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8. The “New Yorker”

Two months into my first summer job at Cedar Point Amusement Park, I had saved enough money that would provide for all my living expenses for the following year, plus some loose change.  I read someone posting a car for sale on the employee notice board.  It was a 1967 (which made it 5 years old) Chrysler New Yorker and the owner wanted $300 for it.  I arranged to view the car and bought it for $200.  The owner (a college student working at the Park) was surprised that I didn’t even test drive the car.  I didn’t tell him that I only had a learner permit and had yet to take my first road test.

Louis was kind enough to sit in my car as my tutor as required by law.  After a few quick lessons, he would simply let me borrow his driver’s license so I could drive alone.  The New Yorker was a full-size, luxury family sedan, the best from the Chrysler production line at the time.  It was designed with big, tall Americans in mind.  I had to put a sofa cushion over the seat so I could see where I was going.  Parallel parking was particularly difficult.  The State of Ohio required parallel parking in the road test and I failed in my first road test.  In my second road test, my parallel parking was perfect and then it started to rain really heavy and I found out (to my surprise) that the windshield wiper was not working properly.  I flunked due to “unsafe mechanical condition”.  The third time I went for the road test, the officer checked the wiper which was repaired by then and issued me the license.

I kept the New Yorker for two years until I graduated from Berea.  I sold it to a friend of mine for $200.  He kept it for another 2 years, and then sold it for – guess how much? – $200.  It was definitely excellent value for money!  It’s the only car I knew that featured a push-button automatic.  Instead of a shift lever or stick, the New Yorker had three push-buttons on the dashboard:  “Reverse”, “Neutral” and “Drive”.   It’s also the only car I knew which after the engine was turned on you could disconnect the battery and it would keep on running.  I found that out by accident and to this day I still couldn’t figure it out. 

One time when I was on the Interstate somewhere between Ohio and Kentucky, I decided to find out the top safe speed of the New Yorker.  Having satisfied that there were no signs of any highway patrol in sight, I pushed down on the gas pedal until the speedometer read 110 MPH…the maximum on the dial was 120.  I let go of the gas pedal because frankly I was a bit scared.  Louis was sitting next to me.  He was impressed.  That was the fastest I have ever driven in any car.

The New Yorker got a very roomy interior.  I could lie down across the backseat without bending my knees.  There was, however, a major disadvantage with such a roomy car.  I kept losing personal items in the car and was never able to locate them.  Among the things I lost in this “black hole” included: a comb, my school ID card, room keys, several ball pens, numerous nickels and dimes, a chocolate bar and…my innocence.

- To be continued -