My Automoible and American Life Class and a Visit from a 1948 Chevrolet

Sorry Lauren and a bit of Pablo -- you are behind the tree leaves! We had a great visit today from Ken Koontz and his 1948 Chevrolet. Thanks also to Jim for arranging this visit. And thanks to Rob for photos better than mine! 1948 Chevys are very special for me, and this on is a real beauty. The first car I remember is a car more or less like this one -- also black and with a similar interior. The dash on this car is perfect, and perhaps that is what I recall best in looking back. Certainly it was not a glamorous car during the first half of the 1950s, as far more modern designs were on the highway and in neighbors' driveways. But for me, it was special. I remember smallest of details, like the windshield wiper switch, the manual choke, the vent window crank, and the cord behind the front seat.

Those first cars of ours were very special for my generation, as we all became "car spotters," able to tell at 50 yards what year and model a particular car was. Since the cars of the 1950s had very distinctive body styles and grills, it was an important part of what became a love affair with automobiles that was/is characteristic of a number of young men, now growing old.

John