The Death of the Drive-In

With all of Longstreth's discussion of the convenience that cars brought to America and great expanses, I find myself wondering what became of all the "sporadic" experiments of the 1920's and 30's relating to drive-ins. The drive-in market and the Park and Shop are discussed at length, and I wonder...where did they go? At a glance it seems like there would be nothing more convenient than giving your grocery list to a clerk and having them find everything for you, so why would such a concept all but completely perish? Enough questions. I believe a lot of it has to do with the circumstances surrounding these 'experiments'. As Longstreth points out, places like drive-in markets were run by people like Peckham, who were not involved so much in the distribution of food, but simply "getting a return on their land" (38). Thus, I can only imagine that a certain 'magic' that some experience when grocery shopping might be removed by the pure economy someone like Peckham would be advertising. Not to mention that few of these stores were run by a manager, so despite people like Peckham hoping that the 'automation' of the drive-in would save money, there was probably ultimately a lot more confusion for both the employees and the consumer. By the 1950s, self-service was embraced nearly everywhere (170).

So what drive-ins still exist? For the most part, drive-in dining, drive-in banking, and drive-in theaters (though those are already a sort of 'vintage' notion and sadly on their way to extinction). One is entertainment-centered, one is economically-centered, and one is necessity-centered. Therefore, I have a lot of trouble understanding why people would be comfortable buying food quickly that they plan on immediately eating, versus grocery shopping when both deal with fulfilling a basic instinct. Perhaps because one focuses more on long term fulfillment? Or simply the true 'convenience' of it all. Who knows, maybe the time it would take a drive-in grocer to gather all your food may have been almost as long as it would take you to do it yourself, or maybe the owners realized that customers are more likely to buy food that isn't on their list if they're actually in the store seeing all the wonderful specials available...