As a nod to the beginning of summer, the auto writers at Jalopnik asked readers to report on their favorite summer car pastimes. The responses varied from historical sightseeing, night drives with the top down, aimless adventuring, trips to nude beaches, and driving to high elevations with the hope that an old car’s air conditioner doesn’t conk out. My own summer auto travels are not as exciting; however, living in place that is cold much of the year, driving during the blessed summer months is always fun no matter where I am going.
Years ago, as a recent divorcee with an unreliable car, my earliest road trips were to a metro park within an hour’s drive. It was there I met my sister [also newly single] as we spent hot Michigan afternoons slathered in Coppertone working on our city tans. Once I remarried, the car served as transportation to summer destinations, primarily vacations ‘Up North’ along Lake Michigan. After we retired, our obsession with baseball led to various stadium road trips, first checking all of the major league ballparks off our list before starting on those of the minor leagues. Perhaps our best road trip was in a rented Mustang convertible, driving through the southwest United States on Route 66. We also used our vehicles to transport bikes to rural paths and downtown Detroit for ‘Slow Roll‘ nights. And our 1999 Miata was and remains the perfect ice cream trip car.
When I began my academic interest in woman and cars, my trips became more purposeful. Interviewing women for my dissertation and subsequent book took me to car shows all across the state and beyond. I spent many an afternoon at parks and parking lots, searching for women who would talk to me about their cars. As I am naturally timid, this was an often stressful situation. However, the enthusiasm which women greeted me dispelled much of my anxiety as I found most relished the opportunity to go on and on about their love for whatever vehicle they were driving. When I embarked on a project focused on women in autocross, my summer routes took me to airport runways and school lots. Through the deafening noise and exhaust fumes I spoke to enthusiastic and engaging women about their involvement in motorsports. Although I never had the nerve to join them on the track, I enjoyed watching the women as they veered around cones, worked on the track, or gathered in groups on the grid to engage in prerace dances.
As I now live in a location where I am in walking distance of just about everything, my driving is somewhat limited. However I still enjoy taking my classics – 1949 Ford and 1967 Shelby – to local car shows. Each provides a unique driving experience, always accompanied by honking horns and thumbs up as I make my way on two lane highways [no freeways for these cars]. It is one of the best parts of summer.
It’s been a cool spring in Southeastern Michigan, but summer weather appears to be on the horizon. As the warm temperatures arrive, I look forward to an automotive summer of road trips, car shows, and ice cream.