Q: Greg, your recent articles were special for me on the Kaiser-Frazer. My grandpa's brother opened a Kaiser-Frazer dealership in the little town of Harrington, WA. He managed to sell a Kaiser to his son-in-law, and then a Frazer to his brother.
It was in that 1947 Frazer that I learned to drive on the highway.
Then, a couple of years later, his sister didn't buy a Kaiser-Frazer, and ended up buying a metallic silver 25th Anniversary 1949 Chrysler Windsor off the showroom floor. I remember she was also looking at a Packard that same year, and their model was a 50th Anniversary gold colored model.
As for that Chrysler, she ended up rolling it over but she didn't total it. It needed new paint and her first grade school children picked "Robin's Egg Blue" for the color.
I enjoy reading all the memories of the nostalgia cars and your column is appreciated. Warren Swenson, Loon Lake, WA.
A: Warren, your words are deeply appreciated as everyone has memories tied to their first cars and their family automobiles and trucks. In my case, my grandfather had a 1948 Buick, all black 4-door that I think was a Special, not a Roadmaster. It was a three speed on the column and a real beauty.
My dad's first car was a 1940 Chevy coupe, followed by a 1949 Mercury 4-door with suicide doors and a flathead V8. When we moved from Ranshaw, PA to Vineland, NJ in 1957, he bought a real nice used 1955 light green Plymouth Savoy 6-cylinder 4-door. Once we got to Vineland, he bought his first brand new car, a 1961 Chevy Bel Air 2-door.
I couldn't talk him into the 348 V8, so he ordered an inline 6-cylinder in Seafoam Green color. From then it was a 1965 Dodge Polara 383 2-door coupe, then a bronze 1969 Dodge Monaco, also a two door with a 383. Next was a 1976 Chevy Caprice two-door, dark green, 350-V8 and a real beauty. His next brand new vehicle was a 1986 Dodge Ram 150 passenger van with three rows of seating. I eventually bought this from him and used it to transport my family at the time_including three kids. We called it the "mother van."
As for the cars you mention, that 1949 Packard Anniversary car was a real "looker," and was available in many other colors, too. I had many chances to buy a Packard in the early 1970s at reasonable cost, and passed on all of them. To this day, I wish I would have bought one and kept it.
Thanks for your letter.