Dward Farquar's Blob

• Nov. 27, 2005 - Yes Virginia, hippies had cars too.

From 1964 until the mid 70's, there were an assortment of unusual cars that came into my life. I think back on these as "hippie cars" They were acquired as part of dope deals, abandonment, and other unorthodox means and never really belonged to anyone in the sense of title, insurance, etc. A major consideration was the amount of unexpired time on the license. The first was a Saab Staion wagon with a 2-cycle engine. One of those Saabs that you poured a quart of oil in the gas tank to make 2-cycle mix. I think it made about 8 trips from Ohio to San Francisco, northern California and back. Then came a baby blue Nash Rambler 2-door coupe, a 1954 Hudson Hornet and a 52 Buick Special. The Buick was dark brown and called the "Roach" The Hudson had more room in the back seat than any car ever, was green and, of course was called the "Green Hornet. I also owned collectively a Volkswagon bus with 2 hinged doors on both sides. The steering components were worn so bad that the wheels would shake violently due to slack in the tie rods and every other part subject to wear. All would be fine until a change in the road would put the wheels in that zone. The only way to drive the thing was with constant left or right pressure on the steering wheel or just get lucky following the ridges in the road. Top speed - 55 mph. Of course we drove it to California and back and then around local for several years before it became a large garbage can for 3 months. In it's last days it was a "motor home". Somewhere in between all these cars was a 50-ish BMW motorcycle. A 500cc vertical single cylinder. Starsky once said to Hutch, "It's not how fast a car is, it's how quick it is". The Beemer was slow and slow. It ran 62 mph flat out. It lasted six years with absolutely no maintainence at all! Hippies didn't seem to own tools. It's easy to see what this assortment of vehicles had in common. They were 10+ years old when cars lasted five and were undesirable in a pre energy crisis 70 mph interstate world. The little Nash and Volvo were the epitome of automotive counter culture. The Beemer's nickname was "stodgy"  The Volkswagen van went to California and back on the interstate and was passed by every other car on the road. The Hudson was in that automotive limbo of being a car that wasn't made anymore and the Buick - well it was Buick. These things became part of the lifestyle with constantly changing affects.  The Nash Rambler ended it's days covered with concert posters from the Avalon and Fillmore Ballrooms. The Hudson's swan song was a short stint as a demolition derby car since no one could get a title for it.   I'm sure there are some aging hippies out there involved in the "Art Car" scene. There's a parade in Houston. TX every year with the strangest assortment of - well Google "art Cars".

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