PUBLISHER
Jim Menneto, President
BETWEEN THE LINES
EDITORIAL
Richard Lentinello, Editor-in-Chief
Terry McGean, Executive Editor
Mike McNessor, Editor
Nancy Bianco, Managing Editor
Kate Sullivan, Managing Editor
James Donnelly, Senior Editor
David Traver Adolphus, Associate Editor
Craig Fitzgerald, Editor, Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car
Jeff Koch, West Coast Associate Editor
David LaChance, Associate Editor
Matthew Litwin, Associate Editor
Mark J. McCourt, Associate Editor
Daniel Strohl, Associate Editor
Tim Metcalf, Art Director
Edward Heys, Design Editor
Jonathan Gulley, Graphic Designer
Judi Thompson, Graphic Designer
Tom Comerro, Editorial Assistant
Jim O’Clair, Columnist/Parts Locator
Jim Howe, Columnist
ADVERTISING
Jeff Yager, Director of Advertising
Tim Redden, Internet Sales Manager
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES
Tammy Bredbenner, Greg Gordon, Christina LaFlamme,
Frank Lockwood, Stephen Lopez, Tim McCart,
Lesley McFadden, Heather Naslund, David Nutter,
Collins Sennett, Sean Smith, Bonnie Stratton
Kelly Luke, Advertising Coordinator
Jennifer Sandquist: Telesales
CIRCULATION
Scott Smith, Circulation Director
Kathy Ryder, Circulation Manager
SUPPORT STAFF
Sandy Beddie, Bev Breese, Peg Brownell, Sarah Bull,
Melissa Carey, Dot Coolidge, Carol Dewey, Donna
Goodhue, Eleanor Gould, Amy Hansen, Maureen Johnson,
Lisa Knapp, Sunny Litwin, Merri Mattison, Nancy McCabe,
Alaina Seddon, Amy Surdam
GRAPHICS
Carol Wigger, Graphic Services Supervisor
Mary Pat Glover, Graphic Services Coordinator
SUPPORT STAFF
Karen Gaboury, Chickie Goodine, Adelaide Jaquith,
Linda Knapp, Paige Kwasniak, Peg Mulligan,
Rob Randall, Abby Shapiro, Jane Tudor
CLASSIFIED
Jeanne Bourn, Classified Director
SUPPORT STAFF
Mary Brott, Lynn Hoyt, Anita Murray,
Nancy Stearns, Dianne Stevens,
Peggy Stevens, Missy Telford, Laurie Weaver
INFORMATION SERVICES
Gregory Hunter, MIS Director
SUPPORT STAFF
Margaret Boulet, Mary McGuinness,
Jeremy Meerwarth
ADMINISTRATION
Mari Parizo, Business Manager
SUPPORT STAFF
Jessica Campbell, Freda Waterman
FACILITIES
Rick Morse, Supervisor
SUPPORT STAFF
Brad Babson, Paul Bissonette, Joe Masia
FILLING STATION STAFF
Steve Adams, Rick Bartholdi, Paul Becker, Monica Bolio,
Ruari Clancy, Pete Davis, Dennis Donovan, Victoria
Elezovic, Steve Main, Howard Morrison, Caroline Morse,
Jade Morse, Tyson Morse, Mike Smith, Adam Tronsen
CAR SHOW REPRESENTATIVES
Trisha Grande, Car Show/Event Manager
East Coast: Jeff Chao, Matt Williams
West Coast: Terry Thompson, Carson Cameron
The Pain of Total Car Recall
Every single car person I’ve ever met carry the one... Voilà! You’re 37! —and
bookmarks the various chapters of you’re home free.
his or her life with memories of the Like every great system—i.e., met-
cars they once drove. Every one of them. ric, exhaust, etc.—there is a downside
Typical Car Person in a matri- to Total Car/Truck Recall, and this is
monially crucial discussion with becoming painfully apparent to me as
spouse: “How could I ever forget the my orbit around the world of the living
year we were married? We went on our begins its rapid, often embarrassing
honeymoon in my (fill in year, make and decay.
model), and I only had it for six months. Suddenly, when I recall the significant
Man, I should’ve held onto that car, but vehicles in my life, they seem hope-
you insisted that we throw away money lessly outdated, and their manufactur-
on things like a permanent residence and ers’ names mean nothing to annoying
groceries. Cripes, what a car! Remember kids born between the time I sold my ’ 69
how I couldn’t find one with a manual Camaro and the day my wife and I bought
transmission without the Rallye Appear- our Mustang GT.
ance Package, so I told the salesman he For instance, recently while research-
had to order it ‘stripe delete?’ But he ing a Museum Profile for Hemmings, I dis-
didn’t believe you could do that? What a covered a museum that had an example
dork. So he got the regional factory rep in its collection of the dirt bike on which
on the phone, and I quoted word for word I learned to ride—and it was a late model
from memory the article in Car Life & machine when I rode it. I recently saw a
Times that said if you selected option bike identical to another dirt bike I owned
L46Y it would... Huh? Our anniversary for sale at Carlisle. It looked every bit as
What does that have to do with what I unfashionable hanging around there as I
was talking about...?” did, but at least people weren’t pointing
As anybody within eyeshot of this and laughing at it quite as much.
page will attest, Total Car (or in some of The most recent nail in my coffin? Pon-our cases, Truck) Recall is a foolproof tiac’s demise. I can remember hanging
way to nail down the epochs of your life around the Cadillac/Pontiac showroom,
and, seriously, I’m betting it can slow the kicking the tires of a new Cadillac Eldo-onset of Alzheimer’s more effectively rado while my parents were cutting a
than blueberries and those stupid cross- deal on a new Bonneville—a really hap-word puzzles. pening car at the time. Both notable mod-
Sure, you can forget the various ages els and one notable make are now history.
of your loved ones quicker than you can My first and probably only new car was
forget the words “lawn” and “mower” on a Pontiac, and I vividly remember some
the weekend of your favorite swap meet, guy handing out Pontiac T-shirts on my
but how could you ever forget the car in college campus as part of some nutty
which you transported a loved one home promotion.
from the hospital or drove to the neigh- I couldn’t tell you why they were try-borhood gin mill for his or her all impor- ing to sell new Pontiacs to broke college
tant first beer? (Hopefully if this was the kids, but I can tell you it happened dur-same person, at least you didn’t do both ing the early fall because I drove my Z/28
on the same day.) All it takes is a little to school that day, so it must’ve been in
quick car-based arithmetic— Hmmm... September of 19....
let’s see... I had the ’ 69 Corvette that I Remindmeaboutyour Total Car Recall:
bought in ’ 79; it’s now 2009, minus three, mmcnessor@hemmings.com.
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HEMMINGS MOTOR NEWS • JULY 2009
