Good Bye, Old Pals!

The vehicles you see above are a 1948 Plymouth Coupe, a 1955 Studebaker Hawk, a 1955 Pontiac Chief and a 1966 Olds Cutless. They all have two things in common. First, they're vehicles I owned at one time or another and second, none of them are in production any longer. The only one I bought new was the Olds which I got right after I was discharged from the Army. I drove it for about 10 years until the frame literally broke in half. Before that, it was by far my favorite car. It was a two door hard top with a V8 engine and 4 on the floor Hearst transmission. Fast as hell. But in those days body rot was a serious problem with cars and that's what finally got it. The first auto maker to go out of production was the Studebaker. Next Chrysler did in the Plymouth. After that and not so long ago was the Oldsmobile. Finally, recent reports have it that GM is ending production of their 'muscle' division-the Pontiac! No doubt about it. The American auto industry is in big trouble but I think they'll survive. I just can't imagine not seeing Ford F150's and Chevy Silverados and Dodge Ram trucks on the roads any more. No way that's going to happen-I hope. Bankruptcy is probably a good thing because it will give them time to restructure, renegotiate union contracts and generally get their acts together. Time will tell. In the meantime, good bye, old pals. I had a lot of fun driving (and usually abusing) you!