New Year’s 1951 was a good one for Bertha and Peter Leicht. Peter’s Tavern, located on Archer Avenue just beneath the Long Island Railroad hub in Jamaica, Queens NY, had done quite well during the war, and continued to thrive. Their sons John and Peter were settling into their own lives, and they welcomed their second grandchild the previous spring.
It was time to trade in the old Plymouth for some new wheels.
On January 5, 1951, they took delivery of a 1950 Buick Special Jetback Deluxe Sedanette, Model 46D, a two-door weighing in at 3,665 pounds and measuring 63.9” high, 79.4” wide, 204” long. Under the hood (which was hinged to open sideways from either side) she was powered by an 8-Liter engine that could churn up to 122 horsepower. She sported three ventiports on each side of the hood.
For the 76,902 made that year, Buick offered the Special in 17 colors, including Carlsbad Black, Cumberland Gray, Allendale Green, Verde Green, Imperial Blue, Royal Maroon, Cirrus Green, Niagara Green, Calvin Gray, Kashmir Green, Olympic Blue, Geneva Green, Cloudmist Gray, Meredith Green.
Peter and Bertha chose Sunmist Gray.
Like all Buick’s Special models of the era, the Sedanette came very plain out of the factory, which lowered the base price to a minimum of $1899; but there a long list of options that would bring the model 46D to the top of its price field. Neither power steering nor power brakes were yet ready for the market, but options included white wall tires for $22.10, back up lights for $10.60, a Selectronic radio and antenna for $106.50, and a heater and defroster for $57.90.
We don’t know what options were already included in the model my grandparents picked up from W. Harry Lister on Sunrise Highway in Rockville Centre that fine January day, but salesman J.W. Parnell made a nice commission on that sale. Even if he did forget to change the year on the ‘paid’ stamp!
The base price on the model of which they took delivery was already inflated to $1997.35. On top of that, they added such luxuries as curb finders, a non-glare rear mirror, and bumper guards. They sprang for the $5.61 to fill the car up with 19 gallons (!!!) of Ethyl gasoline, .75 cents worth of window washer fluid, and $6.40 for 6 quarts of permanent Antifreeze. But the biggest extra they went for ($169.20) was the Dynaflow Drive, a pioneering, state-of-the-art steering column based clutchless transmission that made driving smooth and easy.
Because make no mistake – this was to be Bertha’s car.
Though my grandfather Peter passed when I was eight years old, I do not ever remember him driving that car. Bertha, on the other hand, was always at the helm, and did not give up the sedanette until well into the late 1970s.
I can still remember that car getting a lot of attention from the old men on our block when my Nana would park it in front of our Queen Village home as late as 1972/1973. Today, a 20+ year old car would be considered a junker; but this baby was a classic. They don’t make them like that anymore, they haven’t for a while. My uncle and cousins took it over for as long as it was practical to keep, but now the 1950 Buick is just a long faded memory.
A fond one, at that.
So The Story Goes Like This... 