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So picture the scene...

Started by Stewart Homan, March 24, 2011, 10:10:15 PM

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Stewart Homan

This story is a couple of years old but one I keep meaning to tell - I might have even told it before!

I have a guy visiting our shop - Dream Cars - in England, from Sweden looking at some 59 Cads we're selling. It's a beautiful balmy summer night in August and we arrange to meet later that evening in the Kings Road, Chelsea to go to dinner in a well known craw shack, the Big Easy.

I head up in my usual summer wheels, a Shoal Green 54 S62 convert with continental kit, nice driver with rock and roll blaring out of it!

Unusually, there is a parking space right outside the restaurant so I ease the Caddy in there... parallel parked that is.

We go inside to eat and naturally it causes quite a stir - from time to time the waitress's or Maitre D come over and say someone is leaning on it or opening the door - to be honest, it's all very pleasant natured and doesn't worry me too much!

One time just as the mains arrive, the MD says 'Come quickly, there's some girls sitting in the car...' GREAT! I said as I followed him out.

When I get out there, there are 6 lovely girls, in summer frocks fussing over the '54. I kind of stand back and watch them and can hear that they're obviously American. They all seem quite well to do, kind of Havard Preppy types.

I get chatting and amongst the coo'ing and aah'ing (from them not me... okay some from me!) they ask if it's my car - Yes, I say.

'Oh, can you take us for a drive?' they enquire.

Now obviously I'd love to but I say the main course has just arrived and I have a guest with me in the restaurant etc etc...

Then one of them pipes up 'My Great Grand Father started General Motors!!!'

'Really', I questionably reply... 'what was his name?'

'WILLIAM DURANT' she says.

WHAT???? Bloody hell, I say, stay there as I get the waitress to keep my food warm.

I spent the next hour cruising around in the delighful company of 6 slightly merry-on-wine gorgeous girls most of whom hailed from Detroit or thereabouts being told stories of growing up in Motown, it's sad demise and how her aunty still has the table they all sat around to sign the agreement merging the various companies to form GM!

What a night!

Quentin Hall Australia

G'day Stewart,
        That's amazing . . . . I had exactly the same dream. I just put it down to eating that frozen seafood dinner that was past it's used by date and following it up with that cooking sherry that was under the sink. Also, in my dream, Satchmo was singing and tooting in a dark corner of the restaurant and Elvis kept hassling me for a light . . .
        I do believe you though , wink wink , nudge ,nudge.

        But I do have one similar. When I was about 25 and single in Sydney , I  went on a blind date with a beautiful girl called Xaviera. She was from Chile and worked as a stewardess for Lan Chile airline if I recall. Anyhow my 57 Cad was broken down (as usual) so I borrowed my flatmate's little Fiat x19. So when I arrive to pick her up she takes one look at the Fiat almost crying and informs me that her mother's family is the Bertone family from Italy (Ferrari Lamborghini Maserati et al). Apparently she grew up very wealthy (her father owned a Chilean bus company) and was chauffered to school in a Rolls but when Pinochet came in he took it over and they lost all their wealth. ( as soon as she told me she was penniless I pulled over and told her to please get out).
        That very last bit was a joke, the rest is true . . . honest. Q
         
         
               
 

Stewart Homan

#2
Hi Q,

You had me at the implausably named Xaviera!!!

I believe you, thousands wouldn't but I promise, mine is all true!

I'm liking Xav already!  ;)

Quentin Hall Australia

Now all we need is Yann to come in with a "An Englishman , a Scotsman and and Australian walk into a bar..." joke.

Or even better still, Yann , come to think of it,  how about telling us all again how you met Gita . . . ( gentlemen get your kleenex boxes.)  Q

veesixteen

I loved your exciting personal memories (Stewart and Quentin). On a similar note, Gita and I (and our 2 children, then aged 3 and 4) took out a bank loan in the summer of 1978 to visit America for the first time, buy a camper van, tour the country, ship the vehicle back to Switzerland and (hopefully) cover all our expenses.
We ordered a Dodge truck built to stringent Swiss specifications. When the truck was delivered to us, in Baltimore, we discovered it did NOT have the ignition lock (that was mandatory in Switzerland). We were downcast. We had no choice but to pursue our trip and worry later.

In Detroit, we stopped at the Tech Center in suburban Detroit, intending to visit the Cadillac Styling Studio with other “tourists”. When I gave my name at the reception, the lovely lady on duty exclaimed:  â€œYou are Yann Saunders? … from Switzerland?  Mr. Jordan is expecting you!”  Chuck Jordan and I had been mere pen-pals for a couple of years; I traded him Ferrari auto literature and scale models in exchange for his Cadillac stuff. I had mentioned that we were coming to Detroit and hoped to meet him. I had no idea he was “expecting me”, even less that he was GM’s Vice-president of Design!

Down the Tech Center’s suspended staircase came Chuck, beaming! He whisked us up to his spacious office. Next thing we know, Chuck is feeding the kids hamburgers and Coke, right off the corner of his huge desk ... while bemoaning to me the fact that I had stupidly bought a Chrysler product instead of one built by GM. I had to condescend. Then Chuck picked up the phone and I heard him laughingly berate Chrysler’s “junk cars” to the person on the other end of the line.

Long story short, an hour later, I was being ushered, truck and all, onto the Chrysler compound where I was told to come and pick up the vehicle “in an hour or so”. Sure enough, it was delivered to us, in that record time, with a complete new steering column, ignition lock and all.  

BTW, Chuck’s “alter ego” that day was Dick Teague, chief stylist of the Chrysler studio! It’s not what you know that’s important, it’s WHO you know, right?
Yann Saunders, CLC #12588
Compiler and former keeper of "The Cadillac Database"
aka "MrCadillac", aka "Veesixteen"

veesixteen

I would love to tell you all how I met Gita, but (a) the censors wouldn't allow it and (b) no Cadillac content!
Yann Saunders, CLC #12588
Compiler and former keeper of "The Cadillac Database"
aka "MrCadillac", aka "Veesixteen"

Quentin Hall Australia

Yann, Just put something about "great dagmars"  in there. Then it's Cadillac related. The moderators will never catch on . . . . Q
ps Love to Gita.

Stewart Homan

Yann, thats an awesome story! How cool is that?

An Englishman, Scotsman, Australian AND a nice set of Dgamars sounds like a party to me Q! ;)

The Tassie Devil(le)

I'll drink to that.......but, I usually drink to anything.... ;)

Bruce. >:D
'72 Eldorado Convertible (LHD)
'70 Ranchero Squire (RHD)
'74 Chris Craft Gull Wing (SH)
'02 VX Series II Holden Commodore SS Sedan
(Past President Modified Chapter)

Past Cars of significance - to me
1935 Ford 3 Window Coupe
1936 Ford 5 Window Coupe
1937 Chevrolet Sports Coupe
1955 Chevrolet Convertible
1959 Ford Fairlane Ranch Wagon
1960 Cadillac CDV
1972 Cadillac Eldorado Coupe

Quentin Hall Australia

An Englishman, a Scotsman and an Australian walk into a bar. Luckily the Scotsman is a high ranking Union Delegate and Workplace Health and Safety Officer and calls a snap strike until Management admits responsibility  for leaving a bar lying around where someone could walk into it.