for and he responded I'm a law clerk for a federal judge he was immediately encourage to get back in his car and leave. :)
DeleteCongratulations Edith! I love seeing all those old cars and reading about them. Because my parents didn't drive, I didn't get my license til I was 19 and a college student. I learned to drive on my friend Bob's old Toyota Corona, which we nicknamed "Killer". Bob let me drive when we would take groups of students down the hill for late night food runs. The first car I bought and owned was a 1980 Honda Civic. Since I didn't know much about car maintenance, I ended up running out of oil and having to have the engine rebuilt (of course this happened on a family vacation with my parents),
ReplyDeleteMy friend Mike bought and restored a WWII era Willy's Jeep, sold that one and found another that was in pristine condition and bought it. He keeps it in his airplane hangar in the summer and in the garage in the winter. It's fun to ride around in it.
Correction--first car was a 1976 Civic, bought it in 1980.
DeleteThanks, Gillian. I forgot to include my 1970 Volvo sedan, bought in 1980. It felt like a luxury liner compared to a bug, and I drove it until I was pregnant with my first son in 1986 and the floorboards had rusted out in the back seat footwell. I bought a new little Toyota wagon (Corona, maybe?).
DeleteNo, it was a Tercel - memory jogged by Mary Storyteller's comment below.
DeleteI love this topic, Edith! My first car was a Thunderbird, maybe a '58 or '59. I don't remember because it only ran for a month and then it died but what can you expect for $300? Even though I never had an exciting car, I've always been interested in them and nowadays I hardly ever know what car is approaching because they always kind of look the same to me.
ReplyDeleteWhen I go to town there is an old barn I drive by and when the doors are open I can see an old pickup truck inside. I often see it driving down the road too and I can't keep up with it. As best I can tell it is an early 1950 model. The name plate has 5 letters, so maybe Dodge, but I can't quite make it out when I catch a glimpse. Someday I'm going to stop and talk to the guy that owns it.
My granddaughter could do all sorts of automotive things when she was in high school. Sadly, she wound up with a boyfriend who didn't seem to want her doing stuff like that. Maybe someday she will decide she wants to get back to it but now she is too busy with college anyway.
Thanks, Judi. The first engine I worked on was a '48 tractor, and I also sometimes drove the red '49 Chevvy truck my boss at the gas station used for service calls. Those engines were a work of simple beauty.
DeleteThe first car I drove was an ugly green 1974 Chevy Impala. It cost 75 cents a gallon for gas and I earned 75 cents an hour babysitting neighbor kids. My friend’s dad had a 1965 blue Mustang cinvertible. The girls had to drive their mom’s station wagon, but when it go to their baby brother he got to drive the precious Mustang…and he wrecked it. Once when the school bus didn’t show up, everyone at our stop piled into one girl’s VW Bug to get to school.
ReplyDeleteMy brother still has his first car~ a black 1965 Ford Galaxie 500. It was my mom’s car first. He also bought and restored a 1954 Chevy. His wife calls that car Lucille. I’ve put your series in my goodreads.
I love those car stories! I was a senior class officer in high school, and our yearbook picture shows us five all piled into and atop my family's VW bug.
DeleteCongratulations on your new book Edith ! I’m looking forward to reading it.
ReplyDeleteI can understand your love of cars , many people around me are interested in cars or trucks.
Living in Montreal, I used public transportation for my 21 first years.
I only learned to drive when my husband and I decided to live in the country where a car was needed to go everywhere . For me, cars have always been a means to go where I had to go. I don’t even remember on what kind of car I learned to drive.
I’ve driven a Ford for the last forty years because of proximity and very good service.
Danielle
Thanks so much, Danielle! One of my college roommates grew up in San Francisco and didn't learn to drive until she was in her thirties and lived with a husband and little daughters in a Chicago suburb.
DeleteSince I learned to drive in the late 80s, no "analog" cars for me. But I do have a love affair with the late 60s Camaros. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteEdith, I have the 2018 version of that Prius Plug-in Hybrid and I adore it. But yeah. No maintenance going on it without a certified mechanic!
I see a restored Camaro in your future, Liz!
DeleteOlder cars look so much cooler than anything now. I'd love one of the 70s Challengers. I'm still driving my first car, a 2009 Jeep I bought new after college, just before starting my new job.
ReplyDeleteI'm all for driving cars until they drop, Alicia! I sold my Prius C to a local Afghan refugee family for a pittance, and they are delighted with it.
DeleteEdith, I can totally relate to the California vintage car thing. When I lived in Los Angeles I had a black Alfa Romeo convertible from the late 70s. Loved driving it in the canyons, and along Mulholland. Every time I saw it in the garage it made me happy!
ReplyDeleteOoh, Becky Sue - sweet!
DeleteOh, what a cool skill, Edith! I would love to know how to fix cars. I had a black Chevette, with a racing stripe, which I loved. and then a maroon...what was it? Not a Pinto, but it was pointy. Oh, and then a Vega, which was a horrible mustardy-yellow, but when you called it butterscotch yellow, it was cute. I learned to drive in a hunter green Cadillac convertible, my father's, which was MASSIVE. When I was 17, I remember trying it out on the highway, top down, to see how fast it would go. Genius.
ReplyDeleteWow, learning to drive in a Caddy convertible! When I ended up with that new Mustang convertible rental and had to drive 90 miles north from SF airport in it, I was scared to drive with the top down, and it was a sunny hot late October day. Alas.
DeleteOops, just realized I didn't include that story in my post. The rental happened last fall. I had reserved a "mystery car" from Budget for my week of CA book tour - and they gave me a Mustang convertible. Fine, and exciting. Except the engine was so powerful. And when I tested the top down at my Alexander Valley destination, it wouldn't go all the way back up! I drove it the next day down to Book Passage for my event with Rhys, and then got back north to the Sonoma airport and traded in the 'Stang for a boring, economical, non-convertible Kia for the rest of my trip. Sheesh.
DeleteHow fun! My first car that I bought myself in HS was a 1980 FORD Mustang. It didn’t last long though and I ended up with a 1980 Honda Civic (which lasted a long time)! I am a car fanatic and loving having fun cars. I own a 2008 Mazda Miata (MX5 if you’re paying attention haha- it’s not considered a classic car necessarily but it’s far more reliable!). My husband is the real fanatic though and we are always on the hunt for old vehicles for him to restore. We recently bought our retirement home with a 4-car garage for such matters. My personal favorites are old British sports cars. But I wouldn’t pass up a classic Alfa Romeo. When I was a kid, I asked for car models for my birthday and Christmas every year. I kept my collection on my bookcases (along with my Nancy Drew collection). We have moved back to Maine (where we are both from) and just love driving out on the country roads to the little towns and villages. It reminds us a bit of our time living in rural England when we were first married! We could use a few more country pubs to drive to here…
ReplyDeleteI love this, Stacia! My protagonist in the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries owns a red Miata (I'd have to check the model - two seater, anyway). I have a toy VW in my car now.
DeleteAn Omni! It was an Omni—I remembered! (See above.) YAAY. And whew.
ReplyDeleteThat was me above, of course.
ReplyDeleteGotcha!
DeleteI learned to drive in a Ford Pinto. We had a few acres and my stepfather, a retired local stock car racer, mapped out a circular course for me to practice on. Since he taught me to drive, I am now what I call a two-footed driver because he always drove with his left foot on the brake or the clutch, that is how I learned. My first car was a 1964 Chevy Nova - even though it was an automatic shift, the gear shift was in the floor, not on the steering wheel. This was when it was bench seating, so the whole seat had to move up so I could reach the pedals and the gear shift. What fun! I loved that car. It still feels so "big" inside compared to the cars of today. Wonder if that has to do with the bench vs bucket seats? Thanks for the trip down memory lane and I can't wait to read this new book! -- Victoria
ReplyDeleteAww, thank you, Victoria! My dad taught driver training in the high school where he taught geography and social studies, and he drummed it into me about NOT using the left foot for anything.
DeleteI was taught to use my right foot to brake, but my left foot to shift gears.
DeleteOops, you're right. I meant he made sure I didn't use my left foot for the brake, only for the clutch.
DeleteI had foot surgery years ago and it was so hard to remember I only had one foot to use for gas and brake. Since the right foot was in a cast, I had to fold it under and move my left foot all the way over to reach the gas and the brake. Fun times. When you're young and stupid you'll do some really strange things to keep your independence. -- Victoria
DeleteEdith, congrats on Cece's new mystery! I'll be looking out for that t-shirt! My brother just gave his youngest son a Ghoulardi t-shirt. You had to have been from the this area to appreciate Ghoulardi!
ReplyDeleteFirst car I bought with my own money was a 60s convertible VW. Heater didn't work, so made for interesting driving in Ohio winters. My favorite car so far was my Toyota Scion XB, the boxy little car. When the insurance company declared it totaled after an accident, the bodyshop guys were crushed--they were sure they could fix it--and I think they probably could have, too!
Anon above is Flora! Thanks, blogger!
DeleteThose pesky insurance companies!
DeleteGhoulardi! A Cleveland, Ohio original!
DeleteFlora, did Ghoulardi have anything to do with the Kielbasa Kid? In the mid-1970's I was engaged to a guy from Willoughby, and we'd go visit his parents a couple times a year. We'd always end up watching the Kid.
DeleteEDITH: Congratulations on the publication of your new Cece mystery!
ReplyDeleteTotally awesome that you worked with cars. And that there was a student car co-op. Wonder if the student car co-op still exists? Royal trivia: During the Second World War, the young Princess Elizabeth (future Queen Elizabeth II) was an army mechanic.
Vintage cars - I love old cars. My Mom bought a 1966 Volvo years before she met and married my Dad. I remember riding in the car as a baby. As a child, I thought vintage cars were fascinating! I loved to watch silent films at the art museum and noticed similar cars that I had seen at the Oakland museum. They exhibited a 1927 Morgan automobile that was the exact model of the car that my grandparents drove when they were first married. When I finally got my driver's license, I drove the family car - a 1988 Volvo. For me, the Volvo was easier to drive than other cars.
Thanks, Diana! I remember hearing that about Elizabeth.
DeleteMy grandparents had a old Ford Mustang just like that your friend's in Berkeley, but it was a hard top. It had great wide, or long, doors which were very handy when my granddad broke his leg cause he could actually get in the car. It also handy when my sister needed to use a wheelchair for awhile because of that great door it's big enough that we could just slide the wheelchair behind the seat on the passenger side. The bucket seats made it easier to accommodate these special needs. My uncle kept it after Grandma died and sold it to a collector. Can't wait to get my hands on the next book
ReplyDeleteIt's a classic, Deana! Thanks so much.
DeleteWhen my husband and I got married in 1972, I was driving a bright yellow 1968 Mustang hardtop and he was driving a 1968 green Dodge Charger. I loved my Mustang, but when we were expecting our son in 1978 we traded it in for a more practical vehicle, a Volvo four door sedan, so we could put in an infant car seat. I still miss that Mustang!
ReplyDeleteI would, too!
DeleteMy Husband has a 69 442 convertible and 68 Gto convertible I drive a Chevy Malibu LTZ Thank you deborahortega229@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteAwesome wheels, Deborah.
DeleteYou learned to drive in Herbie! How exciting. :) (No need to enter me in the giveaway.)
ReplyDeleteYou bet, Mark.
DeleteIn 1970, Dad bought me a '67 Mustang to commute from home to college. I had moved home to help when a younger sister was very ill. I loved that car! It had a black vinyl roof, ditto the seats, and was a pale green called Diamond Ice or something like that. I burned my shorts-wearing self numerous times on those seats. After marriage I heeded my in-laws who were convinced the brakes on that car were dangerously hard and let my husband sell it. Boy, do I regret that now. Anyway I later learned to drive stick (manual) on a VW Rabbit when I was pregnant. I had a contraction every time I shifted gears when driving on I-10 in traffic. It's a wonder our son was two weeks late! Once I learned how to drive a manual shift I've been a convert ever since. My current ride is a 2003 Jeep Liberty 4WD we bought brand new after we moved to Minnesota. Back in Texas in storage for now we have a 1949 Willys Jeep, civilian model. I drove that around a bit for fun in Minnesota too. When I see pictures of cars from the 20s and 30s I practically drool. Such style and beauty!
ReplyDeleteAgree, Pat - and too bad about the '67.
DeleteMy favorite Pre-1980 car was my baby blue Mustang. It was the first new car I bought after college, so it was probably an early 1970 model. I really loved that car and made many trips to the beach with that car. Looking forward to reading "Deadly Crush".
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Dianne.
DeleteMemories, Edith! Wow. I think everyone has heard that my brother was nine years older than I. He was also stuck with my care and keeping much more often than was probably fair. His first car was a Model T Ford and he bought it from the original owner who had put it in his barn sometime in the 1920s and left it there. it became a project car for all of his friends, and his little sister was more than welcome - small hands - a plus. It was an education in simplicity and lessons well learned.
ReplyDeleteA lovely story, Kait. Thanks for sharing it.
DeleteGreat topic, Edith. I think I remember you telling us about Josie getting the thumbs down. Was it something along the lines of "nobody wants to read about girl mechanics." Duh.
ReplyDeleteAnalogue Cars, eh? I've never heard that term before, but I can guess. Another retronym (sigh) like acoustic guitar and bar soap and bricks-and-mortar stores.
Well, I don't have my first Civic, but I just keep on keeping on with them. I have to admit, the seat warmers and sun roof (oh, excuse me, MOON roof) in my latest (2013) are great.
My editor said, "It's not a cozy." Except it totally was! Maybe because it involved cars? Who knows. Anyway, I showed him. ;^)
DeleteWe use bar soap, Susan! :-) Pears, in fact, for you fellow anglophiles.
DeleteMy first car was a 1948 Wyllis Jeepster. It had snap-in plastic windows and one tiny box heater by the passenger's feet. Needless to say, it was not an automatic. The car had been a friend of the family's father's.
ReplyDeleteI love the word Jeepster!
DeleteLooking forward to reading your books, Maddie. In 1965 I took my driver’s test on an old Morris Minor called the Mini. It was an old 1955 rust bucket. The stick shift had a pink cue ball for the handle. The floor was rusted through so if you drove threw a puddle you lifted your feet up so you didn’t get them wet!
ReplyDeleteI now drive a 2024 Ford Escape plug in hybrid that I absolutely love. I ordered it in November 2023 and picked it up from the dealership in June 2024. 🚗
I'll tell my brother about your Morris Minor. The new car sounds great.
DeleteI have had a driving license since my 16th birthday, April 7, 1959. I gave up owning a car right before the pandemic, but my license is current, and my record is perfect. I only drive when a friend asks me. My favorite car was a BMW 325 IC. I do love to drive.
ReplyDeleteI got my license on my 16th birthday, too, Gretchen, in 1968.
DeleteI learned on a VW bug, and froze driving it in MN winters. Then drove a Ford Pinto, and lived to tell the tale. I left it behind in Fayetteville, NC, and bought my first Toyota, a Corolla, followed by a Tercel, then two Priuses -- my favorites. The 2010 was sold to me by a friend when the battery failed on the 2002 in the middle of COVID isolation -- at about the cost of a new big battery, a generous offer (and I donated the 2002, my favorite ever, to PBS).
ReplyDeleteWas that the Prius battery that failed, Mary? Our 2009 Prius battery is still going strong (knocking furiously on wood)!
DeleteEvery time I think you're too cool for school, Edith, you come out with something even cooler that you've also done. Well done, you.
ReplyDeleteMy first car was a hand-me-down from my mother. A '68 Chevy Malibu that came up with us in '79 to Connecticut from Kentucky. The "Malibeast" was not ready for the salt on New England roads, so the floor board under the gas pedal rusted out. I traded it in '80 for a Chevy Corolla that was a stick shift. Unsurpisingly, I ended up having to get the clutch replaced. Although I appreciate the car, I'm not sentimental about it.
My longest relationship with a car, though, has been with my '03 Toyota Matrix. It doesn't have a nickname, but we've been through various adventures. I took it to an independent mechanic earlier this year to find out how much life was left in her. He said I'd taken better care of my car than my husband had his.
Way to go with the Matrix, Rhonda! I'm glad I'm "too cool for school" mostly because I have no desire at all to sit in a classroom again, unless it's in a hotshot author-teacher's workshop.
DeleteOld cars! Sigh. I once helped a boyfriend replace the clutch cable on an ancient VW Beetle (so old that it had a little oval back window) ... which somehow involved me scooching underneath the car and feeding a cable... yes cars were so much simpler. Congratulations on the new book, Edith! Always cause for celebration.
ReplyDeleteAh, the good old days of handing wrenches, etc. to shade tree mechanic boyfriends! Some fun memories from that time!
DeleteThanks so much, Hallie!
DeleteHi Edith! Congratulations on your book birthday! I’m excited for another Cece book. (And I love the picture of you working at the gas station.)
ReplyDeleteAs to cars in my past (and present), I learned to drive on my mom’s Plymouth Valiant, late 60s era, I’d guess. Fully automatic and a basic “mom” car. Flash forward to my senior year of college and my dad and I go car shopping for me. We wind up buying a Fiat, yellow and boxy. This went against every fiber of my father’s being, buying a foreign car. Other than that car - for me - the man never bought anything but American-made. The Fiat was a ‘74 and I got it in ‘78. It lasted until ‘82, I think, when it started nickel and diming me so I went car shopping again. This time I took my friend’s husband with me (cuz you had to have a man to talk with the car salesman, right?). We decided on a cute blue VW Rabbit (my Blue Bunny), used. It was a great car, except it was a manual transmission which I had never driven. I learned to drive it after I bought it! (I pity the poor people behind me as we were all going on the UCSD campus to get to our jobs because I would stall at the stop sign at least twice.) Unfortunately, I rear ended someone while trying to merge onto the freeway. Next up: my first ever brand new car, a Honda Civic. We drove that for twenty years, ten years for me and then ten for my husband. I got a brand new Honda Odyssey in 2004 and am still driving it. — Pat S
Yay for giving cars a long life!
DeleteCongratulations on the new book, Edith! What fun--I can't wait to read it. I remember when you told us about Josie, thinking, "But I'd love to read about a female car mechanic." Not that I do the simplist thing so there is some envy there.
ReplyDeleteI love the term "analog car," as my early ones definitely were! My first car was a used '65 silver T-bird. (Cue Marc Cohn's "Silver Thunderbird.") I don't think I appreciated just how cool that car was. But the first car I fell madly in love with was my used '69 Datsun 240-Z, in burnt orange. I'd never driven a stick when my dad took me to look at it--pity the poor drivers behind us. My dad sold that car when I was living in England. When we came back to the States, I replaced it with a 260-Z, but it was never the same. Sigh.
Sigh, indeed, Debs! I taught both my sons to drive in my Volvo wagon. At a stop sign at the top of a slight rise, where we had to turn onto a busier street with no stop, I finally relieved him at the wheel after four stalls, pitying the waiting drivers behind us!
DeleteMy first car was a brand new yellow Datsun B210. We kept that car for years, used it for commuting.
ReplyDeleteMy next car a brand new 1987 Camaro IROC Z28. We had twins, and they rode in the backseat. We also had a Black RX7 convertible, which was a two seater. Those cars were both driven over 200,000 miles. My son received the Camaro to drive as his first car, and we bought his twin sister a red Mazda Miata. We drove the Miata as a commute car when our daughter was in college. I currently drive a 2004 Porsche, 911, a red convertible. We also have a Corvette and a 2004 Toyota Tundra large cab.
We drove the truck after everyone was too big to ride in our 1999 Black Mustang. We used the truck a lot taking our daughter back and forth to UCLA Engineering school.
The truck has over 179,000 miles on it.
An awesome set of rides!
DeleteMy sister had a 1965 or 1966 Mustang, but it wasn't a convertible. However, it was a beautiful soft yellow with a black top, brand new off the lot. She was in college, and I went with my parents and her to get it. I rode back with my sister in her new car. I still remember the excitement of it. She sold it many years later and always regretted doing so. My other sister got a Ford Falcon, which was a pretty blue and cool, too, but that Mustang was special. I got a used Ford LTD, but then I got a new Dodge Swinger in college. It's funny to think about it now, but I'd much rather have the Ford LTD back and fixed up. The LTD had character, and I think that's what so many of the older cars seem to have that the new ones don't. Now, we all drive SUVs that barely differ and have no real artistry about them. I think if I were to granted a vintage car of my choice, it would be a 60s Jaguar.
ReplyDeleteMy brother has a 70s Jag, too! Seems like many people regret selling that beloved car from earlier in their lives.
DeleteCongratulations, Edith/Maddie!!! I love this post so much. My fave car that we owned when I was a teen was a VW van. It was so cool. Also, sorry I'm chiming in late. I had an early dental appt that made me miserable for most of the day. :(
ReplyDeleteSorry about the teeth, Jenn! I've driven in VW vans (including an epic spring break trip to Baja California...) but never owned one.
DeleteI smiled with resurrected memories from the 60s and early 70s! I learned to drive in my Dad’s Ford Ranchero.
ReplyDeleteMy first car was a tank (Might as well have been) a 1961 Chevy Impala! And I loved it. A gift from my Grandad after he bought a new 1971 Chevelle coupe.
I so enjoyed this thread! Thanks Edith.
Also thought of Kinsey Millhone’s VW bug.
(Heather S)
Right! Of course Kinsey drove a bug.
DeleteSuch passion in this. Love the photos.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteLove this blog. Brings back memories of the ancient '59 Ford Farlane 500 that Dad brought home for me to learn to drive. It was a tank! The British racing green MGB a boyfriend had. My first (and last) new car, a 1977 Ford Pinto. Since then, it's been 'new to me' cars, and we keep them 'til they die. Congratulations on your new release! M.E. Bakos
ReplyDeleteMy dad loved old cars and I learned to drive in a 1942 Hudson. It was a rather rare car because most auto manufacturing was being used for war machines, tanks and PCs. I knew how to time and tune up a car until those dang computers! I still resent having to take my car to the shop because of the chips. Our first car when we were married was the VW bug that didn't have a gas gauge. Yes, I had to push it every once in a while because I forgot I had already pulled the emergency gallon handle.
ReplyDelete