"Fender Skirts"

[Bad Bowtie2]

I came across this phrase yesterday "FENDER SKIRTS".

 

These things look foolish now--but I have to admit, we thought them the "Cat's Meow" back then!!!

 

A term I haven't heard in a long time & thinking about "fender skirts" started me thinking about other words that quietly disappear from our language with hardly a notice like "curb feelers", "steering knobs." (AKA) suicide knob.

 

Since I'd been thinking of cars, my mind naturallywent that direction first. Any kids will probably have to find some elderly person over 50 to explain some of these terms to you.

 

Remember "Continental kits?" They were rear bumper extenders and spare tire covers that were supposed to make any car as cool as a Lincoln Continental.

 

When did we quit calling them "emergency brakes?" At some point "parking brake" became the proper term. But I miss the hint of drama that went with "emergency brake."

 

I'm sad, too, that almost all the old folks are gone who would call the accelerator the "foot feed."

 

Didn't you ever wait at the street for your daddy to come home, so you could ride the "running board" up to the house?

 

Here's a phrase I heard all the time in my youth but never anymore- "store-bought." Of course, just about everything is store-bought these days. But once it was bragging material to have a store-bought dress or a store-bought bag of candy.

 

"Coast to coast" is a phrase that once held all sorts of excitement & now means almost nothing. Now we take the term "world wide" for granted this floors me.

 

On a smaller scale, "wall-to-wall" was once a magical term in our homes. In the '50s, everyone covered his or her hardwood floors with, wow, wall-to-wall carpeting! Today, everyone replaces their wall-to-wall carpeting with hardwood floors. Go figure.

 

When's the last time you heard the quaint phrase "in a family way?" It's hard to imagine that the word "pregnant" was once considered a little too graphic, a little too clinical for use in polite company So we had all that talk about stork visits and "being in a family way" or simply"expecting."

 

Apparently "brassiere" is a word no longer in usage. I said it the other day and my daughter cracked up. I guess it's just "bra" now "Unmentionables" probably wouldn't be understood at all.

 

I always loved going to the "picture show," but I considered "movie" an affectation.

 

Most of these words go back to the '50s, but here's a pure-'60s word I came across the other day - "rat fink". Ooh, what a nasty put-down!

 

Here's a word I miss- "percolator." That was just a fun word to say. And what was it replaced with? "Coffee maker." How dull. Mr. Coffee, I blame you for this.

 

I miss those made-up marketing words that were meant to sound so modern & now sound so retro. Words like "DynaFlow" and "Electrolux." Introducing the 1963 Admiral TV, now with "SpectraVision!"

 

Food for thought- Was there a telethon that wiped out lumbago? Nobody complains of that anymore. Maybe that's what castor oil cured, because I never hear mothers threatening kids with castor oil anymore.

 

Some words aren't gone, but are efinitely on the endangered list. The one that grieves me most is "supper". Now everybody says "dinner." Save a great word. Invite someone to supper & discuss those fender skirts...

 

[KARNUT]

Man, that was really cool. Heeeey

[06pirate]

I think you may be a little older than me, but there are some things I either remember directly or recognize by inference.

 

The parking brake is called that now because of lawsuits from people who expected it to stop the car in an emergency and of course that didn't happen. So manufacturers call it what it is, something just to help hold the vehicle when it is parked.

 

You left out rumble seats, spats, razor strops, party lines, antimacassars, oil lamps, hand-crank starting (I had a 1965 Sunbeam Alpine that had a hand crank for when the Lucas starter called it quits), ice boxes, galoshes,

 

The steering wheel spinner: We called a "necker knob", for when your girlfriend was sitting next to you on the BENCH SEAT and you could neck while driving at 80 MPH with no seat belts or airbags.

 

Some things I miss:

 

Wing windows: Whatever happened to those? Best way to adjust cabin ventilation in a car. Sacrificed to air conditioning and streamlining.

 

Foot-actuated dimmer switches: We have enough to do with our hands, when our left feet usually just go along for the ride. BRING BACK THE FOOT DIMMER I SAY!

 

Horn rims: No, not your prescription glasses, but that cool chrome plated thing that used to be inside the steering wheel to blow the horn. Worked good and looked cool (usually).

 

Typewriters: Nothing types like an IBM Selectric. Keyboards suck.

 

Spare tires: REAL spares that you could include in your rotation schedule.

 

Short-wave radios (with tubes): I miss listening to Dr. Dimento at 2:00 am direct from L.A., complete with static and hysteresis whine.

 

Phonographs: Hiss, buzz, click, and sometimes......music.

 

Carburetors and manual chokes: Do I pull it or not? Is it cold enough to choke, or will I flood it? 12 MPG......WOO HOOO!

 

Hood ornaments: I had steer horns on my 1974 T-bird for awhile. Man, I'd love a big-ass chromplated jet plane on the front of my hood.

[KARNUT]

Most of the things on the list were fun but in todays world the complainers couldn't handle it. For example, wing windows after a couple of uses they tend to whistle, people would be going to the dealer saying I paid 50k for this truck I want this fix. Manual chokes, triple A would go out of business.

[dirtfan21]

I'm 27 and from all the stories my family has told me about the 50's and 60's I would give anything to go back and live in that era. Back when hard work got you somewhere, technology didn't rule our lives, education and family values were a staple in life, the cars, life was just more simple then. I guess you could say I'm jealous of all you that got to grow up in that time period. If time travel was a real thing I would go back to the 50's and never come back.

[Bad Bowtie2]

I think you may be a little older than me, but there are some things I either remember directly or recognize by inference.

 

I'll be 42 in a few weeks.... LOL!!

[Chris]

 

I'll be 42 in a few weeks.... LOL!!

Making me feel young. I will be 25 on the 7th

[06pirate]

 

I'll be 42 in a few weeks.... LOL!!

 

Geeeezzz....you got me there. I'll be 59 in June if I live that long.

 

And the '60's weren't that great. Nostalgia is fun to think about, but reality is not the Hollywood bliss you might think. Sure the cars looked great, but they DID have carburetors and you DID have to "tune them up", not for fun but to make them run. Like every 10,000 miles or so. Points, plugs, adjust this, tweak that, overhaul, replace, etc. Valve jobs (not adjust, but grind and reseat). 200,000 mile engines?? Fugettaboutit.

 

You had to work a lot harder at having fun. Not much was done for you. No computers to do your thinking. No spell checker. When you made a mistake with that IBM Selectric it stayed there, until someone finally invented a correctable typewriter.

 

No cell phones. You had to drive around and find a PAY PHONE, and hope you had enough change to finish the call.

 

Yes, coffee "percolated" but that took awhile, you had to get it boiling first. No almost-instant drip machines.

 

Microwave ovens...just came out in 1965, but very expensive. Few could afford them.

 

About the only cordless item was the flashlight, and they had about 2 candlepower.

 

Cordless drills? Waaay in the future.

 

Most people still had black and white TV's.

 

Do you like oil in your hair? It was a fashion must in those days.

 

Speaking of oil, you HAD to change it every 3,000 miles because it just didn't last much longer than that. Or your engine burned it.

 

And I think if a mother today forced caster oil on her kid, she'd get charged with child abuse. My mom made me drink cod liver oil, for which I have never forgiven her. It made me the angry, disgruntled, social misfit I am today.

 

You had to change the blade in your razor because disposables weren't available. Almost nothing was disposable, except cars.

 

FM radios were just coming in for cars, AM was the main thing. One speaker. If you said the words "High Def" people would have thought you were nuts. "Hi Fi" was in, but only at home.

 

"Tapes" meant giant reel-to-reel machines. No cassettes, no CD's, no MP3's.

 

No airbags, no shoulder harnesses,no rustproofing, no crumple zones, no GPS, no debit cards, no interweb so no truck forums. You get the drift.

 

Was it better? Maybe in some ways. But in totality, I think you'd want to come back here before too long.

[KARNUT]

Peace and quiet was easier to come by, pace was a little slower. If you made a mistake you had time to fix it. You didn't need a degree to work on your car. And Id take Jimmy Carter and Nixon compared to... Oh yea and flying was fun. I HATE cell phones.

[surebuttercringe]

My first truck when I was 16 was a 1967 F100. This was in 1994. It had headlight switch on the floor, horn on the rim of the steering wheel, gas tank behind the seat, and best of all a 3 speed on the column (3 on the tree as they used to say). It was funny watching my friends try to drive it and be confused as how to shift it. I love that my parents got me that truck for $900 back then instead of something more modernI like a lot of the kids were driving. Taught me a lot about cars, doing my own maintenance and being humble.

 

Sent via Samsung Note II

[dirtfan21]

 

Geeeezzz....you got me there. I'll be 59 in June if I live that long.

 

And the '60's weren't that great. Nostalgia is fun to think about, but reality is not the Hollywood bliss you might think. Sure the cars looked great, but they DID have carburetors and you DID have to "tune them up", not for fun but to make them run. Like every 10,000 miles or so. Points, plugs, adjust this, tweak that, overhaul, replace, etc. Valve jobs (not adjust, but grind and reseat). 200,000 mile engines?? Fugettaboutit.

 

You had to work a lot harder at having fun. Not much was done for you. No computers to do your thinking. No spell checker. When you made a mistake with that IBM Selectric it stayed there, until someone finally invented a correctable typewriter.

 

No cell phones. You had to drive around and find a PAY PHONE, and hope you had enough change to finish the call.

 

Yes, coffee "percolated" but that took awhile, you had to get it boiling first. No almost-instant drip machines.

 

Microwave ovens...just came out in 1965, but very expensive. Few could afford them.

 

About the only cordless item was the flashlight, and they had about 2 candlepower.

 

Cordless drills? Waaay in the future.

 

Most people still had black and white TV's.

 

Do you like oil in your hair? It was a fashion must in those days.

 

Speaking of oil, you HAD to change it every 3,000 miles because it just didn't last much longer than that. Or your engine burned it.

 

And I think if a mother today forced caster oil on her kid, she'd get charged with child abuse. My mom made me drink cod liver oil, for which I have never forgiven her. It made me the angry, disgruntled, social misfit I am today.

 

You had to change the blade in your razor because disposables weren't available. Almost nothing was disposable, except cars.

 

FM radios were just coming in for cars, AM was the main thing. One speaker. If you said the words "High Def" people would have thought you were nuts. "Hi Fi" was in, but only at home.

 

"Tapes" meant giant reel-to-reel machines. No cassettes, no CD's, no MP3's.

 

No airbags, no shoulder harnesses,no rustproofing, no crumple zones, no GPS, no debit cards, no interweb so no truck forums. You get the drift.

 

Was it better? Maybe in some ways. But in totality, I think you'd want to come back here before too long.

 

Nah, that sounds like a slice of heaven to me. I would miss some things for sure, but I'm not a real big fan of the world today.

[Bad Bowtie2]

I agree, I could manage without AC, the internet, microwaves, cell phones, air bags, etc, etc.

 

Just to sit back & see everyone slow down & enjoy the wholesome things of life. The ones these current fast paced times have made us get away from.

 

When gas was cheep, and a car getting 8-12 MPG was considered "ok". Drive-in movies, which I still get to from time to time, and my 3 & 6 year old girls think is a BLAST!!

 

Heck what about those cool hood ornaments each car line had- Some even lite up!!

['01LS1]

Two things I remember was that it was a big deal when my parents bought a microwave in the early 80's. Have to remember, 30 years ago was a world where cash was everything, credit cards were emergency use only & everything you purchased was an investment into your home. Today it is disposable. Maybe the initial microwavable food led to the disposable aspects?

 

The other thing that has been forgotten was our local phone prefix was 965. If you were within the area calling local you could just dial 5 then the last four. But it was dial, as in rotary dial.

[Spurshot]

How about "inner tube"? I remember a time or two my dad had run a tube in tires when they had been punctured. I doubt you can find inner tubes for our sizes anymore.

 

Cars didn't have seat belts standard until the late 60's. I remember when you would see seat belt kits on the shelves of auto parts stores.

 

"smog pump". That's a by-gone term from the seventies.

 

"white walls". They were tires, for you younger guys. You were considered of lower income if you didn't have them.

[Ventilator]

Man, if this don't bring back some memories. I have a feeling that the OP at 42 was not the original author of that post though? Or he MAY be lying about his age? LOL