I'VE GOT MAIL! #48 March 1, 2021

As a 1:1, when I was younger I never really paid much attention to Oldsmobile from the 50s or 60s. Other than a few years or a few models, I just wasn't all that interested with them as a brand. Now all these years later, I see them much differently. I've learned to appreciate the style and look of many of them. Models like this one from DM have helped that along. I might not have ordered this model because of my lack of interest, but DM shipped it to me as part of the Preview Society. It was an amazing model for sure and I was then and still am now to be thrilled to have one. As well as all of the other '55 Oldsmobile models DM offered.

Thanks George for the memories. It is always great to read your posts.

John & George, I too did not pay very much attention to Oldsmobile, until they came out with the legendary 442.  Then you started to appreciate the brand.

In agreement with both of you John's! I was 8 years old when this '55 debuted. Too big, too much of a "Daddy's car" for me to look beyond the '53 to '55 Corvette, 'Baby Birds' and other assorted "go-fast's". Not until many years passed before the appreciation of such a machine was realized.

ANOTHER great choice George!

In 1955 I was 15 years old and my dad bought a 1955 Pontiac Star Chief convertible in black and white. I thought every car from GM in 1955 was the most beautiful I had ever seen. What a year for all three of the big three makers...you had to be either a total non car person or dead not to get excited with the new cars being introduced.

Readers Digest version of a family Oldsmobile story.  My parents had a rocky marriage from day one.  In 1956 my Dad bought a '55 OLDSMOBILE 2-door Sedan in two-tone Blue.  I was just 5 years old and I loved that car.  About 6 months after getting the car, my parents separated (for the 2nd time) for a few months and though I don't know why, my Dad quit making his car payment.  I watched very confused as a Tow-Truck hooked up that '55 Olds in front of our house and towed it away.  I'd learned later that it had been repossessed, a term I certainly didn't understand at the time.  My Dad replaced it with (at the time to me) a very old and bulky looking '49 Buick.  I would like that Buick better later in life.  

My parents reconciled not to long after and my Dad traded the Buick in for a 1954 Oldsmobile 2-door Sedan Black over White.  It reminded me a lot of that '55 and at the time I really didn't recognize to much difference between the two Oldsmobile's, beyond the colors.  With this Oldsmobile came an interesting development.  My parents bought a new home in September 1958, but by April of 1959 things were not going well between them again. 

My Mother traded in the '54 Olds on a 1958 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight 4-door Hardtop, but she did it without my Dad's approval, and she signed his name on the loan papers for the new car.  Because there was a loan on the '54 and she didn't advise the dealer of it, my Dad was arrested and taken to jail for selling mortgaged property.  Then a new baby was born, and this was the final blow, because the baby was NOT my Dad's.  To make matters worse, this was the third baby in a row that was not my Dad's.  They split for the final time!  Along with this split, the '58 Olds was also gone and my Dad replaced it with a 1950 Hudson 2-door Sedan...again to my eyes an old bulky looking car! 

They were officially divorced in January 1960.  My Dad took the three kids that were his (of which I was the oldest) with him while my Mother kept the other three and was quickly remarried.  LOL, moral of this story is, this is why Oldsmobile's are such neat cars to me.  Weird I know, but it's my story and I'm sticking to it. 

Wow George that is some story. I can only imagine what you must have been going through. The Oldsmobiles must have been the most pleasant thing in your life at that time. I was very blessed because my parents were happily married and always there for my brother, who is 15 months younger than me, and I.

Posted by: @bob-jackman

Wow George that is some story. I can only imagine what you must have been going through. The Oldsmobiles must have been the most pleasant thing in your life at that time. I was very blessed because my parents were happily married and always there for my brother, who is 15 months younger than me, and I.

I've been very blessed Bob.  The story I shared is hardly all of it.  But I'd not want to live my childhood again.  We'll leave it at that.  

@georgeschire  Well George...kudos to you for getting through it all and enjoying a happy life with a wife you admittedly adore.  Good for you!

@bob-jackman  I agree Bob; 1955 IMO is one of the best years in styling improvements for all of the American car companies; not to mention engine improvements.  1961 was nearly as remarkable for design change all round as well.

@perrone1  When I think back to the 50s cars that impressed/excited me as a youngster Olds was not on my radar at all; which was odd because I loved the Buicks.  I thought the Olds was for older people....you know...40 plus....lol.    Come to think of it even the lovely 57 Olds didn't grab me much back then.  It was 1961 and 62 when the 2drht.Olds blew me away; then came the Cutlass, 442 and so on which cemented my love for the marque.

Posted by: @jack-dodds

@perrone1  When I think back to the 50s cars that impressed/excited me as a youngster Olds was not on my radar at all; which was odd because I loved the Buicks.  I thought the Olds was for older people....you know...40 plus....lol.    Come to think of it even the lovely 57 Olds didn't grab me much back then.  It was 1961 and 62 when the 2drht.Olds blew me away; then came the Cutlass, 442 and so on which cemented my love for the marque.

LOL, funny you mention that you thought Oldsmobile's were for older people.  I thought that of Pontiac's up until 1958.