Feature Car of the Month: December 2020

My love of cars was instilled when I was a little girl hanging out with my daddy while he fixed the family rides. When I was only 11 years old, Dad taught me how to drive on a dirt road. My keen love of convertibles came a year later when I got my first ride in an Oldsmobile 442 convertible. I loved the feeling of the wind in my hair as the sun poured down on me, and that sense of freedom…I was hooked. I knew then no hardtop car would make me happy.

My 1967 Camaro convertible was purchased from the original owner who was a female lawyer that lived in Forest Hill. The day I picked her up, I drove her over to my parent’s house. I can still see the look on my dad’s face as he walked around her with his head slightly tipped sideways and nodding before he looked up at me and said; “Well, at least I won’t worry about you wrapping yourself around a pole!” Since most Camaro convertibles were 6 cylinders, this would seriously curb the adrenaline junkie in me. As a matter of fact, in 1967 total Camaro production was 220, 960 and with only 5,285 – 6 cylinder convertibles built…that makes my Camaro a rare beauty!

Despite all the attention she draws out on the road, or in parking lots…the only award she has won was Best Lady Owned in a car show in the late 80’s at Cayuga Speedway. Her other brush with fame was when my graphic artist brother in law, Ronn Sutton, featured her in his comic book starring Elvira Mistress of the Dark. Elvira gets picked up at the airport in my car!