[Taylor514ce]

So... back to "cars in American literature", describing a car's year, make and model is a very efficient way to set a certain scene and/or era. It's a shortcut into the psyche. Saying he climbed out of a '58 Buick olive green 4-day evokes a considerably different feel than "he got out of his car", or even more so, "the gull-wings of his DeLorean slowly rose...".