Dear mid-60s Buick caregivers who occasionally drive down memory lane,
Hagerty's has a piece that brought back quite a few memories for me:
https://www.hagerty.com/media/automotive-history/j-c-whitney-lives-well-sort-of-but-it-definitely-isnt-the-same/Shortly after Biquette became my hand-me-down car, I started indulging in goodies from the J.C. Whitney catalog. Some things were a real success. My first Custom Autosound stereo for Biquette was bought through J.C. Whitney. I bought a gadget to sound an alarm when you left the headlights on. That definitely saved a few batteries. There were some obvious failures as well. I bought a third brake light, but never got the wiring straightened out, so that instead of a solid light it would flicker like a turning signal. There was a cheap interval wiper kit that ultimately stayed in the packaging. It looked too weird to attempt installing. Of course none of this preserved Biquette's originality, but as a kid I wasn't into that. To quote the article:
"Even if you just gazed at the inventory, you just knew that some of Whitney’s merchandise would make your ride—and you—hipper, cooler and an automotive standout in general . . . "As the article points out, the world is a very different place now than it was when J.C. Whitney thrived. It is hard not to be nostalgic for those simpler times . . . .
Edouard
P.S. You might notice a reference to a Hemming article about J.C. Whitney toward the end of this piece. I'm sure I'm not alone in worrying that Hagerty's and Hemming's are increasing intruding into each other's turf. I guess more nostalgia, but I certainly wish there was room for both these pillars of the hobby in the times to come.
