All this talk makes me remember going to A&W Drive-thru's as a kid. Car-hops, burgers, and a nice cold, frosty glass mug of root-beer.
Later in the early 80s, though, that scene had a bit of a revival at a place called, "Angelo's" in Anaheim, CA. Anyone else know the place? Every Friday the parking lot was packed with muscle-cars and hot-rods with their hoods popped open, and all sorts of cool cars cruising up an down the street. Carhops everywhere. The burgers were the size of a freaking Frisbee, and a small fries came in a giant red basket that could feed an army. We'd usually stuff our faces and then head off to a car-rally that took us all over the OC with complex crytographic directions & puzzles, sponsored by one of the car clubs. I think the place might still be there, but last time I saw it in the early 2000s, it had turned into a regular cheap burger joint with much-smaller-than-frisbee burgers.