Vintage 1946

My brother Wayne and I rolled off the assembly line on a cold, snowy night in November of 1946. Wayne, who is 16 mins. ahead of me, had no imperfections and proudly lined up with the other models right away. I had a few chinks in my armor and had to have some adjustments before I could earn my place with the others. Producers, Jim and Alice Anderson, proudly took their new '46's home to join their '42, Phyllis. Now Phyllis had been the number one in the garage for over 4 years and wasn't sure there was room for one more, much less two more bodies. The garage was tight and it was also right after WWII, so there were shortages all over the country and definitely at The Andersons. However, the two new upshots squeezed in and continued to grow and grow.

As the '46's and the '42 grew they required many new sets of tires and lots of upkeep. This kept Alice, who was in charge of maintenance and Jim, who was in charge of expenses, very busy. The years passed with the normal road bumps, brushes with the law, fender benders, travels near and far until it was time for the models to hit the open road on their own. As expected, Phyllis was the first to leave traveling to CA, GA, WA, but always coming back to ID for a tune up and some TLC. She finally hooked up with a '40 who had Oklahoma plates and they ended up cooling their engines in Coeur d'Alene.

Pamela was the next to leave going to Spokane for some higher education. Wayne, in the mean time, was in a bit of a rut spinning his wheels until the U. S. government took over and sent him all the way to Southeast Asia. This was a big blow because many of our contemporaries who were sent to Vietnam came back in pieces if they came back at all. Wayne was one of the lucky ones who returned with his exterior intact and no apparent damage under the hood.

In the meantime, Pamela left Spokane to complete her education at Moscow where she was given a degree enabling her to supervise all the models coming off the lines for many years to come. During this time, she met Jim another '46 who had Ohio plates. They connected revving up their engines, creating some steam on the wind shield and doing some producing of their own: Matt a '73, and Beth and Brooke, both '77's.

The '70's are off making their own inroads and so it goes. I guess it's life in the fast lane. However, from the vantage point of a classic, I have learned a few things. If the oldies are treated well and kept maintained, their value often increases. Take the pedal off the metal and don't be in such a big hurry. Be kind to fellow motorists along the route. Embrace the trip because the journey can be more enjoyable than the destination. Keep gas in the tank, oil under the hood, air in the tires and love in your heart. And most importantly, enjoy the ride, because it's not a test drive.