QOTD: What's Your Family's Best Car Story?

Every day we post on Jalopnik, fully expecting to be inundated by our readers' wit, intelligence and sarcasm. However, once in a while we get a comment like Speedie's from Friday's QOTD that not only brings a tear to our eye, but makes us realize how great a gig this is. You can read Speedie's reminiscence on his Grandfather's 1966 Cadillac in full after the jump. Then, if you like, tell us your best story involving your family and automobiles. Mine? My father's father had a pitch black, 1953 Cadillac Eldorado that him and his brother managed to ram into a black cow one night out cruising the back roads of Quebec. The farmer, according to legend, was pissed. You?

Speedie's Story:

I would like to tell you all a little bit of a story that this picture reminded me of, if thats ok with you all. (deep down I think we can all relate)

The year was 1966, and my grandfather had been saving his money for quite a few years to buy his dream car. He worked as a truck driver for the local grocery chain, and supported my grandmother, father and two uncles on his salary. Needless to say, money was pretty hard to come by at that time. According to my grandmother, at the end of the day he would come home and empty his spare change into a jar beside the bed. When the jar was full, he would take it to the bank and deposit it. One day in 1966 he finally had enough to buy that year's brand new Cadillac.

As the story goes, he went to the local dealer and picked out the car that he dreamed of. As with much of life, he had to re-focus his dream according to his current state of affairs. Each year, he was short of the money to buy a Cadillac, and so the dream continued.

On that day he picked out a beautiful white DeVille convertible with a black top and cocoa brown leather interior. From what I am told, he was the proudest man on the block, having just purchased his first brand new Cadillac. I should have provided the background that when he was first married to my grandmother, they didnt have money for a car. His solution was to go to the junk yard and buy up 3 cars to build 1 running car. Being able to purchase a brand new Cadillac meant the world to him.

My father graduated high school in 1966 and eventually went off to fight in Vietnam. To tie this story in with the question of the day, that car traveled all over the country to visit my father and both my uncles in their various stages of deployment in the military. Some of the best family pictures we have are of my dad/uncles standing next to the car in their military uniforms. My dad fondly tells the story of cruising down the highway, in his fatigues, with the top down when they came to see him at Fort Knox.

My grandfather died in 1993, and I never got to ride in that car with him. He was so proud of that car even the day he died. It was a very bittersweet day when my father and I went over to see my grandmother and drive the Cadillac home to our house. The car now resides at my parents house where my dad and I are currently working on restoring it. It has 65,000 original miles on it, but sitting in a damp garage for most of its life didn't do many favors for it.

Anyways, sorry for the long story that wasnt really relevant to the QOTD. I guess I can say that I live vicariously through that car on many road trips through the United States.

Beautiful. And one of the many reasons why we love cars so damn much.

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