The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

TinfoilPhono wrote:

FloridaClay wrote:And yes, they did have beautiful dashboards--albeit you were toast if you head went into all that steel with much force.

This is off-topic but relevant to that particular comment. We tend to think of cars of the 50s and 60s as being more solidly built than cars today. It's true that most had heavier gauge steel but they weren't very solid:

Crash test of 1959 Chevy Bel Air vs. 2009 Chevy Malibu.

That sure gives me pause when I'm driving my Model A or 1954 VW.

A second-hand 59 Bel Air was the car I drove in college. Fortunately, I didn't crash it.

As with most cars of that day, not much crash protection there and the public didn't seem to much care. Ford had tried to introduce important safely advances in 1956, but they went over like the proverbial lead balloon. http://www.autonews.com/article/1996062 ... didnt-sell

Clay

Hey Peter, howzit goin'? Next best thing to the Highway Hi-Fi would be an RCA or Automatic Radio 45 rpm player for your wagon. OR maybe a Muntz 4-track. I remember the little quiz about that car when visiting you. We had a wonderful time, thanks for the tour! PS, the Brunswick Automatic Panatrope lives again! Cheers, Russie