Riding Shotgun
By David Dyck
“Wanna ride there in the Pontiac?”
The proposal catches me off guard, not only because of Mark’s
readiness to drop everything he’s doing for my story, but also because
of his apparent insider access to the cars his customers drop off at his
shop. Here I remember a friend’s earlier comments about certain
perks to working in automotive shops.
But for some reason I feel they don’t apply to me. This is a
perfect stranger’s Pontiac GTO, fully restored with a 21st century
Ready to see
what area
motorheads have
to offer? Check
out these
cruise-ins and car
shows
engine for superior performance. I’m not qualified to enjoy its
bounties- my first words when I was a year old could be construed as
being closer to praise for my mother than for GM or Chrysler. I’m not
going to be able to enjoy this experience properly.
“Sure, let’s go” I answer, and a nod from Mark ensures me a
seat sitting shotgun in one of the most iconic muscle cars of the late
1960s. I brace myself for the spluttering growls of a demon summoned
out of its netherworld through the turn of an ignition switch, but
nothing of the sort occurs- I forgot the car had its engine updated. A
few seconds later we’re sliding down Erie St. towards Mark’s garage,
Canadian
Transportation
Museum & Heritage
Village
50’s Diner Cruise-In
Every Thursday
starting May 19
where he has promised to show his 1968 Dodge Charger.
The smoothness of the ride invites me to put my arm outside
the window and tilt an imaginary set of shades further down my nose,
but to do so would require opening it manually, a bizarre situation for
somebody raised on power windows and locks. Instead I mention
something about the inefficiency of the small reflection mirrors, to
which Mark agrees. Here’s at least one design flaw of the golden era
of muscle cars.
Around three minutes of this ordeal adventure finally bring us
Windsor Area Street
Rods Inc.
Can Am Nationals 42nd
Anniversary
Gil Maure Park
May 29
to Mark’s garage, wherein rests his fabled Charger, one of only three
in Leamington, of which he owns two. I came to take pictures, but as I
do it occurs to me to consider what riding in it must feel like. Mark’s
previous comments about its equally restored motor flash in my mind,
and I realize what I really wanted to experience in a classic car was the
sensation of sitting in an upbeat, vibrating shudder of a motor
vehicle; the more animated the better. Looks aren’t everything,
A & W Cruise Night
6570 Tecumseh Rd. E.
Thursdays starting
May 27
anyway.
“It’s probably really boring,” I tell myself, to keep my
disappointment at bay. I keep snapping pictures.
May 2016 - The HUB 15