Automobiles

   What would $300. buy in 1954?...my first car; a four door, 1948, Pontiac with a straight, six cylinder engine.  Having just completed my sophomore year of high school I needed transportation to school because my brother had graduated and he would no longer drive me to school in his '41 Nash. There was no school bus service.
   The seller was Tilford Nelson, one of two Nelson barbers in Arlington, SD. While not related, their barber shops were a few doors apart on Main Street.  Tilford's shop was interesting because he also sold guns...in fact I still have a deer rifle and a shotgun I purchased from him in the '50s.
    The '48 Pontiac was a good starter and it the windows and doors were tight meaning I could stay dry in the rain.  These were not universal automobile assets in those days.  Today when I drive in heavy rain I find myself grateful that I stay dry.
    Automobile heaters were also often marginal.  One of my brothers had a '36 Ford with a 60 horsepower engine.  It was equipped with a gas heater that burned more gas than the engine but it kept the car warm.
    Other cars I owned in those early years included a '46 Ford, '42 Chevy, '51 Pontiac Coupe and a '49 Oldsmobile 88 Coupe.  Yes, of course I'd like to have them now.  In fact a friend went looking for the Olds but was not able to track it down.
    LN's care experience got me to thinking about automobiles.  Her purchase may just maybe the most economical ever.  She bought a new Toyota Echo in 2001 for $9,000. with 0% financing for 36 months.   In 2009 a deer hit her and the adjuster assumed it would be totaled, but, reversed course when he discovered it's book value, so it was repaired.
   Sixteen years of use and all that the Echo has needed are tires, a clutch, batteries and sway bar links all the while providing gas mileage in the mid-30s for 126,000 thousand miles.   Oh yes it doesn't leak rain, starts well and has a good heater.