This weekend is the Lost in the 50s car show and all its associated events. One thing that’s fun about Lost in the 50s is that even if you don’t have the opportunity to attend the car show itself, you’ll undoubtedly see a lot of old cars around town. Many of the folks who attend the show drive their cars here in big convoys, so you sometimes see a whole string of really spiffy classic cars cruising down the highways. The fact that some of these really ancient machines are still running is a testament to the folks who have taken the time to restore them.
This year is the 20th anniversary of Lost in the 50s and it got me thinking about the car I was driving 20 years ago. Some cars are destined NOT to become classics and my 1970 Ford Maverick is one of them. I paid $250 for it and drove it for quite a few years. It had a few unfortunate idiosyncrasies, such as being unwilling to run in the rain or cold weather (it was definitely a fair-weather car). Plus, like the Ford Pinto, Mavericks were not exactly widely admired by anyone. (Or at least anyone I knew.)
On the other hand, twenty years ago, my husband James was driving a 1964-1/2 Ford Mustang. Now that’s a cool car. However, he had a somewhat adversarial relationship with his Mustang due to its temperamental nature (read: it fell apart constantly). He has never regretted selling the car, but a side effect is that he still can reminisce about the inner workings of Mustang engines with enthusiasts. He’ll get his chance tomorrow, since I have no doubt we’ll seeing many lovingly restored Mustangs.
Some cars like Mustangs are definitely destined to be classics, but you never know. I looked online and there actually are some serious Maverick enthusiasts out there. Who knew?