The story behind our written stuff and photos is actually pretty simple: we find the stories and vehicles-then we take the photos and write the stories.
The process is simple but complicated by a basic reality of car owner wanderlust.
We spot a vehicle at a show and then we attempt to find its proud owner.
The major problem is to find the owner because he or she is usually long gone from their own ride and checking out the other rides at a car show.
For us the problem would have an easy solution if every car show required that every car owner remained chained to the bumper of their vehicle for the entire show. Owners of vehicles with no bumpers would be required to wear a shock collar with a ten foot radius.
Either scenario would be a tad unlikely so we resort to kinder and gentler means to track down the owner. The easiest way is to watch the vehicles as they arrive and track down the owners as they are parking their vehicles at the show.
We have learned all too well that he who hesitates will lose a golden opportunity to get the story behind the car or truck. It is best to seize the moment and corner the owner seconds after he or she turns off the vehicle.
Our unwavering mandate is simple-there is a story behind every vehicle, but we are realistic enough to know that some vehicles and their stories outrun other vehicles and their stories like a Hemi Cuda outruns a tired four-banger Ford Pinto.
We often look for the not-so-pretty automotive face in the crowd because these vehicles were an unloved part of the automotive past when they were shiny and new. How they managed to survive all of these years is a story unto itself-and we want that story.
The connection between the current owner and his or her vehicle often has a personal link. We can tell fairly quickly when the current owner tells his or her story about their childhood memories in the vehicle and how it reminds them of a departed member of their family.
The vehicle is a time capsule of fond memories that are a fundamental part of the current owners’ own life history. An old vehicle with a family legacy is a link to the past and becomes a “priceless family heirloom”; to quote one woman we interviewed this summer when we talked about her family’s Jeep that was purchased new in 1946.
The process between discovery of a story and featuring it on MSCC can take awhile because we spend the summer months harvesting the stories for future use. The process for each story takes a lot of time but we feel that we owe it to the owners to make sure we get the story just right for them.
They are rightfully proud of their vehicles and the story behind their vehicles so we take our time to showcase each story in a fashion that will say thank you to each owner for their interview time.
We love to tell their stories as much as they love to tell us their stories and we would ask that you connect their stories with every one of your car buddies by sending them a link to our site so these stories reach an even bigger audience for the proud owners.
It is the least we can do for them because their stories are absolutely worth sharing with the world.
Jim Sutherland
