Saw something you don't see much anymore

[Skip Lackie]

Was out doing errands when I cam across three guys partially blocking traffic while attempting to push a small Suzuki car (Swift?) up a hill. Haven't seen people pushing a car down the road in traffic (except off onto the shoulder) in at least 20 years. Back in the day, we all drove semi-derelicts, so getting or giving a push was a common practice. More than once I went several months with a dead battery, always making sure I parked on a hill. Times have changed.

[Dwain G.]

So right Skip! Remember when you would see some guys towing an old clunk around the block trying to start it while it popped and backfired the whole time? They'd stop and tinker with it awhile, have another beer, and try it again. Great entertainment!

[jclary]

Your post reminds me of the difficulty folks have encountered with the "push" thing as vehicles transitioned from true "Bumpers" to safety crush panels as a survivability tool in case of an accident. "Bumpers" are no longer "Bumpers." But in the early '50's, Buick even advertised their bumpers as "Safety Bumpers." Those massive chrome bumpers were advertised as resisting "bumper 0ver-ride," when you pushed your neighbors car to start it on a cold winter morning.

I believe our Chrysler LHS was the first car my wife owned that did not have a traditional bumper. When she worked in administration at a large hospital. Her boss, an accountant, had his Chevrolet stall in the parking lot one evening. It was quitting time, and the poor fella flagged my wife down and asked if she would use her car to push his car out of the way. When she got home, she told me the story. As soon as she had told me enough of the story to understand...she had to complete the explanation on the move as I rushed out to check the front of our LHS!

Sure 'nuff...there sat the car with horrible paint damage from the encounter with that grimy piece of GM crap. I explained to my wife that the paint on that so-called "bumper," was the same as the paint on the hood, doors, and top of the car. Her boss, and his insurance paid the nearly thousand dollar repair and repaint. Lesson learned. Believe it or not, though retired, we are still good friends.

The fact that seeing anyone pushing any kind of car nowadays...is considered odd...gives testimony to the fact that dependability and performance has improved across the entire industry.

[Skip Lackie]

So right Skip! Remember when you would see some guys towing an old clunk around the block trying to start it while it popped and backfired the whole time? They'd stop and tinker with it awhile, have another beer, and try it again. Great entertainment!

Dwain-
It might've been me . . . . . .

[8E45E]

I explained to my wife that the paint on that so-called "bumper," was the same as the paint on the hood, doors, and top of the car. Her boss, and his insurance paid the nearly thousand dollar repair and repaint. Lesson learned.

A very expensive 'nick'!

Just be thankful it wasn't a two-tone paintjob where the lower panels were black, silver or gray to accent the top color.

Craig

[52-fan]

The fact that seeing anyone pushing any kind of car nowadays...is considered odd...gives testimony to the fact that dependability and performance has improved across the entire industry.

I'm not sure it proves better reliability. When you pushed or pulled a car in the past, you had some hope of getting it started. Now the systems are so obscure and hard to work on that the average person just calls a tow truck or if it is a low value car just has it hauled off to a scrap yard.