Jive-Bomber submitted a new blog post: Car Spotting on the LA Freeways Continue reading the Original Blog Post
And, I didn't see one window rolled up with the air on....just an arm hanging out with the windows down. Cool video, thanks.
Quite the opposite of my recent trip to California in my 59 Rambler. It was pretty warm out most of the time, and I was the only guy with the windows down, and my arm hanging out. Also I was the only guy driving an old car like you'd see in the video. The times they are a changin'
I find it interesting, that in all the scenes, whether mid '50s or early '60s, there are virtually NO 20 year old cars still on the road. Back then, styling MATTERED! Detroit designs were advancing so fast, that a 20 year old car would look quite antiquated. Today sadly, by comparison, a 2002 Ford Taurus doesn't look much different than a 2022 Taurus
The 2nd ground level clip looks to be 1961. Quite a few VW’s seen. It’s sad to see how the big three let car production fall through their fingertips while not keeping up with innovation and quality over 60 yrs. Wouldn’t it be cool to have a time machine and transport 100 of them to a 2022 warehouse. Cool video.
just imagine the carnage if cars of today still had the same braking, steering and tires of the mid 50's in LA traffic. add steel dashboards to the no seat belts, air bags, or collapsible steering columns and there would be coroners just cruising along collecting all the bodies.
There was a time, when I could identify every car I saw on the highway. Now, they all look the same. I took two or three trips to LA on business. Each time I saw stereotypical California stuff like hot rods and biker clubs.
It's SOOOO nice to see such a variety of makes also.....Willys, Hudson, Nash, Studebaker to name a few, all different years (30s +) and I even saw a bunch of panel trucks (and work trucks...working).
Nope, things would have continued to get sorted out. As long as there wouldn’t be any warning labels, all the stupid people would be mostly gone. Smart cars just made drivers more stupid.
I spotted a hot rod parked at 3:16-3:18 and again on the return trip at 6;14 - 6:20. Can anyone else confirm?
LOL. Same with toys...back when I was a kid, long before "child safe" toys, the REALLY dumb kids never survived to contribute to the gene pool.
Stupid people also kill smart people. Maybe your family member or one of mine. Some folks of a similar mentality also argue that safety improvements by racing organizations like NASCAR made drivers more reckless, hence, more of a danger. Yeah??? Well its been a long time since a Cup driver has died in a wreck. As far as all cars looking the same today, federal requirements such as crashworthiness, fuel economy, fire and toxicity, insurance restraints, etc. have driven auto design toward optimal shapes. Regrettable from a purely esthetic standpoint, unless you are of the "form-follows-function" school of thought. I know that when I jump into one of my old jalopies that I am accepting a greater measure of risk. So be it.
'Unsafe at any speed'. I don't have a Corvair, but I can take my F100 out and 'warm it up'... Maybe 'clean off the tires', give Mr. Victor next door a nice smokescreen. Always get the 'thumbs-up'! Gotta go make an Amazon return anyway... Might as well be by truck!
AHA… so that is where our mom spends her long day out with her friends… on the way to downtown Los Angeles... The 4 door 51-52 Chevy sedan in the lower right corner with a dark haired lady in the rear seat… Hello, Nice find on the LA Freeway film. As we can all see, even in the 1950's, it did get crowded as one got closer to Downtown Los Angeles. As a small family, we used to visit some of our parents' old friends from a long time ago, that lived in the general vicinity, just off to the right in an area called Boyle Heights. From their homes, the specific surface roads leading into downtown Los Angeles were those going over the famous Los Angeles River at 6th, 4th and First Streets. I just happen to capture the 4 friends going out for a “short drive” from our Westside of Long Beach house. I assumed that it was shopping, lunch, or whatever… well the whatever is shown in the remastered video on the Los Angeles freeways photo above. The beginning of a long day out: It is strange that the old Chevy sedan is on the Santa Ana Freeway heading towards the Harbor Freeway. Some of our mom’s old friends still lived in Boyle Heights right near the intersection of the Harbor Freeway and Santa Ana Freeways. Perhaps, it was a long time visit to those folks there and to go to the Fashion District which is right off of the freeway area, in downtown Los Angeles. Then to their favorite restaurant in the First and Los Angeles Street intersection. Mystery solved… thanks for the old film shoot. Jnaki (far left bottom corner area) Ha! It is interesting that the two toned (what looked like my dad’s two toned Buick sedan) 1952 Buick sedan is going the other way in the middle of the day. “Something’s going on and I don’t know what it is…”
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