1954 Chevrolet 210 - Happy Days

I couldn't have been 10 ten years old when the gentleman who lived across the street from us bought a new-to-him, 1954 Chevrolet 210, two door sedan. Seeing that it was the mid 1970's and that the car couldn't have been more than twenty years old at the time mattered little to me. I thought it looked like something straight off the set of Happy Days. In other words, I thought the car was prehistoric.
 

Having recently purchased a twenty year old Camaro, it has never occurred to me that it was that old but according to the calendar, it most certainly is because twenty years is twenty years regardless of whether that's 1955-1975 or 1840-1860. Of course, as we age, time compresses so everything is relative but still, metaphorically speaking, our twenty year old Camaro is not nearly as old as that '54 Chevrolet was all those years ago.
 

 

That's a testament to the fact that automobile design and engineering hit an acceptable plateau of sorts sometime over the last twenty, twenty five years.  While cars in 2014 are certainly far superior to what they were in 1996, they're not nearly as superior as 1975 automobiles were to 1954 automobiles. That's saying a lot too considering how crappy 1975 cars, particularly American makes, were to even 1996 cars.

 

 

Then again, think about how superior 1954 cars were to 1935 cars. The leaps and bounds in engineering where nothing short of remarkable. The buyer of this 1954 Chevrolet when it was new most likely marveled at its smooth, modern lines and relative ease of operation. Chances are, that person may have had a car at some point in their life that had a crank starter and didn't even have a heater. Perhaps in their childhood they got around in horse and buggy.

 

I recently went for a ride in a new Ford Escape and was impressed with its fit, finish and overall modern design. It rode and handled extremely well too. Despite all that and what appeared to be a TV right in the middle of the dash, I wasn't nearly as impressed with it as you would think I would be since the overall driving dynamic is not that much better than anything that I have now. Trust me, I'm not being "that old guy" who doesn't embrace change either. Y'see, I'm not only the owner of a twenty year old Camaro, but the owner of a fleet of vehicles with an average age of twenty three. I know an old car from a new one and appreciate the old as well as the new. Although old cars today aren't nearly as old as they used to be.