The Little Nash Rambler

Actually, this is a photo of a 1961 two-seater Nash Metropolitan (link will take you to history on Wikipedia), perhaps the precursor to today's Smart Car, as it was intended as a commuter vehicle but the marketing was aimed specifically at the post-war women needing a 'compact car' (although that marketing phrase was still several years away) to run errands or for the dad to leave at the train station. To disprove the theory that car manufacturers cannot, or have not been able to, create a vehicle that gets good mpg, this car got from 29-39 mpg depending on speeds traveled - that was 60 years ago, folks!

Restored in the familiar colors of the time period (1954-1962), this cute little buggy (smaller than the VW Beetle) was recently offered for sale in Sequim, WA. I don't know if it is still for sale, but seeing it, I was reminded of the song called "Beep, Beep" that came out in 1958, made popular by the Playmates. (Click here to listen to it.)

1967 Nash Metropolitan, a two-seater, for sale in Sequim, WA

Perhaps you do as well... it starts off slowly... and builds up speed as the song progresses, a technique called accelerando in the music world. On Wikipedia it is stated that in order for the song to be released in Europe they had to change the words to "bubble car' and 'limousine' to avoid mentioning specific trade names, but since the vehicle was being partially constructed over there I am not sure what purpose that served.

Songwriters: Cicchetti, Carl / Claps, Donald

[Very Slow]
While riding in my Cadillac,
What to my surprise.
A little Nash Rambler was following me -
About one third my size.
The guy must've wanted to pass me up
As he kept on tooting his horn. Beep! Beep!
I'll show him that a Cadillac
Is not a car to scorn.
Beep beep. Beep! Beep! Beep beep. Beep! Beep!
His horn went beep beep beep. Beep! Beep!

[Slow]
I pushed my foot down to the floor
To give the guy the shake.
But the little Nash Rambler stayed right behind;
He still had on his brake.
He must have thought his car had more guts
As he kept on tooting his horn. Beep! Beep!
I'll show him that a Cadillac
Is not a car to scorn.
Beep beep. Beep! Beep! Beep beep. Beep! Beep!
His horn went beep beep beep. Beep! Beep! 

[Normal]
My car went into passing gear
And we took off with gust.
Soon we were doing ninety -
Must've left him in the dust.
When I peeked in the mirror of my car,
I couldn't believe my eyes:
The little Nash Rambler was right behind -
I think that guy could fly.
Beep beep. Beep! Beep! Beep beep. Beep! Beep!
His horn went beep beep beep.

[Faster]
Now we're doing a hundred and ten -
This certainly was a race.
For a Rambler to pass a Caddy
Would be a big disgrace.
The guy must've wanted to pass me up
As he kept on tooting his horn.
I'll show him that a Cadillac
Is not a car to scorn.
Beep beep. Beep! Beep! Beep beep. Beep! Beep!
His horn went beep beep beep.

[Fastest]
Now we're doing a hundred and twenty -
As fast as I could go.
The Rambler pulled along side of me
As if we were going slow.
The fellow rolled down his window
And yelled for me to hear,
"Hey, Buddy, how can I get this car
Out of second gear!"

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

Front view of the Nash Metropolitan in Sequim, WA.
When the car was offered new the price was about $1700,
but comparatively it was not an inexpensive choice.

It seems to me there were more silly songs back in those days, or maybe I'm just not getting the humor of the songs played today... Hope you enjoyed this 'reverse gear' reflection....

Just a flesh wound

In a bit of a pickle by not having four wheels to get around, a few weeks ago I found a rather abused, not-too-expensive, 1989 Mercedes Benz 300 SEL. I didn't want to get caught up in a new car loan since we plan to go back to Colombia and will have to leave a car out and in the weather while we are away. We actually do have a truck, but Jey-hu is busy taking care of business with it, so there are days when I don't have the freedom I am accustomed to having. Thus the MB. I didn't have Jey-hu with me when I made the decision to spend "not very much on it," and it was a "taillight guarantee" purchase: "When I see your taillights disappear, so does the guarantee."

I regretted the purchase almost immediately. A really cheap MB? There is a reason. The cost of fixing up the things that are wrong can put one in the poorhouse. Jey-hu agreed, after I cried on his shoulder, (did I say that he was smiling when he agreed?) not to remind me over and over again about my decision. Instead he decided to call the car "Only a Flesh Wound" with no apologies to Monty Python.

Well, my investment in "Only a Flesh Wound" doubled after I took it in to have the brakes checked. Once up on the lift, they showed me why I either had to agree to have it fixed or they would insist that it be towed away as their insurance would not allow them to put it back together and let me drive it off. Groan. I completely understood their reasoning... but...

A few hours later, we got a call from the mechanic saying that the parts he ordered were not the right ones because the car was so old that it didn't stipulate a difference on his computer and he had to order another, different, and YES, more expensive set. Jey-hu said in his most innocent tone of voice, "Was this the arm or the leg?" as he waited for me to report on the increased costs.

"In for a penny, in for a pound," is my motto with this situation. The day I picked it up, it was about to rain, so I stopped (the brakes now work very well) at the auto supply store and bought "Only a Flesh Wound" some new wipers to work on the new windshield - that had to be replaced within hours of the purchase - and I was good to go.

I hope.