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rzemanfl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Thu Jul-05-07 06:02 PMOriginal messageCan anyone here tell me when white sidewall tires went out of style? I know it didn't happen all at once, but could someone tell me approximately when?
benEzra Donating Member (1000+ posts) Mon Jul-09-07 11:19 AMResponse to Original message1. Some time in the 1980's, I think... My first car (1986) had whitewalls, but as more cars began to be shod with performance-style tires (a Very Good Thing, IMO), whitewalls went by the wayside. The last holdouts were probably full-size luxury cars, some of which held on to whitewalls at least through the late '90s.
Fighting Irish (1000+ posts) Wed Jul-18-07 08:01 PMResponse to Original message2. I still buy whitewalls for my Buick LeSabre Not true whitewalls like back in the day. Today's whitewalls just have a 1-2" white stripe around it.Many 15-16" tires available today are reversible, so just tell the tire shop what side you want facing out.I still put the whitewall out on my car, since I've tried it both ways and white out seems to look better. The big problem is keeping them clean, which is probably the reason they're not so much in fashion anymore.
AndyA Donating Member (1000+ posts) Sat Jul-28-07 10:54 AMResponse to Original message3. I remember GM was promoting wider whitewall tires in 1983-1984, because my Dad bought a brand new 1983 Oldsmobile Ninety Eight Regency Brougham with them.His next car, a 1985 Oldsmobile Ninety Eight Regency Brougham had thinner whitewall stripes on it, and the one that followed that one, a 1988 version of the same car, had blackwall tires on it. So, somewhere between 1985-1987 whitewall tires became obsolete on that model, which was considered one of the top American luxury cars at the time.Personally, I think if a car originally came with whitewall tires, they seem to look best with them. Perhaps it has something to do with the amount of chrome trim on the car, to balance everything out. I don't care for newer cars with wide whitewall tires (i.e., a 1967 model with 1950's style wide whitewalls), because they look out of date and don't seem to "fit."I have a 1969 Thunderbird that originally had whitewall tires with a thin red band on the outside of the whitewall. They are reproducing them now, so next time I need tires, that's what I'm going to get. (I still have the original spare tire in the trunk, and it's never been on the ground.)
You can't put four-inch whitewalls on a Honda Accord and have it look nice. It just won't work. Now, if Buick brings back the Roadmaster Wagon or Ford starts marketing the Country Squire again, that may change.
Back in the early 90's the white walls were still there, you just had to find them. There were folks who made their living traveling around with their tire grinding equipment that would take off the outer layer of black to expose it. I think our busy lifestyles killed the whitewalls. Back in the day when Saturday morning was car washing time then WW's were practical. When we got to busy to wash our cars and let a quick run the the car wash after a fill up replace that ritual signaled the end.
