It could have been my Aunt Rose's 'tri-toned (white black,
Lancer Blue) '56 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer that got me
interested in the Forward Look cars when I was age eight. But
that car was a lemon and she gave the dealer a large piece of
her mind until he took it back! The threats of parking it in
front of the dealership all locked up with "LEMON" shoe-polished
across the sides were convincing.
It could have been a '56 DeSoto Firedome Sportsman in pink and
white with that tower of tail lights but the car was a bit heavy
looking. A neighbor's '56 Fury was fascinating but he couldn't
make the payments and it was only around for six months.
In fact it was the first '57 DeSoto I ever saw. A red and white
Fireflite 2dr sitting there in front of the Magic Store where we
traded in all the pop bottles we could find at construction
sites for $.02 that my buddy and I accumulated until we could
buy some $.25 or $.50 little gimmick.
We walked out the front door and that DeSoto had just parked.
It absolutely knocked my socks off and I will never forget it as
long as I live. I oohed and aahed over the quad headlamps, the
way the stainless trim both accentuated the cars length and also
dropped in a sweep to the rear wheel well. The height of the
back glass was impressive and the exhaust pod bumper under those
lollipop tail lamps was awesome. The car was low and lean and I
vowed to have one!
Then in early high school, another buddy's mother had a '61 New
Yorker that was ram-equipped. Only one I have ever seen or
heard of. They lived in a large failed subdivision so there
were only a couple of homes but numerous roads. His mother
would let us drive around "in the back" when we were 14 and 15.
Anyone else ever taken a '61 NYer into a power slide on stone at
age 14? Planting a foot into a ram car's throttle give the most
wonderful rising-pitch drone of noise. Only in the ditch once!
I've owned four '57 DeSotos in the past and will have another!
Currently two '57 Chrysler 300Cs and a '60 Chrysler 300F.
BTW, my little buddy was unimpressed and went on to military
school and the high school buddy digs cars and became a
mortician to support his hobby!
Wayne
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