How many Remember
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 4,606
Likes: 210
From: Nevada City Ca.
2015 C1 of Year
How many Remember
When you were young driving around town after dinner following the spot lights in the sky to find and see the new cars when dealers took the cover off the new cars. To keep the public wondering they would put the new models on the show room floor when people were sleeping covering them till the day they were all uncovered at the same day first of the year. I do and the excitement of that night wondering what the new year models would look like. Man those were the days. And now car makers bring out a new model any day of the year.
It's so sad that those days are gone.
It's so sad that those days are gone.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 6,410
Likes: 2
From: madison ms
St. Jude Donor '09-'10
I remember it well. I had a relatively who worked at a Ford dealership, and he would tease us about what the new cars looked like. All the dealers in my town unveiled the new models on the same day so as to not be outdone. I assume they coordinated that, but it would have required a national coordination, wouldn't it, since weren't all new Chevys, etc. released nationally on the same day?
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 26,118
Likes: 1,874
From: Greenville, Indiana
We didn't have any spotlights in our small town but we did have some big, vacant tobacco barns where the new '55, '56 and '57 Chevys were stored up until the night before announcement when they were then driven downtown and put on the showroom floor in the middle of the night.
I was in junior high school then. We'd run down there every day and peep through the cracks between the boards to see what the new ones looked like.
I'm trying to remember if the new ones were covered on the haul-away trucks before announcement day. I think they were but I can't picture it.
I was in junior high school then. We'd run down there every day and peep through the cracks between the boards to see what the new ones looked like.
I'm trying to remember if the new ones were covered on the haul-away trucks before announcement day. I think they were but I can't picture it.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 2,251
Likes: 62
From: Imperial Missouri
Hate to admit it but I really miss the excitement.With my dad being a mechanic for Studebaker I got to see the Golden Hawks in 1956 before a lot of people did.Same way with the Avanti in 1963.The dealership,Ben Lindenbush also sold Mecedes Benz and the Edsel.Hard to believe I used to get to sit in 300SL gull wing coupes and 300SL verts,along with the 190SLs.A lot of great memories if only I would have had a camera.
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 1,794
Likes: 304
From: Charlotte Area North Carolina
Dad would load us all in the car and head to the dealership to see the unveiling. I remember some big crowds and a lot of hoopla. Being first to see the new models was a big deal back then. Then, we'd head to the outdoor movie theater with a big bowl of popcorn that Mom made. Speaker hanging in the window.
Life was good. Times were simple. A new car was truly an American dream come true. When Dad brought one home, the neighbors would come over to see it, Uncles and Aunts would come over and we'd go for a drive to show it off. Remember filling the tank one time at 19 cents a gallon, yep 19 cents a gallon. Gas station right across the street was 20 cents. Gas station attendant washed the windows, checked the oil, would check tire pressure if you asked. Made the change right at your window while you waited in the car with his coin changer on his belt.
Remember those days well.
Kevin
Life was good. Times were simple. A new car was truly an American dream come true. When Dad brought one home, the neighbors would come over to see it, Uncles and Aunts would come over and we'd go for a drive to show it off. Remember filling the tank one time at 19 cents a gallon, yep 19 cents a gallon. Gas station right across the street was 20 cents. Gas station attendant washed the windows, checked the oil, would check tire pressure if you asked. Made the change right at your window while you waited in the car with his coin changer on his belt.
Remember those days well.
Kevin
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 2,132
Likes: 71
From: SOUTH SHORE Massachusetts
I remember sitting on the front porch with my pals, watching the cars go by and naming each make and model ..as soon as you saw it..today..they all look alike...even better still...going to order your first new car with the colors and options you wanted..not was is bunched together now a days...as Archie Bunker sang...those were the days...
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 8,000
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From: Puget Sound
I remember tracking down the beams from the carbon-arc searchlights to see what was going on. Sometimes it was at a dealership, sometimes at a grocery store or some other grand opening. They were cool.
Jim
Jim
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St. Jude Donor '14 thru '26
Life was good. Times were simple. A new car was truly an American dream come true. When Dad brought one home, the neighbors would come over to see it, Uncles and Aunts would come over and we'd go for a drive to show it off. Remember filling the tank one time at 19 cents a gallon, yep 19 cents a gallon. Gas station right across the street was 20 cents. Gas station attendant washed the windows, checked the oil, would check tire pressure if you asked. Made the change right at your window while you waited in the car with his coin changer on his belt.
Remember those days well.
Kevin
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From: Camp Verde AZ
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At least they found uses for all those WWII surplus searchlights. I remember some of the four set light trailers were still painted olive drab into the 1960's
They slowly disappeared from the scene, last time I remember seeing searchlights used like that was in the mid 1990's.
Doug
They slowly disappeared from the scene, last time I remember seeing searchlights used like that was in the mid 1990's.
Doug
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 33,025
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From: Rochester NY
St. Jude Donor '09 thru '26
You are right, the cars have changed - but also when was the last time you saw a searchlight - anywhere? Used to have them for new car models, supermarket openings, a new movie coming out - you name it! It was always fun to see one (or TWO!) from far away, and try to guess where they were as you drove closer. Sometimes you were right on, sometimes you missed by a long ways.
Racer
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 407
Likes: 5
From: LAS VEGAS NV
There was a Chevrolet dealer right next to the pool hall I used to hang out in. It was a big deal when the new cars hit the showrooms. Everyone was excited. Simple times back then. Cars had chrome and big motors and it was fun to drive someplace. The government wasn't in the auto makers business yet and all the cars looked different, great days for sure.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 5,347
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From: San Clemente CA
Yeah, our town Chevy dealer always had the spotlights going on the first week of a new model year. They used to blacken all the windows in the dealership and actually lock the doors for the week or so while they were getting the new cars all situated. I remember them arriving on car carriers but all covered up. You used to try a peek when the wind was blowing the covers around. Our dealer would put one of each model in the showroom and try to use a different color for each. Back then it was a big deal because every year the cars looked totally different. You wonder now how they were able to pull off all of those engineering changes every year!
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 1,558
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From: Manitowoc WI
I come from a small town where you didn't need spotlights to find the dealer of your car-of-choice. Our local dealers would soap the display windows of the dealership until that magical date when the new models were released to the public...it was really pretty cool back in the day.
It was amazing how Detroit could build that excitement to see what they were offering as a new model. Today it is the latest computer-generated version of a computer's idea of what a new car should look like that gets crammed down our throats. No wonder I, or should I say we, love the look of C1 and C2 Corvettes that were created when humans were still designing cars for those who loved the romance of a well-designed automobile.
It was amazing how Detroit could build that excitement to see what they were offering as a new model. Today it is the latest computer-generated version of a computer's idea of what a new car should look like that gets crammed down our throats. No wonder I, or should I say we, love the look of C1 and C2 Corvettes that were created when humans were still designing cars for those who loved the romance of a well-designed automobile.
Racer
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 407
Likes: 5
From: LAS VEGAS NV
People were excited about the new models. If someone got a new car it was a big deal. There used to be AUTO SHOP in school and it was a popular class. You couldn't wait to get a drivers license. I pumped gas at a STANDARD station, had to go to their school for a couple of weeks before you could work for them. When the 55 Chevys came out they changed the automobile world. In late 1956 my dad bought my mom a 57 Plymouth convertible that I would beg to drive. Great days and great memories.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 815
Likes: 15
From: Palm City Florida
As a kid, I could name any car that went by. Except for a few exceptions these days, I can't tell a Chevy from a BMW from a Toyota, and the Fords and Mopars look like transformers. Yuck! I guess it's like Classic Rock. They just don't make it any more.
Tech Contributor
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 15,576
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From: Conroe Texas
Modern communications are a lot more effective than in the 1950s, so it's no surprise cars were able to be slowly unveiled with much pomp and circumstance back then.
Now days the next generation of car is already in the car mags as "spy shots" years before it's built. And to make things more confusing, I bought a 2012 model vehicle last month
Now days the next generation of car is already in the car mags as "spy shots" years before it's built. And to make things more confusing, I bought a 2012 model vehicle last month