The Secret Language of a Healthy Engine and Why the Classics (And the Playlist to Match) Will Always Hold My Heart Low, Slow, and Loud
The Secret Language of a Healthy Engine and Driving down the highway with the music that puts me in another world. A world that relaxes me to my core. Music and cruizing down the road. Listening to Brenton Woods’s Me & You cruising home with my man, from having a bar-b-que at the park. Beautiful day with family and friends on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
I was raised to the rhythm of the boulevard and the roar of the drag strip. Classic car culture isn’t just a hobby for me, it is a family legacy, a chest full of memories, and my ultimate happy place.
Some people look at a modern car and see an alternative sleek machine to gas. Battery and hybrid cars. I look at it and see a computer on wheels that lacks a soul. For me, real soul has eight cylinders, a gleaming chrome grill, a specific scent of oil and metal, and a heartbeat you can hear from a block away.
Lessons from the Garage: If You Drive It, You Know It
Growing up, my dad was always fixing his own cars, followed by cars for my brothers and sisters. He had a strict rule: If you are going to drive a car, you have to know the car. Now, being one of the girls, we had to do all the housework and even the yard work. I wasn’t expected to get un
der the hood and actually fix the heavy machinery. But Dad made sure we knew the engine. I learned how to wash them right, check the oil, and fill the water and antifreeze. My husband also works on cars. We both love the Older Cars and the music that can put you in another world. Non-stressing and Relaxing music.
More than anything, I learned to listen. I got to know the exact sound of a healthy motor. To this day, I can stay inside the car, listen to an engine idle, and tell you right away if a spark plug is missing, or catch the scent of a radiator or a water pump on its way out. It’s a language you only learn when you grow up respecting the machine.
My First Loves: The ’71 Firebird and the ’63 Impala
When it was time for me to get behind the wheel, I didn’t want just anything. My very first car was a 1971 Pontiac Firebird. It was a gorgeous, bright red muscle car with a black top, and I put clean Dynasty Chrome rims on it. I kept that car absolutely spotless. It was my first taste of raw American horse power, and I loved it.
Later on, I had a 1963 Chevy Impala. We lowered it, put on beautiful chrome rims, and kept that engine looking pristine. Whether I was feeling the muscle of the Firebird or the smooth style of the Impala, I knew exactly what I had under my foot.
That passion for cars runs deep in my home today, too. My husband, Bertie, works on cars, and my brother and cousins do as well. Bertie and I share a deep love for muscle cars, motorcycles, funny cars, and the pure adrenaline of the track.
There is nothing quite like walking the local race track and seeing their engines, but only to a point. Some of the smaller tracks let’s you walk around the cars in line to race, look inside the engines up close, and try to guess the drivers’ little secrets, some cover certain areas. We love the speed and the challenge of the “tree.” It’s all about precise timing. How fast are you on that green light?
My internal instincts quickly clocks the signal lights when I am at a stop light. What was my reaction time at the green light? Have you ever done that? It’s a constant for me. It’s an automatic thing. But, not when children or a school zone are at the corners.
Hiding in the Back of Dad’s Cadillac AKA “The Tank”
Of course, you can’t talk about my family without talking about my Dad’s absolute obsession: Cadillacs. He always had one.
But there was this one specific Cadillac—I think it was a 1970 brown convertible rag-top. To me, it looked like a massive, ugly tank! I absolutely hated that car back then. Dad knew it, too, and he would definitely do it on purpose just to tease me.
He would drop the top down and say, “Alright, we’re going for a drive!” Then he would head straight down into the hood, cruising down the road with a horn that played actual music. I was so embarrassed; I would literally hide in the seats so nobody would see me!
It is funny how time works. Back then, I wanted to disappear. Today, my family brings it up, and we just laugh and laugh. I miss my dad so much now, and what I wouldn’t give to hear that musical horn echoing down the street one more time.
The Soundtrack of the Boulevard: Lowrider Oldies
When we were hanging out with family and friends in the neighborhood, we would listen to music all day long. It relaxes me like nothing else on earth. I know every single word to those songs, and to this day, I can sing them all straight to you.
There is a huge difference between standard “oldies” and true Cruising Lowrider Oldies. We aren’t talking about pop tunes; we are talking about the soulful, smooth harmonies that dictate the pace of a perfect weekend afternoon. I’m talking about classics from:
- Brenton Wood – “Me and You”
- Sly, Slick, and Wicked – “Confessing a Feeling”
- James & Bobby Purify – “I’m Your Puppet”
- Art Laboe Lowrider CD Classics
I don’t care much for today’s music, and my family knows it! My youngest daughter is so sweet—she actually made a special music app track on her phone filled completely with “My Music” so I can listen to my lowrider oldies whenever I want. And even though Bertie loves his rock music, he loves my cruising tracks, too.
The Journey Home
At the end of a long sunny weekend, after walking the tracks, looking at the engines, and sharing laughs with family. There is only one way to head home.
We get in our rides, turn on the lowrider oldies, drop the windows, and just cruise. The engine sounds better, the air feels cooler, and with the homies and family by my side, I am exactly where I belong: in my happy place.
What’s Your Ultimate Cruise?
Are you a fan of the “low and slow” classic bombs, or do you live for the thunder of a quarter-mile muscle car? What song instantly makes you want to roll your windows down and just drive?
CLICK HERE to visit our Community Contact Page and share your favorite car memories with us. Your favorite song. Let’s keep the classic culture alive together! Thank you for visiting Grump Grandma Knows.