![]() Convertibles, while always somewhat of an exclusive bodystyle, faced a sharp downturn in sales by the 1970s, spurred by the onset of ever-stringent crash-safety and rollover concerns, the growing prevalence of vehicle air conditioning, and general changes in consumer tastes. Rare is also how one should describe the 1971 Impala convertible, as for after all, Chevrolet produced only 4,576 examples among some 427,000 total Impalas. Yet as for “interesting” cars I see in the city, they’re usually ’80s or ’90s imports, or one of the growing number of modern ultra-luxury or supercars owned by Boston’s large number of wealthy professionals or international college students. As one gets out into more rural areas, sure, they’re here and there in small numbers. While this 1971 Chevrolet Impala convertible is no 1990s fullsize Oldsmobile, big old American cars in general are very rare in Boston. If he wasn’t listening to the Howie Carr Show or her the Irish Hit Parade, they were playing one of their Neil Diamond cassette tapes. ![]() When I was a young child, prior to entering elementary school, my weekdays were spent in the care of my loving grandparents, with a lot of time riding around in the backseat of his Oldsmobile. Now I may be the last person one would expect to be a Neil Diamond fan, but his music I hold near and dear to my heart. Featuring many of his greatest hits, including 1969’s Brother Love’s Travelling Salvation Show, of which “It was a hot August night” happens to be the opening lyrics to. Especially as it is a 1971, I couldn’t help but think of Neil Diamond’s 1972 live album Hot August Night. One of those such hot August nights recently led to this unexpected sighting. The nights have been especially warm as well, something helped by what’s known as urban heat island effect, whereby the abundance of concrete, steel, and other building materials radiate the heat they absorb during the daytime at night, thus keeping the city pretty sweltering even under the cover of darkness. This has certainly been one of the hottest summers on record for most of the Northern Hemisphere, with Boston in particular experiencing its warmest average July on record. As summer draws to a close, I’m saddened to see the days become shorter, but I’m also thankful to see the temperatures begin dropping.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |