Time-Traveler Pontiac
We’ve all marveled at car carriers rumbling down the interstate loaded with glistening machines fresh out of our favorite automakers’ assembly plants. Upon seeing those new cars for the first time, we’ve often daydreamed about what it would be like to pilot one ourselves.
Don Simione of Collingswood, New Jersey, can take that scenario a step further. For a few years in the 1950s, his dad, Dominic, drove a car carrier. Don’s earliest memories of the precious cargo of 1955 and 1956 Pontiacs come from family photos that made an indelible impression on him.
When he reached driving age, Don purchased a 1968 GTO from his 8th-grade teacher, who had bought because its description made it sound like a great find. He drove up to Ridgewood, New Jersey, to check it out, and when he lifted the car cover he discovered a ’56 Pontiac, not a ’55. The rest of its description was correct, however. Don had found his first choice by going to look at his second choice.
