Where I grew up, there was one time-honored event...
That united families.
And brought neighbor together with neighbor.
The arrival of a new car.
There was something magical about it.
Kinda like a one-float parade.
For one shining moment, the proud owner became king...of the block.
Yep. No doubt about it...
In our neighborhood, ownership had its privileges.
Except, of course... At the Arnold household.
Where's my wrench?!
Dammit, where's my wrench?
At the Arnold household, ownership meant...Repairs.
Somebody hand me my wrench, will ya?
Alright, Dad.
Course you have to understand, my dad believed your average car should last...
Oh...thirty years, or 300,000 miles...
Which ever came first.
OK. Start 'er up.
You think you can fix it?
Of course I can fix it! Just...needs a little adjustment.
Oh. Good.
I guess there was more of Jack Arnold under that hood...
Than all the papers he ever shuffled... At NORCOM Enterprises.
Boy, it'd sure be cool... To have one of those, hah?
But if we were seeing visions...
Dad was seeing -
Tin.
That thing's 90 percent tin... Won't last two years.
Trust me. They don't make them like this baby anymore.
They sure didn't.
Bald tires...Half a muffler...
The sleek lines of a rhinoceros.
Nothing to be embarrassed about.
Much.
Hey, Pfeiffer!
Your fly's open.
Embarrassment.
The stock in trade of any... Self-respecting eight-grader.
Very funny, Hobson!
Still, when it came to the art of raw insult...
I heard you struck out with Penny Brubaker last night at the movies.
Who told you that?
Oh, wouldn't you like to know?
You guys are terrible.
Heh-heh-heh-heh.
Say, Arnold?
Wasn't that your car I saw stalling out in front of school this morning?
Wait a minute...
What was this?
Why?
Nothing. It's just... It sounded like a Sherman tank.
Hey, his dad keeps it running!
His dad keeps it runnin'...right into the ground.
Say...When's you old man gonna pop for somethin' made in this century?
Ooooh..
OK. This was getting personal.
Ridiculous. But personal.
It was time for a witty comeback. Something subtle.
Hobson?
Got somethin' on your shirt.
There. I'd handled it smoothly.
As for Dad, well...
I wasn't worried.
He'd come through for us, when the time was right.
Car died...
And suddenly, the time was right.
What happened?
It made sort of a spluttering noise... And then it just quit on me.
Did you pat the gas and count to five before you...turned the key?
Yeah. Just like you showed me.
What about the...coil wire?
It was getting dark, Jack.
I couldn't see very well.
Now when Mom used that tone of voice, this was serious business.
Anyway, the man at the service station... Said it was the fuel pump.
Fuel pump... You didn't let him touch the fuel pump, did ya?
He also said the carburetor needs adjustment.
I just rebuilt the damn carburetor.
Seemed like Dad was missing the point, here.
You've been putting so much time and effort into that car...
I'll take a look at it.
It's just that it's... becoming so unreliable, Jack.
Especially now that Wayne and Karen are driving...It's getting so much use.
Maybe it's time we started looking for a new car.
OK. We'll look.
- Yes. / - Yes. - Cool.
And so, at last, we had our shot at the big-leagues.
We were in the presence of the American dream, here.
In the presence of...
Marvin Lutz, sales manager.
- Jack Arnold. - Jack...
Can I tell you somethin'?
When I saw you, and your...beautiful family,drive in here, I said to myself...
"Now here...is a man who knows cars".
Look, Marvin, let's save ourselves...a lot of time, OK?
You're the customer, Jack.
I'm looking for a car, not a sales pitch.
I'll tell you...what I'm looking for... you tell me what you've got.
Boy.
Am I relieved to hear you say that...
I can't tell you how many times I've wishedwhen customers would come in here...
They'd be upfront with me.
Make my job a heck of a lot easier.
Probably sell a lot more cars, too. Hahahahah!
You had to admit - Marv had a certain flair.
Yeah. So...
I have your ad right here.Says you have something in a basic Falcon wagon.
Right this way.
A Falcon?
Gross.
We should have known better.
Dad was gonna be "practical".
Good gas mileage?
You know, Jack, I could put you in this car tonight,
and I think you'd be happy... but before you make up your mind..
Why don't you just take a look at that car?
- I mean, as long as you're here... - Hnnn...
And suddenly, it was a whole new ballgame.
It was awesome.
It was...gorgeous.
It was bright red. It was...
The last 'sixty-nine on the floor, fully-loaded, and ready to go.
For one brief instant, I imagined my family...
Cruising down our street.
The wind in our hair...The neighbors gawking...
No way...
Notice I said..."Brief" instant.
Don't you deserve it?
It's 1969. You've...come a long way, baby.
Was this guy crazy?
Makin' an end-run...Around Dad?
It's completely impractical.
I suppose so...
Can I say something, Jack?
Great. What damage was he gonna do now?
You got a young lady headin' to college...
You got a young fella drivin', and one just about to - right, big guy
So?
So...it makes ya wonder.
How much longer...are ya gonna need a big...family...station-wagon?
For some reason, my father...Had no reply.
He has a point, Jack.
A point? It was an irrefutable fact!
A brilliant and bold last manouever.
My dad...Was ready to deal!
What are they saying?
Look! He's smiling, he's actually smiling!
Oh, please - oh, please!
Oh!
Alright. Dad always says never take the first offer.
What about a second offer?
Yes!
He Done it! Dad had actually done it!
We were going home... In a brand-new Mustang convertible!
Maybe we could blow past Craig Hobson'shouse and cut a few donuts in his front yard.
It was the kind of night where anything could happen.
And then it did.
What's he asking?
What is it?! What's happening?!
- Honey? - I don't want to talk about it! We're leaving!
We drove home in silence.
So much for the wind in our hair - this was the rain on our parade.
What happened back there, Jack? What did that salesman say?
I don't want to talk about it.
The guy was a moron.
You know what he offered me for this car?!
Honey? What were you expecting?
I can tell you this car is worth a lot more than he offered, Norma!
A lot more...
This was it? This was the reason Dad had blown the deal?
I couldn't believe it!
So close - yet so far!
We'd been robbed of our dream car - all because of what?!
All because of some stupid junkheap!
So, what'd ya get?
Great. Now I was in for it.
So much for shooting off my mouth about car-shopping with Dad.
You didn't get one, did ya?
Well, I didn't say that! We're just...still looking.
For your information, Hobson, they're talking Mustang.
So what's the holdup.
Well, they...tried to stick it to us in the trade-in.
That's it - stun 'em with some fancy shop-talk.
Pfff...I knew you wouldn't get a new car.
Hobson...you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.
I mean, you gotta keep your head on straight when you're dealing with these guys.
There. What was he gonna say to that?
Face it, Arnold... Your dad's cheap, that's all.
What'd you say?
You heard me. I'll see ya, cupcakes.
Kev - you OK?
Yeah, fine.
Sure, I was fine. What did Hobson know, anyway?
The best thing to do was forget about the whole thing.
I've been thinking.
We...Should wash the car.
Then maybe we could slap a new coat of wax on it.
Sure. Slave labor.
Then sell it.
- Really? - You promise?
- Jack! - Oh!
And suddenly, the long era of bad feelings was broken.
A new day was dawning. Dad had finally come around.
"I can see clearly now The rain is gone"
It was fun. Washin' the old wagon for its final send-off...
"I can see all obstacles in my way"
It was fun just being together.
"Gone are the dark clouds"
"That had me blind"
"It's gonna be a bright, bright..."
"Bright sunshinin' day"
"I think I can make it now The pain is gone"
"All of the bad feelings Have disappeared"
"Here is the rainbow I've been praying for"
"It's gonna be a bright, bright...Bright sunshinin' day"
And in the end, she looked as cleanand shiny as a nine-year-old car could get.
Yep, all we needed now was a reasonableoffer from a reasonable human being.
You gotta be kidding.
It's a fair price.
Oh, get real, buddy, where'd you get that figure?
Never mind where I get it...the price stands.
What?!
You've gotta be out of your mind.
The question now was...
Was Dad a reasonable human being?
Don't worry. We'll find a buyer.
Maybe. But suddenly, I was starting to get a bad feeling.
A very bad feeling.
Suddenly it was crystal-clear.
I was gonna inherit that car.
My children were gonna inherit it.
The Arnold family heirloom.
He's never gonna sell it.
And the worst thing was...
I didn't understand why.
I'm nuts? Hey, check the figures in it hello? Hello?
Everyone's lookin' for a bargain, huh?
It was horrible.
Someone had to do something.
I have an idea.
How about we all get in the car and go some ice-cream?
Come, on. We'll all pile in and take a ride -how long's it been since we've done that?
Dad, are you gonna sell the car or not?
Wayne!
Of course I am.
It just...
Takes a little time.
Matter of fact, I've decided we should change the ad in the paper.
Maybe that'll help, huh?
Did he really... Expect us to buy this?!
I mean we'd given Dad every benefit of the doubt...
But now this awful feeling was growing in me.
Maybe Craig Hobson had been right.
Maybe the problem really was -
I swear, Dad....
Why are you so cheap?
Karen!
Well, Mom, I really think it's about time!
Don't you ever talk like that in this house again!
This was it.
It was pretty obvious from Dad's expression what was gonna happen.
Someone...would have to die.
Where are you going, Jack?
For a drive.
I'm not really sure where Dad was planning to drive to.
Maybe just around the block. Maybe for ice-cream.
Or maybe...he didn't know himself.
In any event...
He didn't get far.
Probably just a gasket.
Jack.
They have 'em down at the service station. I'll pick one up in the morning.
Jack...I know how much you put into this car.
We all know. All the hard work...
It's worth ten times what you're asking.
But Jack...we don't need this car anymore.
The boys can help me push it into the garage so I'll have a little more light.
You've held it together longer than anyone could have expected, honey.
No one could have done more.
Now it's time to move on.
Think so?
Just let it go.
Alright.
Alright...
And so, we finally got our new car.
It wasn't red, it wasn't a convertible...
Heck, it wasn't even a Mustang. But it was brand-new.
And it was pretty cool.
Course...Dad got his shot at king-for-a-day...
And we were happy for him.
Where'll they take it, Dad?
I don't know...
Probably sell it for scrap.
But that afternoon, I began to understandwhat Dad had being going through.
There was more to that old car than fuel pumps and crankshafts.
There was part of all of us in that car.
The places we'd gone, the things we'd done...
The family we had been.
The family that was moving on.
And for the first time...
I understood the value of what my Dad had put into it.
And why it was so hard to let it go.
"We've been through some things together"
"With trunks of memories still to come"
"We found things to do"
"In stormy weather"
"Long may you run"
"Although these changes have come"
"With your chrome heart shining in the sun"
"Long may you run"
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