High gas prices

I can remember when gas was .50 per gallon1975, I had just bought a new Ford pickup truck, yes I love Chevy’s but Fords are ok too. We had just come out of the gas crunch period people didn’t have to wait in line for gas because it was available again. I attended a Motorcycle mechanic School, and every morning before driving to Chicago I would fill up my ¾ ton pickup truck with gas. I bought the ¾ ton because it was exempt from having to have a catalytic converter 360 engine four barrel automatic trans, not to good on gas mileage.

Just a short time before that early 70’s my wife would wait in line to fill our 68 Chevy Impala SS 396 at the local Standard station, and on the days I rode to work with my brother to the steel mill in Chicago she would drive my work car, or truck to wait in line to fill it up also because the station would eventually run out of gas, then they would put up the sign to say sorry we our out of gas.

I would hear on the am radio on the way to work how we have to reduce our oil consumption by taking public transportation, car-pooling and so forth. People would go trade in their big cars for small one’s like the Plymouth Horizon, the AMC Pacer, they had the Corvair, and the Pinto but they were both condemned as unsafe. Now Japan started sending over their little cars to get on the small car trend.

Again gas was made available 1978 when the price got back up too close to a dollar a gallon, 4x4 trucks were big sellers, so I was tired of driving in the snow getting stuck, I bought a new 1979 4x4 Chevy ¾ ton still no converter, I got 11 miles to the gallon the truck had twin tanks I could hit a switch to go to the other tank.

Once again gas was in short supply, and the trucks are worth next too nothing, everyone started trading again. We bought a New 83 Plymouth Horizon, to me it seemed like a pattern was playing out with the oil companies and the car companies to keep people buying new cars, and trucks.

Now I do not believe this is true because the Big three US Auto companies in this country are hurting, and really loosing money. What’s the answer I haven’t a clue, but I know that people in this country will not put up with this much longer something has to give. Now they are saying the same thing again, we have to reduce our oil consumption and be less dependent on foreign oil. The big difference between then and now, the early 70’s I was working and was making good money like most everyone else. Between the cars, and trucks I mentioned we had several new cars. 71 Elcamino, 72 Camaro, 74 Monte Carlo, 75 Ford Elite, 77 Thunderbird, 86 Chevy conversion van, 87 Plymouth Horizon, 88 Monte Carlo, 93 Z28 Camaro, 94 Chevy Cavalier, 96 Chevy Impala SS.

I’m sorry to say it but in 1971 I bought a new Toyota Corolla, I wanted something that was good on gas, and I was tired of driving junk car to work having constantly work on them. The Toyota was no better then the junk cars I had before. I was working on that car even though it had a warranty. By the time I would have to pay the up front first $100 I could put plugs, points, condenser in myself. Then I had to do a valve job on the car, I pulled head off using my brothers tools, I didn’t have metric’s but at one time he worked as a machinist so he had the 32 seconds, 64 ths. and I could find one that would fit the metrics.
At 6,000 I had put a new distributor in plus all the set’s of points, and the valve job, I was so sick of that car I sold it for way less then I paid for it. When I bought it didn’t even dawn on me that it was a foreign car, I just wanted something small. That was the first and last foreign car that I bought. People today are buying them like crazy and they don’t seem to think what it is doing to this country. Back then I was not thinking when I bought mine but today when people buy them they are hurting this country. I know what people will say that the Japanese cars are made here and employ our workers. But I don’t see it that way, that’s just me. I would be guessing because I’m not a college graduate like most of the people on this site but I think our dollars for the cars being made here that are going to the Japan could be making our dollar weak. Feel free to enlighten the others and me if they do not know as I.

Richard

well said Richard