1960’s CAR HANDBOOK -  “Isn't that nice...............”
 
Sometimes when you have some down time or if you are recovering from some minor surgery or just plain have nothing to do the mind wanders. I was all of the above last month when I picked up the 1966 Ford Mustang handbook. Its almost pocket size and has a very small 70 pages.
 
It starts with an introduction not unlike a letter to a distant loved one as you would have written before the advent of emails- “DEAR MUSTANG OWNER, your purchase of a 1966 Ford Mustang places you in a distinguished family of automobile owners and drivers.” Isn’t that simply nice!
“The Ford Division of Ford Motor Company takes great pride in the American tradition of quality product and superior value that the Ford name represents.” Ra, ra, ra.
 
It goes on; “The purpose of this book is to acquaint you........”
Then it talks about” ‘little things’, ‘refine and perfect’, ‘all aspects of the way it performs’, ‘some things you want to avoid’, ‘easy riding’, ‘comfortable’, ‘safe’, ‘good-looking (I like that one)’ and ‘economical’, and the introduction page ends with being signed off by no less than;

Donald N. Frey.  Vice President And General Manager. Ford Division. Ford Motor Co.
 
When I pick up the ‘Drivers Manual’ of my “modern” there is 353 pages and a further booklet of 209 pages about the ‘Communication Management’ whatever that is? So let’s adjust the clock. That is twice a year for us New Zealanders. The index is 9 pages so it must be there. Nothing under clock, time, dashboard, programming, settings, or lights. There is 26 items under CD, 76 items under Blue tooth, and 6 different oil filler locations for engines, BUT, nothing about changing the clock. So I give up and go to ‘YouTube’ and immediately get a quick guide in 10 seconds. What the.....
 
Back to my lovely little 1966 Mustang booklet and it is saying; “First off, you will be GLAD to know that, your new Mustang is so well engineered and has so many outstanding features that its overall excellence might be lost on you unless you consciously observe its characteristics as you drive. Most of us take good things for granted, without particularly noticing them.” Well how about that eh. Safety features even include “non reflective wiper blades”.
 
“Best way to try out your suspension is to pick a rough road. Your Mustang reacts like a champion to the shock of bumps, chuckholes (haven’t seen any of them lately) and railway crossings.” Mustangs suspensions do their job- smoothing out washboard surfaces, snubbing down body pitch and side sway.” “Your Mustang can be a living room on wheels.” Fancy THAT.
 
“Now that you have inspected the controls and interior you’re ready to pull away from the curb.”
“As you ride down the road, notice the smooth road-hugging quality about your Mustang.” It reminds me of a Prince Philip quote- when a man opens a car door for his wife, it’s either a new car or a new wife. “The villain in freezing is the wind - rushing air that removes every last calorie of heat. Take note and warm up engine and transmission thoroughly.” Good advice. “High speeds, while not exactly ‘wasteful’ cost more in fuel per mile.” Lovely English eh. Then it goes on about having your Ford Dealer adjust the the accelerator pump linkage, using higher grade fuels, using moderate speeds, etc. “Fuel dollars are well spent when they contribute to car performance.” OMG.
  
“Billy Hughson was the first FORD DEALER. He started in San Francisco in 1903. Since then, Ford has built up......and it goes on. In the handbook, there was 37 USA ‘Sales Offices’ in 1966, and now there are 2,918. The largest dealer is Lorenzo Ford in Miami, purchased in 2016 for $5.4m but the largest Car Dealer in the world is Longo Toyota in El Monte, California owned by the Roger Penske Group and covers 50 acres.
 
I hope you enjoyed a walk down memory lane and you might appreciate why some of us still like the ‘old stuff’ (sorry- I mean classic, historic, authentic) but have we passed the era of simple, get-on-with-it motoring? Why not take a minute to enjoy the best things in our motoring life in the ‘60’s, 70’s, 80’s. After all, Rock and Roll lives on.