Interesting now that the court ruled making your own whiskey is now legal. Not sure about selling it but would just need to pay the tax.
The 49 Ford was not the first major changei n American car since WW ll. Studebaker and Kaiser Fraser In 47 and Cadillac and Hudson in 48
Mitchum’s girlfriend was played by Keely Smith. If you watch the Frank Sinatra Ocean’s Eleven, you will see her name on one of the casino marquees.
Back to cars, yep, the “Big Three” did not bring out their new designs until 1949. At 4:19, I can’t tell for sure film is a little too grainy, there appears to be a Bullet nose Studebaker which would be 50 or 51. Of course, another group of cars for my dream car collection would be all the various body style of 1951 Studebaker Commanders, the Commanders had the OHV V8s.
Getting back to the topic of Driver Education, my high school had ONE vehicle for Driver Ed, despite an enrollment of close to 3,000 students. Naturally, most of us never set foot in that car–including me.
But, the school informed the state’s DMV that I had completed behind-the-wheel driver training, and I assume that they faked it for every student.
Was their action unethical? Yup!
But, I guess that it saved them from having to hire more than one DE teacher. Luckily, my father and I went out very early every Sunday morning for him to teach me how to drive.
This posting is from several years ago of my experiences in my Driver’s Education Class…
We had a new 64 ford. There were three of us in the car for an hour so each drove for 20 minutes or so. I think we met twice a week for about four weeks. I don’t know how many other classes there were. I liked that car but have never been crazy about the 64 body style. Our instructor was a teacher but had been a fighter pilot. He had a pretty hot temper and his own brake pedal which he used a couple times. Two guys and one girl in the car. She got the brake at least once and I got the lecture to check the railroad tracks. Except I knew there were only a train once in a great while.
I and most of my classmates got our learners permits when we were 15. About 25 of us enrolled in drivers education in the spring of our sophomore year. We had new 1966 Oldsmobiles. First a Cutlass two door, I don’t remember the trim level but it had bucket seats and vinyl roof, not a 442. They had to be returned to the dealer after a certain number of miles. Next was a Delta 88 four dour hardtop, last car was a Toronado. Yes, our teacher had a brake pedal on his side. I don’t remember the cost, wasn’t very much. So I had that plus driving with my parents. I started working a job with a paycheck when I turned 16. Though I was fine driving the Studebaker Wagon did not want to take my exam with a manual transmission so bought my Dart before I got my license.
Though we were taught and practiced merging onto an Interstate (called freeways in MN) staying in the right lane except for passing was not stressed.
At the high school where I was a faculty member, we had 3 Driver Ed cars (loaned by local dealerships), and 3 Driver Ed instructors. But, because of budget cuts, by the early '90s, the program had been completely disbanded, and families then had to pay private driver training companies for this service (if they themselves didn’t want to do that teaching).
During the period when we still had Driver Ed, a transfer student asked me if I could make sure that she was assigned to… as she called it… “under the wheel training”. Without laughing at her gaffe, I simply said that–instead–I would enroll her in Behind the wheel training, because too many students had been injured by “under the wheel training”.
This is the church and neighborhood where I taught my daughter how to drive… The neighborhood is VERY hilly in places, can’t tell from the screenshot though… Lots of curves, hills and 2way stop signs… Started when she was 14 (maybe late 13)…
When I took her for her driving test, the instructor that had been just walking in with the other testers and telling them to have a seat, came over to me and said she was one of the best testers she had ever delt with… Big smile on my face… I also in the snow made her get out and drive while I sat in the passenger seat and randomly grabbed the e-brake causing the car to go into a slide, also how to stop and take off on the hills, she learned real quick how to control a car, then I taught her how to do 180’s while doing the same… lol… She was the only one of her friends that would drive in the snow before they were grown…
When I was stationed in Italy in the mid '70s we had some of our Italian neighbors over for an “American Meal”. Ermindo, the husband, asked if he could wash up in the 'toilet" first… I told him, “No, you cannot wash up in the ‘toilet’, but he could wash up in the Bathroom…”
I kept a straight face and he looked a bit perplexed for a few seconds and suddenly his gaffe occurred to him and we both starting laughing about that…
I learned to drive on a standard transmission (that’s a manual transmission for you Nubies…) I got my Learner’s Permit the day I turned 16 and took my Driver’s test a week later (that was the earliest I could get scheduled). This was all in 1966. I lived just outside Albany, NY, and had to go to Albany for the road test. The Road Test in Albany was very specific and the map below shows the route every tester took the ■■■■■■ on to demonstrate their mastery of driving. The traffic lights had all been synchronized specifically for the Road Test. Back then, the written test even asked for the hand signals used in case your vehicle did not come equipped with directionals.
Since so many more vehicles came equipped with manual transmissions, the test included demonstrating stopping a vehicle on a hill and starting up again without rolling backwards.
The test started at location A, the tester would have you start out when the light at intersection B was Green. The tester is checking how safely you pull out into traffic. The tester would then direct you to turn Left at the light (B).
But the time you got to B, the light would have turned Red. Testing your smooth stopping and use of the directional.
The road B-C is a 4-lane road and the tester would direct you to turn Right at the light (C). Testing your ability to change lanes safely (use mirrors, etc…).
By the time you get to the light (C), it is now Red. Again testing your stopping and direction use. The street C to D is a small hill and of course, the light at D is now Red. Now, the “Terror” part of the test, the tester instructs you to apply the Parking Brake, put the vehicle in Neutral, and remove your feet from the brake and clutch petals. Yes, even if you were driving an automatic, you had to do this…
The tester would instruct you get the vehicle moving again after the light turns Green without rolling back.
Now, I have learned that some “old-hands” who have driven manual transmissions for years do not know how to do this… Those of you who know how to do this can appreciate it; you depress the clutch and put the car in 1st gear, and when it’s safe to go, you start slipping the clutch (you’ll feel the car torque a bit), and then release the parking brake. The hill was steep enough that if you did not apply a bit of gas when you release the parking brake even with an automatic, the car might creep back a bit.
Depending on the amount of creep, determined the loss of points or even failure.
Assuming you have not rolled into the vehicle behind you, you take a right at intersection (E), then you will Parallel Park, then proceed to (G) and perform a 3-point turn (K-Turn).
And then it was a simple matter to get back; to intersections E, H, I, and stop back at A.
Back then (1966) the tester still told you if you pasted or failed and if you passed, the tester certified your Learner’s Permit as a Driver’s License until your real license arrived in the mail. I drove away from the test site a Happy Licensed Driver…
This was 60-years ago… And I posted earlier that You were notified if you passed or not, I was told, but they changed the law and a few years later, when my younger brother took the test, he had to wait in the mail for the results. I guess some folks who failed caused trouble and getting the results in the mail precluded a tester being punched out…
From what I have gleaned over the years, Americans may be the only folks who refer to that room as a “bathroom”. When students would ask permission to use “the bathroom”, I would remind them that the school’s sanitary facilities didn’t contain a bathtub or a shower. I tend to use the term “lavatory”, but because public facilities contain a toilet as well as a wash basin, “lavatory” is a somewhat incomplete description of the room’s purpose.
In every European country that I visited, the term “toilet” was used for the room that houses a sink, a toilet, and–possibly–some other plumbing fixtures. In the UK, the traditional term is “WC” (water closet), but they seem to have transitioned to the use of the term “toilet” along with the rest of Europe.
My son took his driving test in a manual (standard) transaxle… The instructor said I hope you can drive that thing cause she could not… He impressed her as well…
I pulled both my kids out of school (as late as possible) on their 15th b-day to take their written test, he took his driving test on his 16th b-day, I was all set to take my daughter on her 16th, but I think one the dogs ate her birth certificate cause we sure couldn’t find it, so we ordered a new one and as soon as it came in (week or so) I surprised her by getting her out of school again and she went and took her driving test…
My daughter can drive a stick if needed, but she doesn’t like them, might have something to do with me laughing my back side off when she would stall it out, in hindsight, the Vibe/Matrix has a very strange clutch feel, but she did good when her brother made her drive the Civic, he said she did good with it, but I think she had shell shock with me after me laughing when she would stall or hit the brake pedal just as hard as the clutch pedal to stop, I was crying from laughing so hard… 
I first drove our 58 Chevy 6 cyl straight stick. Maybe 12. Mom and I would go get gas for dad the next day. We would go through the fair grounds an$bi would take over. Never thought anything of it but suspect we would both be arrested today.
My son first drove when I took him to grampa s farm yard. Long driveway. Don’t remember how old he was but we had our 86 park ave so must have been about 12.
In the mid-seventies some rocket-surgeon decided we should all get federal driver’s licenses in addition to our state license. Interesting they tested our depth perception and reaction time. Then the road test was with a three on the tree stick, start on a hill I used the same method as my parent, start clipping the clutch, then shift the right foot from the brake to the gas pedal. The examiner then told me about the e-brake method. I still have not used that method though have owned numerous manual transmission cars.
Now some vehicles have a hill start button, gotta love technology… lol
I took my driver’s test in a 1964 Cadillac Series 62 hard top. If you can parallel park that car, you can park anything.
About the time I took my driving test, a close friend took his test in his parents '58 or '59 Oldsmobile 88 and it was massive Road Boat… But when he had to parallel park, he really messed up, he ran the rear tire into the curb, he gunned it, the car jumped the curb and he ran square into a telephone pole.
He was so upset, the examiner drove the car back, needless to say, Barry failed and the bumper was so smashed in we had to remove the bumper just so the license plate could swing down to access the filler spout under the license plate…