New Cars for 1961

Absent for '61 were the big tail fins that the '59 and '60 Chevys sported. I recall one of my grandpa's friends bought a nearly new '61 and stopped by the farm. My grandpa told me not to touch it lest I leave a fingerprint on it. Years later I'm thinking this guy just came down a gravel road and bounced down a farm driveway. Would he really notice a little kid's fingerprint?

I remember three of our neighbors had a '61 Ford. Two of them were yellow. My dad's cousin had a white one with plastic still on the seats. He treated it like a baby. Now years later I remember him lighting up a Kool cigarette as soon as he got in the thing. Looked good. Smelled bad?

I don't recall seeing very many of these Darts from '61. Dodge made Darts into the 1970s. I had a '73 and it was the best starter I have had up to that time. It was my second car and after back-to-back weekends with wind chills approaching -100, the old bugger started right off.

There are people who think this may have been one of the ugliest cars ever. I think it's quite unique. My elderly grandfather had one that was powder blue. He touched up the rust spots with whatever paint he could find, which happened to be John Deere green. The rear end was about 5 inches off the ground and blew out blue smoke like crazy. Grandpa didn't care.

The '61 was minus the big fins that the '59 and '60 Olds had.

In '61, Buick went the way of its GM brothers - Chevy, Pontiac and Olds - and dropped the big fins of '59 and '60.