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....