Describe symbolism in My Life and Hard Times by James Thurber

The Thurber family owns an old REO (at least 20 years old) that can no longer be started by cranking, but must be push started and the clutch then engaged. This operation is made more difficult by the fact that the clutch and brake share a single pedal. When it is parked too far from the curb one day, a passing streetcar snags it and drags it to its demise. The car represents a vanishing past.