TweetIt sounds like a myth, but it is true: I was brought home from the hospital in my mother's 1955 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Starfire convertible. A fact that would otherwise be trivial is an indicator of what my future would hold. Let alone a point of historical reference that denotes a heritage of car ownership. Perhaps …
There seems to be a theme unfolding here. A disturbing and sad theme, but it is the reality that 2020 had yielded for us. On top of a pandemic and the movement towards social justice, many car lines are being eliminated by the end of this calendar year.
It has been something I have witnessed through a brief foray or two into Chevrolet’s mid-sized, three-row SUV since before its first appearance in showrooms in the summer of 2017. I applauded the fact that it has adult-sized space in the third row, despite having access to it from the passenger side only. I also applauded the fact that it is contemporary enough to fit within Chevrolet’s new design guidelines, along with huge advances to its technology offerings.
On Amigo Avenue, the street where I lived, our corner lot at Gilmore Street offered plenty of curbside parking for any of the cars our family owned and any car I would take home from a rental car lot. As with many days in the Valley, when the sun was setting in the west came this shimmering white light across the mulberry trees that would give any of those vehicles a shimmery gleam to our property. In the early years, Mom’s Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Luxury sedan would catch that sheen when she arrived home. On most days, that meant things were OK in the world – even when they were not.
Since then, I had my share of heavy duty pickup trucks from the Detroit Three. The summation I have made over time is that the typical owner either use these trucks for work or trailering. They are designed as intended because they have the capacity to do so.
Prior to April of 2011, I tried my hand on automotive vehicle reviewing by talking about the cars I rented. They helped me understand what these vehicles were all about. I paid attention to their positive and negative attributes very closely. The result was informed opinions with the approach of living with each of these vehicles day in and day out.
As I get older, memories become fonder. Memories of vehicles driven – for work and for pleasure. Some memories are worth reliving inside your head. Others…could be considered forgettable.
To summarize, General Motors announce that they will "cease Holden sales, design, and engineering operations by 2021" and end Chevrolet brand sales in Thailand by the end of 2020. Furthermore, Great Wall Motors will most likely buy the production facility in Thailand from GM.
There was a time when the future of the automobile was exhibited to the public as a "concept." A concept vehicle was truly a vision of the future for which a few components would be present in new models within a few years later. Others were just straight out of science fiction with none of the concept's ideas brought to market at all.
Another editorial year has come and gone. This year may not have been full of excitement, but it had its highlights.