I had just got out of the '51 burb at the Lowes parking lot this afternoon, when a white guy about my age stops his car with the window down and says "is that a '53? My dad had a truck like that". He pulls to the side so he can get out and talk. Before I can turn around, a black guy about my age walks around the front of the my truck and says "Is this a '49? my dad had a truck like this".
The first guy says his dad had a '53 and always called his truck a "panel". It had no back side windows, and his dad was an electrical contractor. The second guy notes that his dad's truck was GMC, and that he always called it a "Carryall". He said his dad bought it because it would seat all nine of the family, and had one of the first automatic transmissions called a "hydromatic".
I took that opportunity to note that my dad had bought a "Suburban Carryall" in 1964 to transport all 7 of our family.
Needless to say,it was a striking moment. All of us remembered our long gone Fathers and the trucks from our childhood.
Kurt
