Bought used, to drive to her job as an elementary school librarian. It was pink and white, Earl Scheibed to "Passionate Purple".

Early in my driving days my dad had a 1953 Mercury that I put similar spinners on. I also bought locks for them which were a sombrero shaped gizmo that screwed on the valve stem with a small key. One night someone not only stole the spinners, but also replaced the locks back on the stems.

Those coveted flipper hubcaps had a tendency to disappear to Midnight Auto Supply.

My mom and dad bought a 1956 Holiday sedan back then and it was a great car. I loved driving it. Comfortable, plenty of room and ran good. Unfortunately in 1964 Dad was killed in a freak accident in it. The car hardly looked damaged but he slid off the road on Route 66 and hit a mailbox and the box came back through the windshield and hit him. Three days after his funeral, we got a hand-scribbled note from the mailbox owner asking for $8 to replace it.

"Safety Tested": Still no seat belts? Yes! Hard metal dashboard? Yes! Still no airbags? Yes! Small drum brakes prone to fade? Yes! No door guard beams or child-proof locks? Yes!

I guess "Safety Tested" meant that the doors stayed closed and the wheels stayed on.

[A padded dashboard and child-guard door locks were standard equipment on 1956 Oldsmobiles. - Dave]

Agree with Steve Belcher. My first car was a ten-year-old '57 Chevy. It looked great, but in retrospect was sort of a rolling health hazard: no seat belts; steel dashboard; non-collapsing steering column; asbestos brake pads; no power steering. Also, no smog control (had to install it when I bought it to make it street legal).

Got all of 15 MPG and leaked oil. And I seem to remember "vacuum assist" windshield wipers that slowed to almost nil when going up steep San Francisco hills.

Yeah, glad they don't build 'em like that anymore.

Careful where you park if you decide to rent the apartment. You might find your two-tone 1956 Ninety-Eight Holiday Coupé sold if you park in front.

In 1958? That seems rather improbable.

... is an often heard comment at the car shows I go to. My reply is "and that's a good thing." Yes, I have one car that is 99 years old, and my wife's car is 60, however growing up, rarely did we see a car much older then 10 years. In 1969, my folks' 1964 Chevy (bought used in 1967) was off to the junkyard and the "new" to us 1968 Pontiac was out in driveway. By 1972 it was replaced by a brand new Chevy.

Without doubt, this 1956 Olds was scrap by 1964. After 6-8 years/80-100k miles, a car was done. Today 15-20 years and +200k is the norm!

I like real cars.