I was born in 1970, a year when the North American love affair with full-size cars (read, BIG cars) was in full swing.

My earliest memory of a family car is a 70's model Pontiac Catalina. Four doors. Forest green. Seats as rough as sandpaper, and an eight-track cassette player the churned out the Oakridge Boys for days.

Barbies, singalongs, & the open road

The interior of that Pontiac was astonishing. My little sister and I had the run of the place -- pre-seatbelt era. We stuffed that mother ship of full-size cars to the roof with our barbies and books. We hunkered into the sunburnt back seat and sang our little lungs out, Dad harmonizing all along, on the long treks to and from Grandma's farm.

That behemoth journeyed us across provinces and down the way to Sunday school. Countless memories were made as we squabbled and star-gazed and explored in the safety of the Catalina.

Big cars | A thing of the past?

The march of time and progress have had their effect on our relationship with big cars. Today's full-size cars are feather-light by comparison. A car like the Catalina weighed-in closer to the size of our current mid-size SUVs (at a healthy 4000+ lbs). That said, the Dodge Charger (our best option in full-size sedans, according to CarGurus.com) weighs in with a curb weight of 4500+ lbs.

Length, height, and cargo space -- not to mention our always evolving relationship with aesthetics -- have shifted dramatically over time. Moreover, drivability and safety are deal breakers for today's buyer.

Ready to move on

If you've been nostalgically holding on to your 70's, 80's, 90's full-size car, consider extending its service in a different way? What if that non-drivable old vehicle could be transformed into donation dollars? Through our program, you can choose your charity and get that car off the back parking pad for free. Keep the steering wheel, or a chip of paint. Remove a mirror or memorialize it with a hubcap. A tiny bit of insignia is so much cheaper and easier to tend than that big ol' pile of metal. And the pile of metal can do good work on behalf of someone, or something, who needs it!