I don’t mean the truck I own now but its model, the model of pickup truck that General Motors made back when the average price for one gallon of regular gasoline was US$ 0.21 and you could buy a good house for less than US$ 25,000. In other words I remember the day when I saw a 1954 Chevy pickup for the first time. It was a brand new dark green truck with the front grill painted in white and the fenders black. The most striking differences from the previous model were the panoramic windshield and the cargo bed. A closer look also showed the redesigned dashboard and door handles.
I remember it well. That truck had just left the showroom and it smelled like a new car. It was quiet and it looked imposing. It wasn’t mine and I didn’t even know its owner but it made a big impression.
What’s the big deal about remembering this truck? Well, do you remember the day when you broke your arm for the first time? Do you remember when you got your first bicycle? And do you remember the day when you first went on a date? How about the first time you went to the beach? I bet those were significant moments of your life and they were etched forever in your memory.
Seeing that 1954 Chevrolet pickup truck for the first time marked a significant moment in my life. Maybe not because of the truck itself but because of the times and the kind of life I had back then. My parents were alive and so was my only brother, who was 18 months younger than me. My bicycle was still new, although it was already two years old at the time. And I was at an age when I was becoming very interested in cars and trucks and wanted to know everything about the vehicles that were born in Detroit.
At the time there were lots of brands of pickup trucks made in America. There were good looking trucks with names like International, De Soto, Fargo, Mercury (in Canada) and Studebaker as well as Ford, Chevrolet, GMC and Dodge.
I remember well. And I also remember that at a certain point in my life I decided that I was going to do whatever I could to rescue at least part of those memories, by buying a 1954 Chevy truck like the green one I had seen back then. I had to wait for a long time but my dream came true 38 years later, when I found the truck that I now own.
About the prices of a house and a gallon of gas in 1954 I have to tell you that I don’t remember details like this. I had to spend some time searching for the information on the Internet. But I can assure you I remember the truck, as well as the exact spot on the street where I saw it…
I like my truck and I like what it represents for me. In a way it was part of my past and it is part of my present. I hope I can keep it and make it part of my future too.
Hi, My name is Brian and I’d like to speak with you about your blog, please email me at your earliest convenience.
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