My favorite automotive editorial of all time!

Tom Hoczyk

PCS Past President
Many years ago I cut out this marvelous editorial by Mike Royko, who wrote for the Chicago Daily News, the Chicago Sun-Times, and the Chicago Tribune. I don't think there's an editorial I've ever agreed with more. See if you agree! I apologize that the scan is a bit difficult to read, but thought I'd present it in its original form. It's well worth the effort. Tom
 

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I've got lots of responses that I could share on that that article, mostly in total agreement, but it would take me a long long time to write it all out. So I'll sum up my thoughts with one sentence and a corresponding picture...

I am a car geek in every sense, who can think of nothing else I'd rather be doing than learning about, talking about, looking at, working on, researching, or driving cars, and in the last 25 years, which is about how long I've been old enough to be using a camera, I've only stopped once ever to take a picture of a current, mass produced car (so excluding exotic and high-end cars, which I really don't take pictures of anyway).

PS Note the early '60's Lincoln in the background sitting among a group of nondescript modern cars.
 

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An interesting side note is that the Oldsmobile is gone. If a young person should be driving one, it most definitely is someones "fathers Oldsmobile. Another iconic brand also met the fate of the Oldsmobile, the Pontiac. You know, the Wide Track. So much for"We are driving excitement." Today, all the cars are coming out of the same cookie cutter mold, and there is no excitement left. I remember the days in late September and early October when the automobile showrooms were filled with people excited to see the new models. Today, they don't even mention when the new models are introduced, and the current inventory is "last years model". This is what the automobile industry calls "progress".
 
GM did it to themselves making 4 and 5 versions of the same car ( with identical engines too). Each division had to have it's own version of everything. Instead of killing Oldsmobile and then Pontiac they should have taken the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep model of consolidating dealerships. You wan't to be a dealer, you sell the full line. Each "division" gets two or three cool cars. No more loaded Chevy's, you want dual zone climate control with heated seats, you buy the Buick. You want cutting edge performance and luxury, buy the Caddy.
 
have you noticed that the camero,mustand and charger all have the same shape. at a glance you can't tell them apart going down the road. think nascar. same bodys going around the track
 
have you noticed that the camero,mustand and charger all have the same shape. at a glance you can't tell them apart going down the road. think nascar. same bodys going around the track
:agree: I have seen the new Camero, Mustang, and Challenge from the back and it takes a minute to figure out which it is. I don't think many, if any cars today has any style, definitely not like cars use to have. I hate that I was not alive during the time when cars had style. When at the Auto Fair with my uncle he will point to a muscle car or something from the 60's and say, "that was a school car". I told him a "school car" when I went to school was a Honda. At least at the time I could tell it was a Honda.
 
Royko's editorial was prophetic....As Adam's pic shows,the Big 3 ARE channeling their '60s muscle cars.My fave for today would be a '60 Lincoln.
 
I love my Olds!

My family always bought Oldsmobile's religiously from the 1950's until recently. I wish I had all my father's Oldsmobile's... 98's, Starfire's, Cutlasses, 442's.... I'm glad we still own a few! Dad's 68 Hurst\Olds still attracts plenty of attention at our local cruise-ins.... ''My father's Oldsmobiles''.... where the best!
 
I still have one to. a 72. now if I can just get it home. wish I had my mothers last one. a 1998 88 with the 3.8 the car would knock of 30 + mpg all day long
ac running cruse on and 6 fat ladies heading for a DAV convention. now they brag up 25 in a 5 seater you got be be a miget to use. looks to me like they are going bacwards. a 34 ford with a flat head would pull 30 on white gas. in 34 driving gravle roads. now they got 10,000 bucks worth of electronics on the car and still cant do any better with interstates.
 
I still have one to. a 72. now if I can just get it home. wish I had my mothers last one. a 1998 88 with the 3.8 the car would knock of 30 + mpg all day long
ac running cruse on and 6 fat ladies heading for a DAV convention. now they brag up 25 in a 5 seater you got be be a miget to use. looks to me like they are going bacwards. a 34 ford with a flat head would pull 30 on white gas. in 34 driving gravle roads. now they got 10,000 bucks worth of electronics on the car and still cant do any better with interstates.

Gotta believe the technology is there to get better gas mileage but someone won't let it out.
 
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