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
I remember my grandfather drove a blue Subaru pickup,a greenish silver Ford Granada,a white Golf 2,red Passat b3 wagon and finally a black Golf 3,which he would always point out was indeed a «Rolling Stones» edition.
The first car I remember my grandmother drove was what I believe was a 87 Honda Civic Si which was followed by a Opel Astra and then one or two Golf 4 wagons.
An old Volkswagen Polo but the radius they were staying was less than 3 miles, and most trips were below 1 mile
I am not quite sure about my mother’s side, but I’d wager they did not own a car, only tractors. On my father’s side, I am definite that they didn’t have a car, but I often rode pillion on my granddad’s BMW R50.
My grandad mostly drove French cars, a Traction Avant, a 2CV and an assortment of Renaults from the 50s, 60s and 80s (Dauphine, 8 and later 11).
My grandma learnt to drive in the Traction, but apparently she was so bad at it, my grandad decided to relief her from driving duties early on.
My maternal grandfather drove all sorts of cars. The ones I remember are a Volvo 164, an early 70s Cutlass Supreme, with a Cutlass Colonnade sedan for my grandmother and finally a Datsun 810. My other grandfather was a Nash man turned AMC man, so I heard about the 1929 Whippet, and rode in the 69 Ambassador and 73 Hornet. My great uncles had some interesting rides, one had a civilian Checker Marathon with a vinyl top and opera windows while his brother the ex Communist drove a Mercedes W114. I think all of them would be surprised by my current fleet of a BMW Airhead, 25 year old F150 and a Fiat 500.
In the 1971 Dart Swinger ad, the subliminal advertising is not very subliminal.
The hand on the shift knob is more around the shift knob, and it’s not clear if it’s his or her hand around the knob. In the middle picture, the woman is clearly giving the camera the bird, communicating “eff off” while hiding behind the Swinger logo. Next thing you know, the couple is getting close in the field, two small figures in the background behind the picture of the car’s behind.
My grandfather and grandmother had a Dodge Demon in the 70’s, which was pretty much the same car as the Dart Swinger, but with a devil logo whose pitchfork made the “m” in Demon. It seemed ironic to me, even though I was too young to know the meaning of the word, as he and my grandmother never missed Sunday mass and said the rosary together every afternoon.
Very nice stories and memories here today!
My maternal Grandfather is largely responsible for my car enthusiasm. He lived from 1915-1994 and shared a lot with me about the cars in his life and what his memories were. The first car he remembered being fascinated by was the Packard Twin Six. that was before they called it the Twelve.
He bought a Jaguar XKE from Bing Crosby some time in the 1960’s and was always a fan of Jaguars. When I was 10, he gave me a 1/8 scale XKE coupe that he’d built from a Monogram kit which I thought it was the greatest surprise ever and treasured. It was molded in yellow.
When I was born, he had a 1972 Mercedes 280 in tan. The plate said “ENJOYIT”. In 1982 he bought a silver with oxblood interior 733i which I remember felt like a hewn piece of steel. It also had open pore, matte wood that was beautiful. The CA sunset plate was “RX4 JOY”. Solid and precise like a ground bound jet. He kept that until 1989 when he bought a 735il with reclining rear seats. I got to drive that with my permit, then, his final car was a 93 740il in the same color as the 735, Alpine white and tan. That car was spectacular and my aunt kept it for at least 20 years after he passed. From the 733 to the 740 he kept the personalized plate and my aunt left it there thru her ownership.
Grandma had a 77 Volvo 164 followed by an 82 or 83 Cadillac Eldo black over black. I remember listening to Stevie Wonder in that car which was just incredibly smooth and comfortable. She sold that for an 87 Jaguar XJ6 which was my hand me down after my parents owned it for a number of years (my truck was totalled in a rear end accident so I got their extra car). It was very nice cosmetically and I rebuilt the top end while I was in grad school. Then she had a ‘90 LS400, which got traded for a ‘98 LS400 then a ‘02 ES300 when she wanted something smaller as she got older. Tustin Lexus took advantage of her on that trade in, as she insisted on doing it herself.
My paternal Grandma had a 1982 Chevette Diesel automatic that he bought at the same time as a Peugeot 505 for our family. Don Steves Chevrolet & Peugeot in La Habra, CA. She kept until she passed in 2010. It had 48k miles on it! Before that was a 1971 Nova sedan with the 307.
Lots of car memories, still making them every day with my kids!
My Grandfather drove a 1965 Ford Mustang GT Fastback K-code 289 HiPO 4-speed manual. He bought it used in 1967. It was his daily driver until the late 90s when he restored it to concourse condition and won countess car show trophies throughout the early 00s. I heard many stories of the car dominating auto-cross in the late 60s, conquering snowy roads, and even pulling a trailer across the country (there are pictures). Sadly, he passed in 2011, but the Mustang is sitting in my garage today. I still get chills hearing the distinctive clacking of the solid lifters, the thunderous rumble of the dual exhaust trumpets, and the mechanical wine of the Toploader’s gears sending power to the beefy 9″ limted slip. It’s truly a visceral experience that modern cars simply cannot emulate. RIP Grandpa, I miss you, and I know we’ll be together again someday.
My paternal grandfather was a GM man like his father before him; he was an Oldsmobile man from the late 60s until they went under. Supposedly his favorite was a blue 1968 Oldsmobile 442 that he owned in the 70s/80s. Last car he owned was a 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix base. I got to enjoy that car for a time! Unfortunately despite being relatively low miles by 2015, a rotted frame courtesy of NY state’s salt in winter destroyed it.
My fraternal grandparents had a 1980 Buick Regal, I believe one of my cousins got his hands on it when Grandma stopped driving. Still a creampuff with miles around 12k and garage-kept for 10 years.
My other Grandma had a 72 Valiant she donated to my high school shop class, we kept it as a running front half from the dash forward. She upgraded to a 1980 Dodge Aspen before we had to take the keys. I drove that car many times, what a sweet maroon velour bench seat
My grandma, a paper plant worker and union rep, bought a new 1971 Impala upon retirement and drove it for the next twenty years. It was an awesome drive.
My grandfather was mainly a Ford man. He had a 40 Ford a 48 Ford a 52, 55 57 62. I don’t remember them all. I remember he had a ltd and before that a really strange Granada. His last cars were Taurus and Escapes. He also dabbled in Oldsmobiles. I think mainly lemans. His dad was a Buick man though and though a new Buick every year or two. His widow keptand drove the last car he bought for 30 years . A 70 Buick Skylark. My dad inherited the buick love and was mainly a Buick and gm guy for a while but they got so terrible he said never again.
My grandma always drove something small and slightly strange like corvairs ,beatles, and Datsuns. She and my aunt got Kia souls together. But they had to take her keys away. Her and my dad bought new Daihatsus because they got a deal.
My other grandfather pretty much always had a full size sedan and a full size truck. He kept his studebaker president around but has a bunch of full size GMs including Cadillacs. He loved his Chevy and GMC trucks always calling them Jimmy’s.
My gramps was a Citroën man. That’s all he ever drove, and afaik he may have been buried in one.
The ones I know about include a DS, a GS, a fourgonnette, and a BX.
Mine also, although later extended to Renault. His were a Traction and a 2CV. He was an engineer and a car enthusiast, although he couldn’t afford very expensive cars.
My grandparents were working class (idk if either finished high school) and gramps sometimes wished he could afford a CX.
I knew someone’s grandpa which had a CX 2200. They were a well off family from Barcelona.
The CX was a nice ride.
Peter, I’ll take you for a ride in almost your grandpa’s car. I have a ’71 Chevelle with the same hubcaps and likely the same 307/Power glide combo. My wife makes fun of me because all the old ladies come up to me at the car shows and tell me how they used to have one just like it. Certified grocery getter and I love it.
My grandfather in Italy had what I believe is a Fiat 127 in the late 80s. Rear engined. There was a lever down low between the seats. You pulled it up to activate the starter. That car was a product of the 1970s.
126 or 133 then. The 127 was front engined.
Easy to get all the models confused. There was a 124, 125, 126, 127 and a 128. These just off the top of my head located within that numbering sequence. Never heard of a 133, but did know the 131 and 132.
The 133 was a Seat creation using the 850 running gear. Some where exported as Fiats.
The 128 was a flaming pile and didn’t have the decency to be cute to make up for it.
On my dad’s side they were Pontiac and then Olds people. So a couple of Catalina’s and later a Delta 88 I think. They passed in the 90s. On my mom’s side they were probably most interesting in the early aughts when Grandpa had a supercharged Regal GS and grandma had a last gen Celica with the wild factory body kit (and an automatic of course). After that they had a couple CTSs. My dad likes to tell a story about how in high school he had one of the 2 ‘64 Catalinas on two wheels once.
Rear or side?
Definitely side, haha, my grandparents wouldn’t have been rocking anything past the base V8
My paternal grandmother didn’t drive, but my paternal grandfather’s last car was a black 1964 Newport he bought gently used from my mother’s family’s Chrysler-Plymouth dealership. My maternal grandmother, half-owner of said dealership, had a series of Chrysler New Yorkers that were then passed to my grandfather. Unlike most car dealers they didn’t get new cars every year, so the ones I remember from the mid-60s on were a 59 New Yorker 4dr hardtop in that strange light purple color and then a ’65 New Yorker 4dr hardtop in turquoise (and with a vinyl C-pillar delete) which my grandfather inherited after she died in 1968. We closed the dealership in 1967, so his next and last car was a triple dark green ’73 Monaco Brougham 4dr hardtop.
While my Dad’s father spent most of his career as a machinist at the Bethlehem Steelton Works outside Harrisburg, in the 1920s he worked at the Ford assembly plant in Pittsburgh, where at least some of the cars he helped put together went up the Mon River to my great-grandfather’s then Ford-Lincoln dealership in McKeesport. The same dealership he bought his last car from. Small world.
My maternal grandfather drove a 1953 Chevy BelAir (I am 74) with the Blue Flame 6 cylinder, 115 HP, and 3 speed manual on the tree. It arrived at our home, given to my mother in 1962 when he purchased a new BelAir with 3 speed manual on the tree and a 6 cylinder rated for 120 HP.
My paternal grandfather drove a 1951 Studebaker Champion, 6 cylinder, 85 HP, and 3 speed manual. He traded that in 1959 for a Dodge Coronet, 8 cylinder, 255 HP, with a Push Button automatic trans.
Glad those vehicles were gone from the family herd by the time I was able to drive in 1969. I chose a lightly used 1968 VW Beetle, 53 HP with 4 speed manual as my first car and loved it. I’m still a VW fan and have had fewer mechanical issues with that brand than with any other except for Honda.
Honest – he rode a horse. Neither of my grandfathers nor grandmothers ever drove a car.
I remember my Grandfather (In London, England) had an old Morris Traveller in the early 1980’s. It felt ancient then but was probably about 15 years old.
Before that the ‘family’ car was a motorbike and sidecar which was really common. I think they would have 4 at a time on it. the other 5 kids had to take the bus.
FYI One of my cars is 38years old and it doesn’t even fill ancient – just regular old.
The overseas cars are more interesting in this discussion.
The readership’s demographics put grandparent cars around the malaise era, so it makes sense.
The last cars for the two I knew were a red 2013 Tucson and a black 1997 Camry.
Before her Tucson, grandma also had a green 2001-2003 RAV4 and I only have the slightest memory of this one (might even be skipping over a vehicle) a second generation Chrysler/Dodge minivan.
Camry went to a cousin, Mom got the Tucson and eventually it went to Carvana as part of the 2020-2021 vehicle cleanup. (also goodbye silverspruce 1998 Sienna!)
LOL, my grandmother had a gold ’70 Chevelle malibu only it was a 4 door. 350 2 barrel and factory A/C. That car is still running around Kansas today and has less than 100k miles on it. My grandma quit driving in 1993 and passed in 1999 at 93 years old. It sat in my uncle’s back yard for 30 years before he sold it and the new owner had it running in just a few days, it did need a new gas tank and tires among a few other things.
A high school buddy had a ’72 4-door Hawaiian bronze Chevelle in the 90’s. Rear-end all jacked up and tinted windows. It was a loud death trap. I can only imagine that it once belonged to a nice old lady that drove it to church on Sundays.
Bunch of Gouddern whippersnappers reck’n! Pappa’s mom I just barely met on her wheeled bed in a dang hot’n humid nursing home,at 2&1/2 yo. Convincing me That No One should suffer such. Dad told of his pop needing to replace his Ford Super Deluxe every 2-3 years as it mostly resided street side in front of his hardware store where it would be spayed by the salt trucks. Mom’s parents were fully reliant on streetcars, buses and trains while she and family and a maid enjoyed extended summers at the shore and her dad would meet up by train on weekends. Yeah, It wasn’t that long ago that public transport worked well enough that CPA grampus (Archie Bunker doppelganger, cigar and all) didn’t want a car!
(Grand mom was Norman Rockwell perfect till almost the very end, Mom to the very end)
OK fine! I’m a geezer! But I ain’t withered Dangnabit!
Mom, at 6 yo. Saw Hindenburg’s landing ropes hit the Fisherman’s Pier in Ocean City N.J.(her dad a charter member natch.) on that fateful day.
My Maternal Grandfather was an Oldsmobile man. Nothing else in all the decades that I knew him. All of those I can remember were that pale champagne color that GM had through the 50’s until he passed in 1995. Grandma rarely drove anywhere but when she did it was HIS Oldsmobile.
My Paternal Grandfather was a Chevrolet man. In fact, so was Grandma as she had her own along with my father and his three older brothers all drove a Chevy. Somewhere there is a picture of all of them lined up in front of their house next to their Chevys. Until after WWII when all the boys bought a wide variety of cars. My father later became a Ford-Mercury-Lincoln man until he passed. The first Ford I can remember was a 1957 Skyliner with the retractable roof.
“Some men are Baptists, others Catholics. My father was an Oldsmobile man”
Thank you! I had forgotten all about that movie. I’ll have to put a reminder in my calendar app to watch it in December.
Early 80s RWD Cadillac sedan (but I do remember the 4100 badges… ew) and a tan on tan on tan Fiat 124 Spider from the late 70s or early 80s.
Grandparents on the other side didn’t have cool cars, except grandma did own a biplane that she flew by herself, so that’s kinda interesting.