Sometimes the story behind a particular car easily outweighs the car itself.
I’m going to assume that anyone who frequents the pages of ViaRETRO will largely agree with the above statement. But recently I was reminded, and in a most fabulous way too, so there’s a story which now needs telling…
My real-world-job had me staying in Bangor, Maine for a few days. A wide variety of Covid-19 precautions had struck this remote little town just as they seemingly have the rest of the world, so pretty much everything was shut and I was expecting my stay to be decidedly dull – sadly my expectations were fulfilled. However, at least we were still allowed to walk freely outside, so I made a point of getting out of my little hotel room every day for at least an hours walk.
It was a wet, blustery and somewhat chilly day, but I was intent on getting out, so I pulled the collar of my jacket up and headed down the sidewalk as I had done the two previous days. I remembered our very own Tony Wawryk reporting from this area only last year. He had come across plenty of classic cars to keep himself entertained, but thus far my most exciting spotting had been a – somewhat sorry looking – very late version of the first SAAB 900. But hang on, what was that parked further down the street?
And there it stood in all its glory! A mid-eighties Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS. I doubt many Europeans will be familiar with the model unless they’re into their Americana, but there had been a few around when I grew up in the Middle East as a kid. I liked them back then as it reminded me a little bit of the ever-so-cool black & gold Trans Am which jumped bridges and threw up dust everywhere as the Bandit escaped the Smokey time and time again. Yeah yeah, I know… you’ll have to forgive me, but I was perhaps 9 or 10 years old at the time.
Either way, this black Monte Carlo SS with its vivid red stripes and raised white letter tyres had me amused for a while. Though to be honest, I found that I didn’t like it quite as much as I remember doing age 10. It’s obviously the same car, so I guess it’s my taste which has changed a little since?
I glanced around hoping to spot the owner when this tiny, fragile, little old lady with possibly the most wrinkled skin I’ve seen in my entire life, shuffled past me and proceeded to open the driver’s door to what transpired to be her Monte Carlo SS. She gave me a quick glance – possibly because she had seen me admiring her mid-eighties muscle car, or maybe just because she was wondering what my jaw was doing lying on the sidewalk. Was this the coolest granny on the planet? She shot me a quick wink and muttered in a small, crackled voice “Son, they don’t make ‘em like this no more…” before she slammed the door shut and fired up the V8. I would love to tell you that she lit up the rears as she took off towards the horizon, but not quite. But she didn’t hang around either giving the 5-litre V8 a decent amount of throttle as she disappeared down the wet street. I stood for a while and mused over this most bizarre occurrence. I cursed that I hadn’t managed to gather my thoughts enough to actually speak with her. She certainly wasn’t the owner I had expected to see and I would have loved to hear the whole story! I obviously don’t know this for sure, but I have a gut feeling that she bought the Monte Carlo SS brand new and has cherished it ever since. Suddenly – no doubt thanks to the owner – this Monte Carlo SS seemed the coolest car I had come across for a long time.
Dear reader, do you know of an equally amusing “One Little Old Lady Owner” story? – she doesn’t necessarily have to be from Pasadena. Or just any other story which confirms that sometimes the backstory is indeed what makes a particular car really interesting? If so, please share it with the rest of us in the replies section below…