Remembering the Dream Machine

1956 DeSoto Firedome -- Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter

Let me preface this by saying that I love cars from a standpoint of style and culture -- I have absolutely no mechanical knowledge of cars. I know zip about pistons or transmissions. Nevertheless, some of these observations still stand. Pictured above is a 1956 DeSoto Firedome, one of the finest-looking cars ever made in my view. You could get it with A/C and power windows; it also came in 55 color combinations. The sweeping sheet metal, size and stature made the car almost have the eminence of a sculpture or a work of art.

The 1960’s brought a lot of heightened awareness about safety, ecology, fuel efficiency and such. Much of the critique was justified. In fact by the late 60’s and early 70’s we had rallied to the cause with better designed cars that still had style to spare (e.g., Ford LTD and Pontiac Grand Prix).

What happened after that is hard to describe, and differs from your vantage point. Stylistically we started making pimp-mobiles throughout the 1970’s -- ghastly creations with faux Rolls Royce grills and opera windows. We became status-aware and quality ignorant. Cars made it to show rooms with loose molding, runny paint jobs and engines poorly assembled. You’d like to say it was the low point but maybe not.

In the 1980’s we transitioned to square-looking Fairmonts and K cars -- then to jelly bean creations like the 1986 Ford Taurus (copying Audi style but not necessarily quality or engineering) . From the 1990’s thru the current period, cars could aptly be described as “competent boxes”. We improved on quality out of absolute necessity -- Japan was kicking American butt. But the awe-inspiring beauty of a DeSoto never returned. Whether you’re looking at a boxy Ford SUV or a Nissan sedan, you’re looking at a pleasant square carton, blandly painted in a 21st century non-color -- black, white, silver, gray or gold if you want to be daring.

Now it appears with Toyota’s recent recalls, that Japan may have taken exactly the wrong page out of the American auto experience. They've made a sacrifice of quality for sales volume, and still never displayed the pulse or the energy that once made cars (sold or built in America) so great as American cars in the Golden Era. Europe and Asia never glommed on to American style, but at least they inspired us with quality. Let’s hope that someday the twin virtues of beauty and reliability come back to us. It can be as a Dodge or a Toyota as long as it actually is.

If you look at where we're headed, the prospect is dimming for the 50's Dream Machine experience. Mass transit is coming more and more popular and that brings the impersonal presence of light rail cars. Bitsy smart cars and tiny hybrids are also becoming more le mode. It's not at all hard to envision a future where cars are autopiloted and don't even come with a steering wheel. In days to come (admittedly safer and less polluting days) we may fondly look back to a time when we actually commanded our own travel machines, and damn pretty machines they were.

CATCHING UP ON OTHER TOPICS ...

I’m a little behind again on my blogging, so will catch up on a few topics here at the close. All of these merit more than a catch-up sentence, but we do what we can do.

Aloha, Macbook -- When I updated my 2008 MacBook to Snow Leopard OS last October, I thought I was doing a good thing. I’ve been an early adaptor before, and never been bitten like this. The Airport function quit working and I lost my wireless internet connection. Mind you, everything else in my house using wi-fi continues to work fine -- two HP’s, an old mac mini as well as my iPod Touch. I searched the support groups to see an answer to “Invalid IP address” or “Self-assigned IP address”. I got a lot of bum feedback about needing a new router. I have a fairly new 2Wire router and I’m disinclined to throw it out because of one device upgrade gone bad. Hate to say, but after 6 weeks of messing with it I’ve boxed up the MacBook -- life is too short. It was a toy, more than anything else so it won’t be missed a great deal. It will go the way of eBay or be a donation to a relative.

I am Conando! -- I’m very sorry to see the big brouhaha with Conan, Leno and NBC. Sorry to see Conan leave; I knew that his conceptual humor might be a hard sell for early evening, general audiences. He may very well go to FOX (home of The Simpsons and The Cleveland Show), so he should be able to cut loose and really be NC-17 Conan again.

Scott Brown and Massachusetts -- Have to agree with Froma Harrop on this one. Brown’s election is not so much an indictment of Obama or an over-reaching Congress. It is indicative that these New England voters, who already have state health care, were afraid that they’d be double-charged on national health care. Congress should still carry on as they were, and try to hatch out a program for the rest of the nation. I do think that Obama has exhibited a weak, overly cautious leaderhip style that has been off-putting to many of his original supporters. Won't be surprised myself if he's a one-term President.

Samsung no longer the blues -- I was able to get the wireless “dongle” (suppress urge to giggle) even though it’s in short supply -- Samsung didn’t even have it at their warehouse. Best Buy did have a new shipment. I put one on hold and bought it. Have to say that Blockbuster and Pandora are great -- they will give Apple some competition and maybe merit another blog.

OK, all caught up! This is what happens when weather and work take me away from blogging.

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