RIVER JOHN, N.S. — The Nash Metropolitan was a different kind of car.
In an era when engines and the cars they powered were traditionally large, this subcompact, economy vehicle was perhaps a foretaste of the future.
But for Truro resident Sharon Delaney, it was just a whole lot of fun.
“My aunt had one when I was a teenager,” she explained at the River John Festival Days antique car show which was held at the old River John School property on July 27. “We used to drive from Halifax to Dartmouth in hers. I always said if I ever get a chance, I’m going to buy one.”
As an adult her dream became reality.
“We bought this one in Regina and had it shipped down,” she said of the brightly coloured 1956 Metropolitan. “We redid the whole car, but it was in good shape. There was no rust on it.”
She calls it her jelly bean because of its shape and colour that’s somewhere in the range of robin egg blue and teal.
“That’s the original colour,” she said. “We took the paint chip off it and had it done on the computer and they matched it up.”
Delaney drives it occasionally around town and to car shows now where she shares a bit about its history as one of the first cars designed to target women.
“They were more or less to go get your groceries and do your errands,” she said. “When they were made they were only $1,200 brand new.”
In post-war era, people were thinking more frugally, and this car was one that offered better fuel economy. Still it was praised for offering a good driving experience.
“When you’re a kid you’re kind of impressionable. It was just fun driving in the little car going across the bridge to Dartmouth. It was cool then.”
