Driving was some kind of adventure in '70s clunkers

Another way to solve the traffic problems of this country is to pass a law that only paid-for cars be allowed to use the highways.

- Will Rogers

My car got an oil change last week, and the good news was no news.

Despite the fact that the odometer had crossed 100,000 some time back and the tires were showing a little wear, everything else was in good shape. Really good shape.

They sure don't make cars the way they used to. In fact, when I rode into town years ago, I was steering a 1970 Ford Galaxie with more problems than a Dr. Phil guest.

Half my trunk space was taken up with assorted auto parts, several feet of heater hose, assorted clamps, a variety of tools and a wooden box that contained cans of oil and plastic bottles filled with the basic fluids - transmission, steering and water.

It's how I had learned to travel, wise to the ways of breakdowns at all times of the day, night, month and year.

The only advantage I can recall was that I could fix almost any of the problems that might happen on the highway.

Dashboard warning lights were not viewed with alarm, but seen as nuisances. And I usually masked the regular ones with a small swatch of black electrical tape to keep from worrying passengers.

Remember catalytic converters? They were a real pain back in the 1970s when the good intentions of environmental responsibility struggled to catch up with practical technology.

Invariably, they would either slow down your acceleration or overheat and burn the feet of the person in the passenger's seat.

But that didn't last long because it seemed everyone had a friend who knew somebody who could disconnect them.

Those were the days.

I think of those days when I stand in front of the News Building on Broad Street and notice there are no "vintage" 1970s cars chugging up and down the road.

They're gone. They didn't last. They broke down and went to junkyards except the ones that were locked away in the garages of housebound spinsters.

Say what you will about modern, disposable technology. Phones last about a year. TV sets are so cheap, it's usually not worth the money it takes to repair them. But today's cars are lasting a long, long time.

Maybe that's why metro Atlanta is losing auto plants and the local car lots are begging for business.

Somewhere along the road to success, we outsmarted ourselves again.