The Old Townie: Cars, cars, cars
Steve Schnabl has always been fascinated by cars, and Oxford has had no shortage of interesting ones in the past few decades.
Cars and trucks have been one of my fascinations for many years. My budget has never allowed overindulgence, but Oxford continues to be a great place to catch glimpses of most of the “latest and greatest” four-wheeled vehicles.
In the 1990’s, I thought Oxford was being invaded by fleet after fleet of BMW convertibles — maybe even as prevalent as U-Haul trucks and trailers each move-in and move-out. BMWs are still here, but are more likely to be a very racy coupe or a smart SUV.
I notice many more brands (or marques for car aficionados) cruising around town in the past few years. Porsches, Mercedes and Jaguars fill our streets, supplemented by the occasional Lotus, Rolls Royce, Maserati, Bentley, Range Rover, Ferrari and Lamborghini. These are candy to my eyes. Teslas and other brands of electric vehicles are also growing more common, along with charging stations, in a nod to the strong environmentalist beliefs among both residents and students.
The ever popular and sturdy Subaru, like my Outback, parked near one another at Kroger or Walmart even leads me often to the wrong dark gray vehicle … which might be a Nissan or Toyota.
I find it sad that many of today’s vehicles resemble one another, regardless of the manufacturer.
When I started coming to Oxford regularly, residents had several options to buy new cars in the city. Last standing was Kyger Chrysler-Dodge-Plymouth on College Corner Pike. Still managed by the next generation of Kyger’s, University Motors continues to provide service to many makes.
Next door was University Ford-Mercury for many years, closing for a while before becoming Hormel Chevrolet. Before that, Chevys, Pontiac and Buick were sold at the Rohrer dealership at 20 S. Main St. Now, that site is the Oxford Parking Garage across from The Elms Hotel.
I traded my Gremlin at the latter in the late ’70’s for a slightly larger four-door used car to better accommodate the five of us. It got totaled when I was T-boned by a driver who ran a red light.
That led me to buy its replacement, a 1976 Hornet Sportabout at Oxford’s American Motors dealer, Mesler Motors on S. Beech. The building, on the corner just south of the Bethel AME Church, housed Mesler Body Shop for a period thereafter, before closing. The building has remained empty with some window teasing that relates to new student housing.
My favorite local car purchase was direct from its first owner, Roger. Parked in his front yard near the edge of Fairfield Road, the tiny red convertible made me stop. I enjoyed that zippy Smart Car until I retired, and we became a one-car family.
My car itch is now being scratched by collecting even smaller cars, the toy Matchbox cars and 1/25 scale dealer promotion vehicles. The variety of styles and colors make me happy.
Got any lying around that are looking for a new home? I am open to adoptions.
Steve Schnabl moved to Oxford in 1985. He retired in 2023 from Oxford Seniors after a 40-year career directing nonprofits.
