Quote:
Originally Posted by CityBoyDoug
Wow, ER, that night train b/w film is noirish to the max.
I can remember those old cars with their tiny red glass rear panel lights...smoking in the cars and no seat belts. Sigh...now everything is plastic.
Plus there's another thing about those old cars....they reeked of oil and gasoline, plus the smell of dilapidated cloth upholstery.
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Most interesting observations, which prompts me to muse over the continued use of so many basically used up automobiles seen in photos of different periods of time seen in this forum making it more than obvious Southern California was not necessarily the Land Milk and Honey for all. As a collector of vintage autos I certainly enjoy seeing them in photos, but have to admit it is somewhat shocking to see so many ten to twenty year old automobiles on the then streets of L.A. with newer automobiles. Little wonder there was a smog problem that was more than just the temperature inversions caused by the mountains.
Anyone who found themselves trapped in the middle of a freeway traffic jamb certainly remembers the God awful smell of crankcase fumesl and half burned gasoline coming from exhaust pipes made even worse by many mostly used up engines needing a rebuild or replacement burning oil. Yukers! Guaranteed to give anyone a spitting headache in a matter of minutes.
Ah, the good old days when some moron with one of those oil burning piles of junk pulled into the spot next to you at a drive-in and kept their engine running because their battery wouldn't hold a charge and killing the engine required a jump start.
