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HOUSE DIARIES
Car Memories
November 10, 2007
Written December 12
Dear Friends and Families,
Another weekend day to kill on my business trip to Charlotte.
I've done Lowe's Motor Superspeedway, the History Museum, "Body Works" and
a shopping mall or two (or three). Today I'll round my experience out with
The Motorcar Hall of Fame", a kitschy attraction just down the road from Lowe's.
| 
The entrance was correctly unpretentious. |
Inside, I was almost alone with all the odd assortment of car memorabilia,
from amphibious cars to vintage racers. |
This was an example of the original "southern race cars", souped-up
sedans used for transporting moonshine from local mountain distilleries,
back in the day when police cars could be out run. |
| 
When track racing became serious, drivers would strip out the interiors
of real "stock" cars, install rudimentary safety equipment, and head
for tracks scattered throughout the South. |
The was the early 60's when gas was cheap and cars, such as this 1960
Chevy Impala, were huge. I was particularly taken by this one, because
it was much like the first big car I ever drove, dad's black 1961 Impala
hardtop with ... |
... a 348-cubic-inch V-8, three 2-barrel carburetors and a four-speed
transmission. That car could fly on California roads! |
|
Another personal memory-maker was this tiny camper
trailer, reminiscent of a family trip to Montana when I was about 10
years old. (Remind me to tell you about how the bears managed to open
this pop-up kitchen and eat all out cookies and bacon.) |
|
Nowadays, our family cars are a
Porsche Boxster and an Audi Allroad, both fine and sophisticated German machines
and we stay in comfortable "gasthauses". But they don't displace the memory
of Dad's black Impala and a tiny "tear drop" trailer.
You probably would have your own
learning-to-drive memories and, if you are of "a certain age", you
can reminisce at Charlotte's Motorcar Hall of Fame Museum.
John and Marianne.
HOUSE DIARIES
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