My grandfather (not pictured above, that’s a stock-photo gentleman) drove a gold 1972 Chevelle. I know it was a base model, because it had the wheel covers seen in the topshot (which we exclusively called hubcaps back then), and I recall my Dad talking about how it had a V8, not the six-cylinder, so there was a 307 under the hood. I don’t know how Papa wound up with the Chevelle (which he almost certainly purchased used), and he was never one to talk cars much. He once noticed a crack in a tire’s sidewall and “repaired” it with duct tape, so suffice it to say, he was not a wrench.
My grandmother drove some kind of large early-70s Buick sedan, I want to say a LeSabre. All I recall of this car is that it had a green vinyl interior (all the better to stick one’s thighs to) and air conditioning – a delight in the humid summers of New England – but she never turned it on, because it “ruined the engine.” I’ve heard of planned obsolescence, but installing a Ruin Engine button right in the dash was a bold move for GM.
In case you missed it, “What did your grandparents drive?” is the question I extend to you. Some of the gang obliged with their own answers:
Antti Kautonen
I’ve mentioned my granddad’s white Corolla, but he traded it in for a very, very grey Ford Escort 1.6 Zetec in the early 2000s, with grey velour seats. Somehow it was a car that was even more invisible than a basic white Corolla with unpainted bumpers. Eventually when he gave up driving and the Escort wouldn’t pass roadworthiness inspection, I helped him sell it instead of wanting to get it for myself as a hand-me-down car.
It’s also why I like the first-gen Focus so much, because it actually showed so much design and engineering intent compared to the Escort, which was “just there.”
The Bishop
Are you over fifty years old? Then, by law, your grandparents owned a Dodge Dart or a Plymouth Valiant with a Leaning Tower of Power Slant 6 and an automatic. In most cases they were dark metallic green with a black vinyl top; my own grandparents had a two-door “Swinger” model, despite the fact that they were very much not swingers. I’m not sure they even knew the meaning of the word.
Your parents probably inherited it in the eighties as a “third car,” which meant you were not getting a new (145 horsepower) Z-28 for your sixteenth birthday.
Thank you, Antti and Bish! Your turn, gang: what did Mee-maw and Pee-paw get around in?
Top graphic images: GM; DepositPhotos.com
1953 Chevrolet 2 door, 6 cylinder, 3 speed on the column….I want to say it was a two tone ..green
My maternal grandfather is 83 and currently drives a late model Equinox when he’s not tooling around in his ’08 Pontiac Solstice with the 5 speed. When I was younger he and my grandma had an ’84 Camaro with the T-Tops, and since then a smattering of Chevy SUVs and vans (he did 37 years as a foreman at one of the local GM plants).
Paternal grandma drove a few iterations of Mazda 626s. Not sure what granddad on that side drove (he died before I showed up on the scene) other than the tanks he operated while cleaning up the Nazis in France during the war.
Also, why is that woman in the Dart Swinger ad giving us the finger?
My maternal grandfather is 83 and currently drives a late model Equinox when he’s not tooling around in his ’08 Pontiac Solstice with the 5 speed. When I was younger he and my grandma had an ’84 Camaro with the T-Tops, and since then a smattering of Chevy SUVs and vans (he did 37 years as a foreman at one of the local GM plants).
Paternal grandma drove a few iterations of Mazda 626s. Not sure what granddad on that side drove (he died before I showed up on the scene) other than the tanks he operated while cleaning up the Nazis in France during the war.
My grandfather drove a tan early 70s Caprice 2dr. Which he also used to tow his 26′ travel trailer all over the country. Grandmother drove a red ’67 Pontiac Lemans all the way into the early 2000s
Both of my grandfathers drove Buick LeSabres. My maternal grandmother (AKA: “Nana”) stopped driving some time in the late ’60s. Right after her my maternal grandfather died in ’73, she bought a series of cars which were used by my uncles and aunts to drive her around. Early on, there were a couple Novas, then she switched to Ford for a fairmont and finally an LTD wagon. On my dad’s side, they switched to a 1980 Sedan deVille shortly after they moved to Florida.
The only vehicle of my grandparents I can remember was Gram’s Rambler American.
One Grandfather was a contractor and drove a light duty pickup for as long as I could remember- S10, Ranger, Colorado, etc.
Another had a long career at Chrysler. He changed cars yearly (employee lease program) through retirement- mostly driving Grand Caravans. Later, he downsized to a bright blue Charger, then a 200. He had an MG TD replica for a while. During the Caravan years he bought a Prowler. That car always put a smile on my face to drive and ride in.
My maternal grandparents had a maroon 73 Cutlass Supreme and a restored Ford Model A. After the Cutlass was a series of meh sedans. The supercharged Bonneville was interesting and “had good pickup” but was unreliable.
On Dad’s side I mainly remember a series of Lincoln Marks and Town Cars, and F-series trucks. I’ve heard stories about their 53 Mercury and 57 Chevy.
On dad’s side only grandpa drove and he was born in 1902.
My memories are of:
1953 F1 (green)
1960 Dauphine (light blue)
1964 Ranchero (baby blue)
1973 C10 (baby blue and white)
On mom’s side only grandma died in 49′, she last drove a 48′ Dodge Coronet.
Her husband, grandpa, I can only recall his 1973 F100.
Neither of my grandmothers drove, or at least not in my lifetime. My paternal grandfather passed a few years before I was born.
The car I associate most with my maternal grandfather is a ’76 Cordoba in Spanish Gold Metallic with a half-Landau top in white. No rich, Corinthian leather, unfortunately, just a cloth split-bench. Still, grade-school me thought it was a classy-looking ride – certainly a step up from the Gran Torino wagon and Pinto that my parents were schlepping my brother and me around in at the time. I still have a soft spot for those early ‘Dobas.
That’s an interesting question. My paternal grandmother never drove. My paternal grandfather died when I was 3 but rarely if ever bought new. I know he had a 1949 Mercury because my dad got it as his first car after his dad moved on. Before that a Lincoln Zephyr that had a V8 swap because the V12 was a pain to maintain. But those are the only two I know. There had to be more before an after those two.
My maternal grandfather was done driving by the time I got to know him at all (very late in his life because weird family reasons), but I understand he had a series of used beaters because it’s what he could generally afford. My maternal grandparents divorced so my grandmother on that side only had two cars in the time between my birth and her death. A Plymouth Duster (1972 or 73) which was replaced with a 1987 Pontiac Grand Am which was her last car before we took the keys away in the early 2000s.
Every time I talk to my grandpa I find out about another car that he owned for a period of time. He was always buying and selling cars as he found something affordable, family and that he could put some work into to make a bit of extra money for the family. I just found out that he owned a Renault for a short period of time. He still has some interesting cars in his fleet that I’d love to get back on the road including a 1973 Dodge Charger, an 1984 Celica Supra and I’d love to cobble together a single running Corvair coupe from the three that he has.
Late 60s (I think… maybe early 70s?) Buick Wildcat in that rich metallic gold that was so popular back then (not unlike the Galactic Gold (?) on David’s i3s).