Chapter 19. My Car for One Day
During World War II there were no cars sold to the public - everything new was made for the war, while old cars were repaired and made useable. My father decided it was time for me to have a car. Leo Lungen the Ford dealer had a 1928 Nash, and my father gave him a deposit. So one day after school, instead of taking the bus, I decided to pick up the car from Lungen's dealership and drive it home.
The car overheated on the way and was steaming by the time I got home. My father was steaming too. He was angry with me for taking the car before he had test driven it, and he was angry with Leo Lungen for letting me take it, as well as for selling him a car with a cracked engine block. He called up the dealer and told him what had happened. Lungen explained apologetically that the former owner had assured him that the car was in good condition, and that if my father brought the car in he would get back his deposit.
I never did get another car.