I’ve been to plenty of car shows and met lots of auto enthusiasts. One thing they have in common is talking about their cars. In fact, they have more stories than Walt Disney. More than once I’ve found myself trapped in a hostage conversational situation, looking for a way to escape.
On the other hand, I’ve heard incredible tales of passion, adventure, and sorrow. The most interesting conversations were about their personal experiences, not the nuts & bolts of engine mechanics. The more I talked to people, I realized their stories needed to be preserved.
Sure, you can read about a classic car owner and how they restored their car in Hot Rod magazine. There are lots of YouTube videos with people showing their projects, too. But where are the stories from all of the rest of us? Are we not worthy? To misquote Bob Dylan, “The answer my friend, isn’t blowing in the wind.” It’s “YES”.
To make sure I wasn’t drinking my own Gatorade, I interviewed 30 people at three different car shows. Everybody had interesting car stories, and they all wanted their stories documented online or somewhere.
You’d be surprised at what people have to say. For example, I met Becky at a car show near Lansing, MI. She heard I was looking for car owner’s stories and spoke up when I approached her 1977 Pontiac Trans Am. She said, “Wanna hear my story?”
Of course I did! She said the car’s name was Bandit and she ordered it new in 1977 in “murder black with no bird on the hood.” It did look like the car Burt Reynolds drove in the movie Smokey and the Bandit. Same year and color but Firebird emblem on the hood of Becky’s car.
The 1977 movie stars Burt Reynolds as Bandit, along with Jerry Reed, Jackie Gleason, and Sally Fields. The Bandit accepts a challenge to bring a trailer load of Coors beer from Texas to Georgia within 28 hours. A memorable chase scene takes place throughout most of the movie. Check out this jump!
Becky’s Bandit was no trailer queen. It looked like the car version of the Velveteen Rabbit, a little bit rough but well loved.
Becky went on to say how much Bandit meant to her. Then she said, with a perfectly straight face, that after she died she planned to have her body cremated, then have the dust from her ashes mixed into Clear Coat.
Her two sons were under orders to have Bandit repainted in the original murder black color Then layer over the protective clear coat (with ashes) to give it that special shine. The car had always been a part of her life and “now I’m gonna be a part of the car!”
Well, at first, there was an awkward break as I mentally thought about her preplanned funeral arrangement. The last time that happened was when my co-worker from Jasper, Alabama told me he invented a new dessert called “Gritsicles”. What?? “Gritsicles. They’re frozen grits on a stick. People will line up to buy em!”
Seriously? I must have had that same deer-in-the-headlights look then as I do now hearing her ashes in the clear coat story. Creative but strange. How do people come up with these ideas?
Eventually I conjured up a clever response. “Wow, I’ve never heard of that before. Did you consider just being buried in the car?” Yes, she had considered it, but the clear coat cremation plan was the best choice.
I had to admit she was right. Brilliant, even. It all came clear to me: My Mother the Car! Remember that tv show? The man discovers that his dead mother has been reincarnated as an old car. She speaks to him through the car’s radio, offering advice and commentary on his life.
Once clear coated with the ashes, Becky’s sons and grandchildren could never sell Bandit. It would be like selling their own mother! It will survive for generations, but be careful not to scratch the paint!
Later that week, I was checking out a Classic Car Sales dealer in Saline. While the owner was giving me a tour, an early four-door 1960s Pontiac Star Chief entered through the overhead door. He told me the original owner’s daughter had inherited it and just made the car roadworthy again.
There was a hole located in the lower panel of the back door. “Oh that, her father accidently shot the car one time, and she doesn’t want to have it fixed.”
I said , “I understand. It has meaning.”
He replied, “People don’t just buy a car. They buy the story about the car.” Thinking of a future Bandit with the custom clear coat, I couldn’t agree more…