As this thread has devolved into a nostalgia car thread, it occurred to me that most of the members will never have the enjoyment in old cars that the grey head members had, assuming intact memories. The younger will not experience the pleasure of a date on a bench seat, stick shift car from the 40s-50s where the SYT* sat so close that it looked like one body with two heads. That meant of course shifting left handed through the steering wheel spokes. Right hand drive is on your own. If she was shy. she shifted gears for you. The older cars from the 30s were even more fun as the floor shift now was between her legs, meaning more care was needed with left hand shifts until later dates. On occasion, a timid soul would cling to the passenger door handle, however this could be corrected. Many of the older cars were equipped with aftermarket seatcovers made of a woven plastic. With a light coat of wax, well buffed, a sharp right turn would reposition the timid one to the proper place. The next few words would give an indication of her personality. She would say, "My the seat is slippery." to which I replied, "I wax them." If she thought it funny, she could be a great date, but if she thought it disgusting, her father could go to bed early.
This bought another memory about a previous generation. My mother returned from an evening ladies church meeting and told of Mr. Miller complaining she was nearly late because of the young couple in the car ahead of her. They were sitting so close it looked like one body with two heads (bench seat) and every red light they commenced to kissing so that when the light turned green, she had to use the horn to get them to move. From the back of the room, Mr.Dunn the church treasurer (96 in 1957), commented, "In my day, we just threw the reins over the dashboard. The horse knew the way home."
*SYT=sweet young thing
