this is what I was
really driving in 1974...
'68 Chevy station wagon, straight 6, three speed tranny with the
gear shift on the steering column, bench seats, steel dashboard,
a.m. radio and power nothing. The basic basic model. Drum brakes
all around, the exhaust pipe was just a steel pipe, with a muffler.

My dad gave it to me after he put 100,000 miles on it.
I could keep it running with minimal tools and skills.
Open the hood, and everything is right there, plenty of room to work without
skinning your knuckles too much. Fix it and it stayed fixed. An excellent
engine and power train, no bugs or glitches. Just GM goodness. ONE belt,
no hoses except fuel line and coolant. Simple carb... everything plain and
easy to see. Steel bumpers, you could suspend the whole car on one, with the
"bumper jack." Remember those? Didn't think so... they sucked, actually.
I should have named that car "Top Dead Center," but as a young buck, I named
her Ya Mama.
I didn't wear a lab coat when I worked on THIS car... I wore old
jeans and a t-shirt, and got filthy. *laughs

I could have bought a car like this for $100 in similar condition, in '74.
But I spent that hundred buying this:

The Chevy's long gone, but I'm still playing the same bass. So the Fender gives
better service I guess. Better mileage for sure. That old Chevy got about 17 mpg.
Maybe a little more. That wasn't important when the car was designed.
The car was designed to haul stuff, which is what I used it for. guitars, amps,
groupies, all jumbled up in the back. I think it had seat belts, but nobody ever
used them.
The definition of a musician for 2017 is:
"Someone who loads $5000 worth of equipment into a $1000 car
and drives 500 miles to play a hundred dollar gig."
It's adjustable for inflation of course, so it's always been true more or less...
...and isn't it amazing how the prices of everything (including fuel, guitars, amps,
cars, pedals, strings, clothes, hotel rooms, meals... everything) has gone sky high
except the money you get for a gig has stayed about the same... *bitter grin