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Topic starter
19/01/2023 6:08 pm
"FRICTION" CARS!
I remember an incident that happened between my Dad and my Uncle Len (his brother). My Dad owned a '57 Chrysler Saratoga 2-door hardtop, and I loved that car so much. The styling was so beautiful to my young eyes. To put this incident between my Dad and Uncle in to perspective, I'll add that, that my Uncle owned a '62 Ford Galaxie 4-door sedan.
So one day when my Dad was picking me up from school, the first thing I noticed when I walked towards our car is that the left front fender was smashed in badly. I was so upset when I saw it. The story my Dad gave me was that he was sitting at a stop sign waiting for the light to change, and a car made a right turn, sliding on the icy corner and BAM!, smashed in to my Dad.
Young as I was at the time, I didn't understand much about insurance, but my Dad's car was totaled. That too, was a new learning curve. What it came down to is, the insurance company wasn't going to fix our Chrysler, but rather give my Dad the value of the car and walk away from it. I remember my Dad being upset because as he said, "I'm without a car and I have to come up with additional cash to get a different car". This was in 1965.
My Dad went to East Side Ford in St. Paul, and bought a brand new '65 Ford Custom 4-door sedan. This car was as "Plain Jane" as a car could be to my eyes, and I was savvy enough to know that this Ford was as basic a model as Ford could offer. No chrome, dog dish hubcaps, black-wall tires, and an interior in baby blue that couldn't have been more dull and boring. Certainly nothing like our fully adorned '57 Chrysler that spilled over with style. But hey, my Dad was happy. He got a replacement car, and as he said, "It's brand new".
Okay, now back to my Uncle and his '62 Ford Galaxie, get ready, here comes the "happening" between my Dad and him. Uncle Len decided it was also time to get a new car, as he usually did about every two or three years. He always bought new cars, and that was a rub to my Dad, who usually was a used car guy. With that new '65 Ford Custom, I think he felt that he had reached his brothers class.
Uncle Len bought his new car! It too, was a '65 Ford. But wait, it wasn't a Custom. He got the top-of-the line LTD model, chrome adorned and power everything on it. My Dad was furious! He honestly felt that his brother had purposely set out to "outdo him again". The sibling rivalry between them couldn't have been more apparent. In his defense, Uncle Len was not that kind of guy, but my Dad always felt that he was in competition with him.
Though I loved my Dad, I just couldn't take his side on this one. I liked that LTD too! Uncle Len gave me a ride in it, to prove that Ford's advertising that, "It was as quite as a Rolls Royce" was true. I never told my Dad that I liked Uncle Len's new Ford over his new Ford, as that would have hurt him. As a side note, two years later (in 1967) my Dad's Ford was the first car I drove after completing my drivers training for my license. It was an okay car. But then, I didn't know any better at the time. This story ends, the same way it began, as Uncle Len continued to always seem to buy a "better" car than my Dad.
Brotherly love!
George Schire
Oakdale, Minnesota
19/01/2023 7:24 pm
Interesting point you make here, George, and right on target with my comment on #62. I look at it a little differently. Your Uncle bought the same car as your Dad, just a different trim level of the same full-size 1965 Ford. If he was trying to one-up your Dad, he should have gotten a Mercury Monterey.
Barry Levittan
Long Island, NY
Topic starter
19/01/2023 7:41 pm
Interesting point you make here, George, and right on target with my comment on #62. I look at it a little differently. Your Uncle bought the same car as your Dad, just a different trim level of the same full-size 1965 Ford. If he was trying to one-up your Dad, he should have gotten a Mercury Monterey.
LOL, that's too funny. Do you know what car Uncle Len bought in 1968? Yup, a NEW Mercury Monterey! My Dad still had his '65 Ford Custom for two more years after that. Guess Uncle Len WON! 
Oh, and he bought Mercury's there after whenever he bought a new car.
George Schire
Oakdale, Minnesota