Where I grew up, there was one time-honored event...
That united families.
And brought neighbor together with neighbor.
The arrival of a new car.
There was something magical about it.
Kinda like a one-float parade.
For one shining moment, the proud
Yep. No doubt about it...
In our neighborhood, ownership had its privileges.
Except, of course...
Where's my wrench?!
Dammit, where's my wrench?
At the Arnold household,
Somebody hand me my wrench, will ya?
Alright, Dad.
Course you have to understand, my
Oh...thirty years, or 300,000 miles...
Which ever came first.
OK. Start 'er up.
You think you can fix it?
Of course I can fix it! Just...needs a little adjustment.
Oh. Good.
I guess there was more of Jack Arnold under that hood...
Than all the papers he ever shuffled...
Boy, it'd sure be cool...
But if we were seeing visions...
Dad was seeing -
Tin.
That thing's 90 percent tin...
Trust me. They don't make them
They sure didn't.
Bald tires...Half a muffler...
The sleek lines of a rhinoceros.
Nothing to be embarrassed about.
Much.
Hey, Pfeiffer!
Your fly's open.
Embarrassment.
The stock in trade of any...
Very funny, Hobson!
Still, when it came to the art of raw insult...
I could hold my own.
So, uh, Hobson...
I heard you struck out with Penny
Who told you that?
Oh, wouldn't you like to know?
You guys are terrible.
Heh-heh-heh-heh.
Say, Arnold?
Wasn't that your car I saw stalling out in front of school this morning?
Wait a minute...
What was this?
Why?
Nothing. It's just...
Hey, his dad keeps it running!
His dad keeps it runnin'...right into the ground.
Say...When's you old man gonna
Ooooh..
OK. This was getting personal.
Ridiculous. But personal.
It was time for a witty comeback.
Hobson?
Got somethin' on your shirt.
There. I'd handled it smoothly.
As for Dad, well...
I wasn't worried.
He'd come through for us,
Car died...
And suddenly, the time was right.
What happened?
It made sort of a spluttering noise...
Did you pat the gas and count to five before you...turned the key?
Yeah. Just like you showed me.
What about the...coil wire?
It was getting dark, Jack.
I couldn't see very well.
Now when Mom used that tone of voice, this was serious business.
Anyway, the man at the service station...
Fuel pump... You didn't let him
He also said the carburetor needs adjustment.
I just rebuilt the damn carburetor.
Seemed like Dad was missing the point, here.
You've been putting so much time and effort into that car...
I'll take a look at it.
It's just that it's...
Especially now that Wayne and Karen are driving...
It's getting so much use.
Maybe it's time we started looking for a new car.
OK. We'll look.
- Yes. / - Yes.
And so, at last, we had our shot at the big-leagues.
We were in the presence of the American dream, here.
In the presence of...
Marvin Lutz, sales manager.
- Jack Arnold.
Can I tell you somethin'?
When I saw you, and your...beautiful family,
drive in here, I said to myself...
"Now here...is a man who knows cars".
Look, Marvin, let's save ourselves...a lot of time, OK?
You're the customer, Jack.
I'm looking for a car, not a sales pitch.
I'll tell you...what I'm looking for...
Boy.
Am I relieved to hear you say that...
I can't tell you how many times I've wished
when customers would come in here...
They'd be upfront with me.
Make my job a heck of a lot easier.
Probably sell a lot more cars, too.
You had to admit - Marv had a certain flair.
Yeah. So...
owner became king...of the block.
At the Arnold household.
ownership meant...Repairs.
dad believed your average car should last...
At NORCOM Enterprises.
To have one of those, hah?
Won't last two years.
like this baby anymore.
Self-respecting eight-grader.
Brubaker last night at the movies.
It sounded like a Sherman tank.
pop for somethin' made in this century?
Something subtle.
when the time was right.
And then it just quit on me.
Said it was the fuel pump.
touch the fuel pump, did ya?
becoming so unreliable, Jack.
- Cool.
- Jack...
you tell me what you've got.
Hahahahah!