Going to the Chapel

It was the year 1971. My wife Polly and I had been married for a couple of years. We were in need of a new car. After looking for a period of time, we decided that the Olds Cutlass was the best for our money. That was the easy part. The next job was selecting the options. My wife and I compromised and I think I got the better deal, because...

On February 19th, with all our notes in hand, we were off to Metzloff Motors in East Aurora, NY. We discussed what we wanted with our salesman, Dave Sisti, handed him a $50.00 deposit to order our new car. We ordered a 1971 Cutlass Supreme with the following options: 2 door, hard-top coupe, antique briar white interior, white strato bucket seats, rocket 350, V8 4bbl, 350 cubic inches with heavy duty transmission, 3 speed floor shift, Hurst shifter with sports console, and power steering. The window sticker price was $3835.76.

On March 15th, we were ready to pickup our car. What a beautiful car it was! It handled wonderfully. The 3-speed was just awesome.

In 1977, Polly and I were blessed with a beautiful baby girl named Jennifer. Jen loved to ride in the Cutlass. She also enjoyed eating Oreo cookies while riding in it. Chocolate cookies on the white interior, need I say more? It cleaned up easily.

The Cutlass has been a very dependable car and it still holds its own in local car shows. It has 49,000 original miles and the original interior. The tires have been replaced, but the original spare is in trunk. Every piece of paper work is still with the car. This includes the window tags, drivers’ manuals, protect-o-plate, deposit slip and the GMAC payment coupon book. The original plates are also on the car. I also still have the envelope from Metzloff Motors with a six-cent postage stamp on it.

On August 9, 2003, the little girl who used to eat cookies in the car was all grown up and getting married. The Olds that brought her home as a baby was now taking her to the church as a young woman. As we drove up to the church and were parking, cameras were clicking all around us. Were they taking photos of the bride or of the car? Several people came up to me and reminisced about the Olds that they used to have that was just like mine.

My son-in-law Mike loves the car. This makes me feel great because I know that the Olds will stay with the family. Who knows, maybe the Olds will make another trip to the church someday. Maybe this time with a granddaughter.

Written by: Louis Giordano of West Seneca, NY

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