SOCONY-VACUUM WWII ERA AUTO CARE FILM "ONE MAN'S CAR" WARTIME RATIONING 63314

[@tylernewton7217]

Wow, I began watching this video just for laughs, but it’s actually an excellent recap on all the rationing and sacrificing Americans did during the war. Funny - we’d lose our minds today if we had to do even a fraction of those. And we’re in a pandemic.

[@cme98]

Well, during the Pandemic we had AMAZON. In WW2 there was no Amazon, there was SEARS & Kmart fu*ked that up.

[@Aaron-be2pt]

I learned more in that video about regular life during WWII than I did in every history class I ever took combined. What a film!

[@57Banjoman]

This made me appreciate all we have in our great country-I owned a '36 Dodge-really the same car, for 4 years-it was like driving a truck-but it was rugged, and well built. I got it out of an old garage in Cleveland, and got it back on the road-thank you for showing this-may we always be thankful for what we have!

[@karlfurrutter14]

I live in South Africa and thats where I restored my '36 Plymouth. US cars were huge sellers here until the mid 50s then slowly tailed off until the last vehicles were finally dropped in the '70s. Japanese took over the lower end of the market and German cars at all market levels. Many people privately imported cars after that but by the 90s even that ceased. As my current hobby car I run a very very low mileage '81 Buick Riviera that was originally imported from Toronto. Is very difficult to maintain as I have to import literally everything from the States to keep it serviced etc.

[@franciscodanconia45]

85 years later and I still get only “better than 20 miles to the gallon”.

[@jeffreywoods4040]

It is funny to think about - my mom has been getting 20 miles per gallon average since her first car in the early 70s. Crazy better safety and performance now, but still 20mpg average. Newest vehicle is 2012.

[@user-jt5vm3mi1w]

I get 63

[@rgbrown90]

I believe there was a 09 Jetta TDI that got 90mpg euro only I think

[@franciscodanconia45]

@@rgbrown90 well to be fair, it only got that mileage when the emissions testers were hooked up to it. 🤣🤣🤣

[@rgbrown90]

@@franciscodanconia45 ohhhhh yeah I about forgot about that shit

[@JodySwaney]

I love these old films.

[@dant.3505]

Same

[@mikedunn7795]

Wasn't going to watch the whole thing,but it had a way of keeping your interest up.

[@thomasmaxblank]

9 year old car with 62K would be practically brand new now. Cars have gotten a lot better since then!

[@misters2837]

so has oil!

[@jvarela965]

My Cuban grandfather bought a new Packard 160 in 1941 and drove it until 1949 for another Packard. Both are probably still running around down there !

[@trentdawg2832]

I promise you that....everything in Cuba is old

[@jvarela965]

@@trentdawg2832 Plymouth was the cheapest car you could buy in 1936. Chrysler sold them and DeSoto cars like crazy during the Depression.

[@Chicago-Brooklyn-Express]

​@@jvarela965more than likely with a Lada motor or along them lines. Last time I was in Pinar del Rio these guys were retrofitting the old American cars with Russian motors, etc. These guys are geniuses, loved talking to them.

[@karlfurrutter14]

Love it. Crazy part is I owned and restored a 36 Plymouth like this in the late '90s.

[@geoffreybradford]

When they were driving and dad says "and one day, we had a problem" I figured the problem would be dad getting caught checking out the dame on the sidewalk but instead, it was the fender bender. But gee whiz this was swell to watch, thanks!

[@jamesspiker6024]

We all have been there looking at a skirt, and not paying attention to where we’re going, mini skirts in the 60s probably caused more wrecks then anything else,but we loved them,could fix the dents,but those legs wow❤️😉

[@bobjacobson858]

I suspect that is actually what supposedly happened in the video, but it allowed the viewers to come to that conclusion themselves!

[@jonathanbray3075]

My Old Man drove his 39 Ford with mom & 5 kids through the 2nd World War until 1947! My sister born 1947... brother born 58 & myself born 1955 got the FULL STORY about the GREAT DEPRESSION & WW2 ALL THRU the 50s all way up thru 1970s and beyond! Not just from our parents.. but thru our older siblings eyes ás well!

[@bradjohnston8193]

Yeah, yeah, yeah . . . Parents since the days of Socrates. "Youse kids today! Why, when WE was kids, WE was really tough! Youse are all SISSIES today!" Uh-huh.

[@claytoncherry3192]

Last year I bought a 1947 Cadillac. As a younger person it's nice to be able to identify with this era in some way.

[@waterheaterservices]

47 Cadillac, epic classic.

[@bobjacobson858]

Which model is it?

[@sylviafrank8302]

Now I want 1936 Plymouth. And a big red horse that FLYS!!

[@fromthesidelines]

The Pegasus continued to be featured on Mobil signs- and at their gas stations- though the end of the 20th Century.

[@stuuuporman]

I'm turning 80 this August. I can still remember our old cars and things my parents told me about that era. Four years after my dad returned from the war in the Pacific, he was assigned back to Tokyo and we followed soon after. Our new 1949 car went too. What a picture we must have made when our family, which include my blond mother & sis, traveled around Japan in a yellow Chevy convertible. We returned to the states in 1953. But, my father sold the convertible to a Japanese businessman for $7000, a small fortune back then. I love cars when they all looked different and were easy to work on.

[@rolandwells1676]

My folks drove Old Betsy, their beloved ‘32 Chev Business Coupe from 1937-‘50.

[@Madness832]

Although I'd heard that they once issued new plates every year, I had no idea it was always w/ a different number.

[@jamesblackwell703]

I still think it's odd just putting a sticker on a flimsy peace of aluminum it's not like it cheapens the price of renewing for us

[@OldsVistaCruiser]

@@jamesblackwell703 - Pennsylvania used to give you two new pieces of steel every March until 1951 (except during the war). They went aluminum in 1957, then started stickers in 1959. Stickers were discontinued in 2016.

[@jamesblackwell703]

@@OldsVistaCruiser early 80s in Mo

[@hjacobs8972]

In Illinois from the 50s to 70s you could get new plates every year with the same numbers. I still have my Grandfather's collection. In my household however , my brother and I enjoyed changing the plates every year. We would find creative ways to destroy the old ones "So nobody else could use them".

[@tomlord5398]

My grandparents still had black-out curtains in 1958. But their house also had push-button light switches.

[@fromthesidelines]

Originally released after the end of the war- in 1945. At the time, "Mobilgas" was marketed by Socony {Standard Oil Company of N.Y.}-Vacuum {Oil}. In 1955, their name was changed to Socony Mobil, because, as Vance Packard noted in "The Hidden Persuaders", some people believed the company manufactured vacuum cleaners rather than oil and gasoline. In 1958, the brand name was officially shortened to "Mobil", and the "Mobilgas" logo was retired.

[@robkunkel8833]

Now that is some good info. I thought it was a vacuum company, as well, based upon the title of the film.

[@fromthesidelines]

You're welcome!

[@mrdanforth3744]

Heard a story about an investor who was very happy with his Cities Service stock until he took a road trip and found out it was an oil company not a public utility like he thought. As soon as he got home he sold his stock.

[@fromthesidelines]

They changed their name to CITGO in 1965. It's still around- but there's only ONE Citgo gas station in my area (in Little Silver).

[@kingkrimson8771]

"But gee whiz, Mom!" My, how times have changed.

[@mattfarahsmillionmilelexus]

I really liked this film, it's more of a historic archive than a Mobil commercial but very realistic as it was filmed at the time of all of the events illustrated, rather than years later through the lens of an agenda of one sort or another.

[@aaronsmith5433]

And yet in sunrise way, it was a perfect Mobil commercial. As a post war child growing up, mind impression was there were other gas stations, but the Mobil Station stood miles above, it was almost a church. Every fillup was a check up, oil, air, radiator etc., they really looked it over and made you feel good about the general condition of your car.

[@aaronsmith5433]

Subrosa , ("under the rose")as in clandestinely, is what I typed. Computer 0verlord decided sunrise was a better word. I disagree.

[@waynejohnson1304]

A great film.

[@jimmyp6443]

Nine years old with only 62,000 miles ! My car is ,21 years old with 160,000 miles and still going strong ,well kind of !

[@misters2837]

If you could see the oil they had back then, 62,000 was almost a miracle!

[@samhouston1673]

I did not get my first brand new car till I was 36. That kid on the bike would have never been able to ride that bike ever again!

[@tjlovesrachel]

Ahhhh dry up

[@billbammerlin4666]

I’ve never had one. But my wife has had several. I would rather have her in a new car and not worry.

[@jimrossi7708]

Great video ! My dad lost many good friends during WWII plus I lost a cousin in the South Pacific !

[@PeriscopeFilm]

Sorry about your cousin, may he rest in peace. Love our channel? Consider becoming a member kzbin.info/www/bejne/hXWliGami8abi6c

[@mawmawshomesteadpreparedness]

My Grandfather was KIA on 6/9/1944.

[@djsi38t]

Love this film....Honestly,I have had a you tube account now for 16 years...and have never given a dime...but this channel I REALLY can appreciate what they are doing.Watching these old films is an absolute treat...and a treasur that I appreciate so much that it is time to....oh maybe buy one of them periscope films coffee mugs...or maybe even do monthly donations..

[@jaygreider4753]

What an interesting film. Nice watch.

[@Minong_Manitou_Mishepeshu]

A+ film. 👍💯

[@gregorygualtiere9607]

Love the memories!

[@Kingwoodish]

The Guy was sweating about having a 5 year old car in 1941. The average age of cars on the roads in the USA is 12 years old now. Cars last a lot longer now. They have to with the price of new cars!

[@manhoot]

I'm a firm believer in grease and the appropriate usage

[@wendysremix]

If anyone is wondering the license plates on the wall are from NY you can tell immediately because of the worlds fair plates

[@ostrich67]

Those are actually California plates. There was a Worlds Fair being held on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay in 1939-40 as well as in New York. The film shows the Plymouth crossing the Golden Gate Bridge so it was filmed in California.

[@OldsVistaCruiser]

As a license plate collector who has been in the hobby for 50 years, I could tell by the die font and the number format in a (pardon the pun) New York second!

[@asteverino8569]

What an interesting film. Using the car as a weather vain for the times. Seems to be about good service though. And the son seemed unchanged by his experience in the war. Oh well, we know what happened next. Boom times.

[@garyfrancis6193]

Weather vane

[@mikeschillinger4427]

Interesting to see jet aircraft flying in formation @19:00 - 19:02. I wonder how that got spliced in?

[@markrossow6303]

Mustangs I think or Spitfires Non-radial engine

[@misters2837]

Forward swept wings and small-ish tail....Looked Like P-40's to me....

[@misters2837]

Look Up Heinkel He 178....and you'd know that car was only 3 years old when 1st Jet Aircraft flew...granted they weren't built in great numbers until the 50's.

[@bobjacobson858]

I have various types of automobile literature from that period, with one being a 1941 Chevrolet owner's manual, and on page of the latter is a diagram showing all the parts that needed to be lubricated regularly, many at monthly intervals. These days there are relatively few maintenance procedures that require attention, although some of these have to do with electronic issues. It also seems strange that a car needed so much work after only 5 years, but I guess part of it was due to the lack of modern highways--a 500 mile trip probably meant two or more days on two-lane roads, some of them rough, with stops in every town along the way, instead of a day's drive at interstate highway speeds. 100K miles on the odometer was considered a big achievement then; I think of it as the car's finally being 'broken in'!

[@Disasterpiece5150]

Edna sure liked those springy seats lol

[@hilldwler420]

I grew up with a dad like that in the 70s and 80s . This is giving me flashbacks.

[@tiredlawdog]

Just to think the way things have changed. I have three Ford Crown Vics. All used police cars. One has 182000+ the other 176000+ and the last just turned 147000. All of thim running strong. The point of this film is correct, take care of them if you want them to take care of you.

[@richsackett3423]

My man told him, "Awww, dry up!"

[@falcon664]

Interesting that there is no state name on the license plates though "World's Fair" in 1939 and 40 would be New York.

[@OldsVistaCruiser]

They were all NY plates. The "N. Y." on the plates was covered up.

[@stevehislop]

Watching as a German born in 1975, I had no idea about the Wartime struggles in the US.

[@dutchdenson8156]

How much do you know about the struggles in your country? Curious what German schools teach.

[@booklover6753]

@@dutchdenson8156 He didn't say that there weren't any struggles in his own country.

[@DanEBoyd]

@@dutchdenson8156 Look at what our schools are now teaching. That's what they were teaching.

[@MoneySavingVideos]

Some of those cars are still in use ...... in Cuba.

[@bloqk16]

When the wife commented to her husband about _not being properly dressed_ for a car ride; back then respectable women would feel properly attired in public when wearing a hat and gloves.

[@drpoundsign]

...and, as long as they're not wearing anything else: I'm OK with it. (-;

[@steventuck1524]

And wearing ONLY hat and gloves...nuthin else!

[@jonathanbray3075]

Seems as I remember.. at least when I grew up during the 50s-mid 1960s... no one was too concerned about locking up the house! Try doing that today!

[@ZacLowing]

If that isn't just like a woman to say that, dry up.

[@UmmYeahOk]

And men were always dressed their Sunday best, wearing business suits daily.

[@mdmarko]

Very interesting film.

[@patriley9449]

These old cars required lots of maintenance and were worn out before 100,00 miles. My first car was a used 1958 VW. It required oil changes and valve adjustments every 3,000 miles. Then there were points adjustments at about 5,000 miles and points and condenser changes as needed as well as spark plug changes every 24,000 miles or so. Brakes had to be manually adjusted too. At least it was simple. There was no power anything ( including the engine ). The engine could be removed in about 30 minutes for major problems. It is now nothing for a car to go 150,000 to 200,000 miles or more without major problems, but when they do occur, get ready to pay big time.

[@bloqk16]

My first car was a 1967 VW Beetle, it was a hand-me-down from Mom that she got new, that I used during the college years; and the maintenance schedule hadn't improved much by that time; though the car was remarkable with the amount of maintenance neglect inflicted onto it and still kept running. I was extremely diligent with oil changes every 1K ~ 1.5K miles; with a can of STP oil treatment during the hot weather months. Didn't burn oil when it reached 100K miles, but, the exhaust valve on the number 3 cylinder was burnt; making that distinctive puffing sound.

[@calbob750]

This is a treasure of cultural history and the automobile from the thirties to the fifties. If you lived back then you understand. Oil change and chassis lube at 1,000 miles. Lucky if tires and battery lasted two years.

[@MC-vo7vt]

My 13 year old car has 180,000 miles and runs great. I have no plans to replace it anytime soon.

[@jamesblackwell703]

I usually hit close to 500,000 before I retire my cars the oil light starts flickering at stop signs then I turn up the idle bit

[@mawmawshomesteadpreparedness]

I have an 86 pickup that only has about 160-180,000 miles. It was my Grandmother's who bought it brand new and paid #7,500. Cash.

[@-oiiio-3993]

A brand new 1936 Plymouth Mayflower.

[@robkunkel8833]

The springy upholstery, the starter pedal, the hand lawn mower … all great advances of the past. A grease job every month?

[@acersalman8258]

Beautiful cars ❤

[@jimboase5005]

In my opinion, that was a really good video; I was surprised that I watched it (with great interest) all the way to the end. Good acting and a good simple story.

[@PeriscopeFilm]

Glad you enjoyed it! Consider becoming a channel member kzbin.info/www/bejne/hXWliGami8abi6c

[@joesinkovits6591]

Is it just me, or are we reliving this situation again, what with all the shortages these days? But, I guess, that’s what we get for buying everything from Asia.

[@mosipd]

What it really demonstrates is that those living during a time when historical events are happening seldom realize that history is being made. Life has a sort of mundane aspect to it, even in times of great crisis. Hardly anyone living during that time knew the events they were living through would be the catalyst for the largest war in human history.

[@OldsVistaCruiser]

I just put rear tires on my TWENTY-NINE year-old daily driver! It's a 1992 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon with 225,000 miles.

[@raymondsmith5653]

I love big old station wagons too. I had the seats recovered and new carpet put in my 1957 Oldsmobile Fiesta. I bought it in 1985 it had been sitting in a hay barn since 1968 with 87,299 miles on it. it was parked because it was over heating. I flushed out the block and re-cored the radiator and heater core it now has 108,600 miles on it and runs like new.

[@travisp5747]

With the V8? Those damn things had some power

[@MisterMikeTexas]

Today, 63K miles isn't even broken in yet!

[@dondressel452]

I’m still looking for that full service gas ⛽️ station

[@OldsVistaCruiser]

Go to New Jersey. Self-service is illegal by state law.

[@MsJamiewoods]

Doesn't the car at 2:27 look as if it's parked a little too close to the fire hydrant?

[@rogerhuber3133]

It's a shame after owning and driving his car for over 9 years he still rides the clutch!

[@travisp5747]

Lmao

[@matthewsmith1941]

I noticed there was no 1942 license plate. Possibly because of the war???

[@raymondsmith5653]

If you look close there was a quick shot of him bolting a thin strip of metal across the top of the 1941 plate with the 1942 year on it to save steel instead of making a full sized license plate.

[@seanmccann8368]

It's vital to get at least one good grease job every single month, just ask Madge!! ;-)

[@seanmccann8368]

@e You're just jealous.

[@bradjohnston8193]

@@seanmccann8368 Jealous of the daughter, maybe. 1924 women were HOTTTT!!

[@seanmccann8368]

@@bradjohnston8193 🤣

[@northerniltree]

Madge had a thing for Ken the neighbor. But, she stayed with her husband Tom because that new car was so swell.

[@trentdawg2832]

Looks like the dog got to go in the car after all

[@Meekbay_Lake]

Cars design is nice

[@glennjones6574]

Now how did the dad leave without the car?

[@jr42a1]

I remember full service gas stations.Im old as dirt.

[@booklover6753]

I worked in one while going to college. Clark oil co.

[@brandonobaza8610]

"What for? To take that bunch of sorority saps of yours to some jukebox joint?" 😂

[@nlpnt]

The ending made me wonder if this was even for the public or was a sales-training film.

[@MrManniG]

Well, just as my car is about to have it´s ninth birthday next month. Well, I bought it when it was 4 years old but bith less than 20 thousend kilometers on the clock I considerd it "as new as it gets" for me. Now it has almost 100000 kilometeres on it and started to make "old car noises" and i hope for it to last a few more years before it leaves me.

[@garyfrancis6193]

A sleek, futuristic looking car like that with a radio is something like Flash Gordon would have.

[@cmiller415]

That dogs name is Sambo?! 😮

[@jacksons1010]

Consider how this film shows an eight year old car was worn out back in the day. Puts to rest the argument that today’s cars are inferior. Nowadays there is nothing much extraordinary about keeping a car 20 years or more.

[@fromthesidelines]

Keep in mind that no automobiles were manufactured from 1942 through 1946, because of wartime production (manufacturing plants turned out everything from planes to Jeeps, tanks, guns, ammunition, and other defense weapons). If you had a car- no matter what year it was- you had to keep it in excellent condition because you weren't going to get a NEW one for the duration.

[@inkey2]

A lot of those engines wore out prematurely (by todays standards) because of the primitive quality of the oil and the fact that it was not "multi viscosity" ...or.......synthetic. Back then you had to use a different weight oil in summer and winter. What really screwed things up is if you get an unusually warm few days in the winter and you are driving it with thin winter oil or vise versa. If you had a brand new car like that "now" using todays oils the engines would last "a lot" longer. Another thing that killed those cars was """RUST""". I live in Massachusetts and remembering the municipalities sanding and "salting" the roads. A new car would starting to visibly rust in 5 years....especially over the headlights

[@vernonfindlay1314]

@@inkey2 rust,if there was undercoating, they last 100 years. My father told me one day that salting started around 1950 here in Nova Scotia. Love these old videos, happy Sunday, blessings.

[@vernonfindlay1314]

@@inkey2 I remember Zeibart, ya wasn't very good.some of my family's favorite stuff was grease and graphite. I remember one particular 1979 Ford Granda,ran for 12 years til major fender bender.

[@jeffreywoods4040]

Odometer near the end is maybe 69,000 miles as the narrator is talking about how unreasonably high that was. Amazing to think how think how lifestyles have changed - and this is with multiple people using it!

[@garyruark9506]

A woman or man then would never go for a ride in a car without a hat! If I owned a car that served me so well I'd have a difficult time parting with it.

[@bradjohnston8193]

02:00 parked right next to a fire hydrant.

[@moshfists]

Great. A new car and the driver's side doors don't even open. 😂

[@mattfarahsmillionmilelexus]

Cars of that era had door locks on the passenger side (curbside) only, so you slid across the seat to get out on the right after locking the driver door from the inside.

[@moshfists]

@@mattfarahsmillionmilelexus Hey, cool! I didn't know that. Thank you! ✌️😎

[@billbammerlin4666]

In some places it was illegal to exit the street side.

[@wizardofahhhs759]

My 24 year old Ford pickup has 166k miles and still runs like a champ.

[@danbolton3180]

Same milage on a 1991 Ford I just bought for $850.

[@JekaMandra]

Where i may purchase oil this brand???? gargoyle vacuoline oil medium i want....

[@jonhohensee3258]

That looked like a pretty nice shirt he was wearing while working under the car.

[@goldenshoes3]

Pretty delusional to limit your perception of "dressing like a human being" to wearing collared shirts when humans have worn countless styles of clothing over thousands of years of existence.

[@jarikinnunen1718]

Weird, they did not smoking! Sun was shining in every day. What a days!

[@jeffreywoods4040]

Babe Ruth lights up at the end.

[@bloqk16]

Tobacco products may have been rationed during the war years; or expensive; so cigarettes could have been a luxury item. I checked for online sources if tobacco products were rationed or not, with mixed answers.

[@DCShaneTours]

No mention of the Soviet Red Army that actually took Berlin and won World War II. We lost 900,000 in WWII, the Red Army lost 20 million.

[@dougmeade5393]

Look It’s got a radio!!

[@edwardfischer3944]

AT 22:52 I can see the headline in the paper --- " LOCAL MAN KILLED WHEN CAR FALLS OFF JACK STAND "

[@kenmore01]

More likely just the jack. 🤨

[@Chunk_1]

I wonder what ever really happened to the car, And where would it be today?

[@johanvangelderen6715]

It was probably in a scrap yard by 1950. Postwar cars became more plentiful during by then.

[@marvwatkins7029]

That dog's name is definitely not PC today.

[@misters2837]

Awe heck the kids under drinking age today wouldn't know what a "Sambo" is!

[@paleomatic]

Did you get a new numberplate every year back then? 🤔

[@johanvangelderen289]

One did well into the 1970s

[@bloqk16]

@paleomatic . . . I recall in some states, going back 60+ years ago, that cars were annually issued new plates instead of renewal decal sticker tags. It was a joke back then that when a guy's previous occupation was making "license plates," it was connotated that the guy spent time in state prison.

[@OldsVistaCruiser]

Pennsylvania did until 1958. Other states put out new plates every year, sometimes into the 1980s.

[@OldsVistaCruiser]

And you got TWO new license plates every year! Pennsylvania discontinued front plates in 1952. 31 states still issue front plates.

[@markcantemail8018]

The Original Vacume Oil Refinery site is just a Few Miles away across the Genesee River . Standard Oil Purchased the outfit . The Anti trust action is Why it was called Standard Oil Company New York ( SOCONY ) . Then Mobil for our Area . New Jersey might have had another Company name other than Mobil , and Naturally Mobil stations also . I Like "Those Yellow Rats " response .

[@almostfm]

The funny thing is that after the breakup of Standard Oil, John D. Rockefeller actually made more money from the divested companies (all of which he owned a share in) than he did before the breakup.

[@coinslotsandjoysticks2572]

Lol. He said dry up. I haven't heard anyone say that since the 70,s

[@wmason1961]

It's so strange to see everyone get in and out on the right side.

[@russelljohnson1303]

A bench seat, no belts or center console getting in the way really helps that. It's super easy and convenient. When I'm in my 53 Plymouth coupe, it's nice not having to step out into the street and time the traffic. really swell for street parking that's for sure. And I don't have belts in my car neither.

[@masterbondofox8982]

I wonder if that car and those license plates are still around

[@rodrigo.lombardi]

9:25 Harpy. Not with a C.

[@mikeks8181]

strange How True It is Now with Computer Chip Shortage!THE Dealer that Will Give the Best Service! Unfortunately Most Dealers Only care about the FIRST Sale!? Their Hands are Tied From the Manufacturer about Incentives and The Profit Margin after the Sale! I Have Always Run my vehicles to the End. Used to be able to do Most Preventable Maintenance by yourself! Now a days?! Pay the Cost! Next vehicle WILL be simple Pre- Computer Carburetor! Yet Again! History Repeats itself!

[@lenisbennett3062]

Wonder what is new car would be worth today?

[@danbolton3180]

Brought home a new car today...BJ!!!

[@agtpony]

I guess War rations didn't include license plates

[@OldsVistaCruiser]

They put a validation strip on the top of the old plate to conserve steel.

[@cliff8669]

At least he didn't have to worry about chips.

[@raybin6873]

He should have done the car maintenance himself - and a 9 year old car is not "old"...interesting movie!

[@bloqk16]

Back in that era it was. The primitive qualities of the: materials used in the vehicles; the lubricants used, and the fuels; didn't contributed to long-life of vehicles back then. My future parents were motorists back in the late 1930s, and they recollected to me about the lack of durability the vehicles of that era had ranging from the electricals; suspension, and drivetrain; where a 50K miles car was considered high-mileage.

[@jeffreycruz4236]

@@bloqk16 yeah I read in an early 50s issue of motor trend that the scrap mileage for cars in the late 30s was high 80k miles. By early 50 it went up significantly to 135k by 1950.

[@roberthaworth8991]

@@bloqk16 Yes. Around 45K mi. one began to think about trading in a car; by 75K it was considered worn-out (at the end of its economic life), and by 90K virtually all cars were on the scrap heap.

[@bradjohnston8193]

It was in those days!! People who could afford to at all traded cars every 2 years or 30,000 miles, because cars really did wear out quickly.

[@johnnyb4187]

Tom is played by Eddie Nugent. He was most active in the early thirties.

[@gregorymcintyre7065]

Why did the dogs name have to be sambora?

[@georgvonsauer2618]

If he took care of his car, he wouldn't need to be thinking of a replacement...6 years later...still have my first new, one owner car, after 45 years...

[@bradjohnston8193]

There is a vaaaaaaaaaaaaast difference between a 1936 model and a 1976 model. You benefited from tremendous advances in lubricants, fuels and metallurgy. Not to mention better roads. And the cars of today are superior to the '76es in every way. When electric cars are affordable and all the bugs are worked out, a million miles will not be unreasonable.

[@bloqk16]

@@bradjohnston8193 Some of the cars of the 1930s didn't even have oil filters. Or those with oil filters were so primitive that they couldn't filter out micro-sized debris. My parents were of driving age in the latter 1930s, where a car at 60K miles was at the end of its life.

[@georgvonsauer2618]

@@bradjohnston8193 I own pre WW 2 cars and they are all in mechanical good order. Yes, they are not as good as the 76, but are all usable, as they were taken care of...grease and oil with recommended maintenance is the key, plus not abusing it. The old cars were designed for the roads of their times...every vehicle has its sweet spot...drive it beyond that and you will have issues...I will agree that newer vehicles are built better and can last longer, but if they are neglected...they, too, will have issues...I farm with 35+ year old equipment, some tillage gear almost a 100 years old...All of them are greased or oiled hourly or daily depending on their need...look at the lubrication chart on any old vehicle and you will see the owner's responsibility.

[@landtuna8061]

The wife in this looked a lot like Spring Byington. I couldn't find the cast for this gem.

[@davidwhitney1171]

It seems like the kind of sacrifice symbolized by the (fictional but realistically depicted) family in this film would be near impossible in this country today- every selfish self-centered moron calling themselves a "patriot" would be whining, pissing and moaning about their "freedom" and "liberty," carrying "Don't Tread on Me" flags, etc , and hurling Social Media abuse and death threats against those trying to hold things together....

[@mikestedman1988]

That would be liberals.

[@OldsVistaCruiser]

@@mikestedman1988 - No, the conservatives are the ones doing that. Liberals get vaccinated and wear masks. It's not the liberals who fly huge flags from the beds of trucks.

[@booklover6753]

@@mikestedman1988 That is f***ing idiotic Trump BS. YOU are a traitor to your countrymen.

[@booklover6753]

Good job Dave.

[@brenthill3241]

Eighty years later and to get reliable service is hit and miss. "Oh yeah we cleaned and repacked your cv joints after we left the boot off from your previous service. Sure we did." 😀

[@vintageludwig]

Gotta love that wartime-era sexism.

[@privateprivate1865]

Yeah. Right there out in the open.. unlike today where its still there but more hidden