doug — off the record

… whitewall tires?

If you need confirmation that I’m old, this topic will do the trick.

When I was 16, I got a job managing the swimming pool in Seaforth. It was a great opportunity but how would I get there, living 14 km away? I thought about biking but the thought easily went away. I’d probably need a nap when I got there. It was more than just getting there; there were other things going on in my life that required transportation. And, on the weekends, I was one of a few that provided transportation for our group of friends.

As you might imagine, cost was a huge factor for this teenage driver and I ended up owning a 1959 Chevrolet Apache pickup truck. Lest you think I’m really that old, mine had been through a few owners before me. If you purchased it new, it would look something like this.

Look at that chrome! It wasn’t a truck like we think of these days. There was a single bench seat that seated three. A “three-on-the-tree” transmission and a starter on the floor plus more just screamed vintage. It would have been a dream but look at it. Black tires! If I’d had more money, maybe I could have updated it. It looked so poor.

Doesn’t it look better with whitewalls?

My next vehicle served me well going to university. It was a 1970 Chevrolet Impala. And, just look at those tires!

Thanks go to Google Gemini for those images. They’re pretty representations of the vehicles sans rust.

Because I always do some heavy duty research for these posts, I kept my eyes open on the road this week. I also went to the local tire dealer and walked through some car dealerships looking at tires (not kicking tires or I’d immediately have company) and I couldn’t find a single vehicle that had whitewall tires. I did find a couple of trucks that had BF Goodrich tires on them with the name brand showing in white letters.

I did do some poking around and found a couple of places that do sell them and words like “classic” and “vintage” kind of date things.

• Canada Whitewall & Vintage
• Queensway Tire

It would take a road trip just to visit one of these places but the tires and the cars they’re attached to look so nice!

So, what happened to them? Here’s a great explanation. The Real Reason White Wall Tires Went Belly Up. But, they look so sharp. Maybe this summer I’ll get a chance to find some on display at antique car shows. (a favourite pastime)

For a Sunday, your thoughts on the topic please.

• do you agree with the rationale at the link above for the reason why they went away?
• have we adjusted to this by using wheel covers instead of hub caps? Does anyone remember hub caps?
• did you ever own a car with whitewall tires? How about your parents?
• have you ever seen a tire with a colour other than white on the side walls?
• have you ever thought about your side walls when buying a new car or buying tires for your own car?
• as I type this, “whitewheeled tires” seemed to be more appropriate than “whitewheel tires” but that doesn’t seem to be the term used. What makes sense to you?
• do you visit car shows as a summer outing? Do you have a favourite show that you could share? Around here, we go Car Crazy.
• today is Father’s Day. Maybe the kids got me the ultimate gift. Any bets?

As always, I’d be very interested in your thoughts. Please share them in the comments below.

This is now an irregular Sunday morning themed post. You can check out all the previous posts here.

Update – I saw a motorcycle with whitewalls on the fourth yesterday!