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I tried my best to take care of this
car, in the harsh Midwest climate.
During the day, parking at work,
I covered the car with a plastic top.
Driving around with the top down
was sheer delight. The mechanism
worked automatically. The trunk
would rise up during the process
and the top would descend into the
trunk. This step provided ultra-clean
lines. Of course, you gave up luggage
space in the trunk, but there was
always the back seat.
One character at my Department
looked at my prize and dismissed it
by saying, “Old man’s car.” But what
did this jerk know?
Another point worth mentioning was
gas, both mileage and pricing. None
of my big convertibles got good
mileage, in fact, they got horrible
mileage. But in the 60s through
maybe the 80s, I always used the
regular type at the pump. This was
at the advice of several dealers.
Keep in mind that this type of gas
was full ethyl. Once ethyl was out
of the formula, by government
decree, I immediately changed all
my pumping to full super.
My next passion for my Lincoln was
a cross country trip, Chicago to the
Los Angeles area, to visit various
national parks along the way. I could
only take two weeks to accomplish
this trip and it was a whirlwind. For
someone who had never before been
west of St. Louis, my trip was a
lifetime event. The Interstate
highway system was substantially
complete by then, and my green
Lincoln Continental and I soared.
There were a few glitches, however.
The Lincoln dealer should have
warned me of one of them, and
inspected for the other. First, both
Lincolns and Cadillac El Dorados
used front wheel drive (what this
is constitutes another mystery to a
mechanical klutz). Whatever benefits
accrued from this, it meant the
front tires would sometimes blow,
with no connection to any nail or
age. This happened to me on the
way out and slowed me down, while
I bought a replacement. This made
me jittery for the rest of the trip.
Then, at the gates of California,
at least in those days, the “Green
River Ordinance” raised its head.
Inspectors wanted to check car
trunks for any offending vegetables
or fruits that might endanger
California plants. But when I stopped
and pushed the button to open the
trunk, nothing---yes, nothing—
happened. I pushed and pushed again,
with the inspector obviously
growing impatient. But then, a
miracle of sorts occurred and the
trunk popped open. I was free to go.
All in all, my cross country trip with
my Lincoln convertible was one of
the high points of my life to date.
Then, back in Chicago, I acquired
something else, a fiancé. We had
great fun in the green Lincoln, but
I got the idea that I should present
her with a new car. So, after
shedding a few tears and taking
a ton of photographs, I traded in the
“green giant” for what else—a brand
new 1966 four door blue Lincoln
Continental convertible. We had
great fun in this car too, occasional
blown tires and all.
A few years later, minus my fiancé,
I found myself working in what
amounted to a sweat shop
environment. Although my love for
the big ragtops was still intense, it
somehow got circumvented by my
passion for professional progress.
As a result, I wound up trading the
blue giant for—can you believe it—
two successive, conventional sedans.
What was I thinking of? These were
fine cars, but I never really ENJOYED
them, the way I had enjoyed
convertibles.
I talked to a local dealer, he informed
me that there was about a nine
months waiting list. Was I crushed!
But a few weeks later, the same
dealer called me back. The buyer
for one convertible had a fatal
glitch in his credit. A brand new,
cream colored Mercedes convertible
was mine.
A few years still later, my career was
making real progress. I knew I had to
celebrate right, and I did, going back
on the convertible route. By that
time, Lincoln sorely disappointed
me by ending convertible production
entirely. But Cadillac El Dorados
were going strong, even with only
two doors available.
Although the car was close to the
ground, it was great fun for me
and, eventually, for my wife, to
drive. One aspect did seem strange.
Despite the legitimate luxury tag
on his car, its converti &