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WOMEN AND THEIR
WHEELS READY FOR CRUISIN’ DOWNRIVER
They’re in their 40s and 50s. They’re chic
and sassy. Everywhere they go, they attract a lot of attention.
And, then so do the women that own them.
Barb Sauer, 64, of Romulus has owned her
1955 pink and black Ford Sunliner convertible for 12 years.
“When I went to see the car, I saw it in
the distance,” Sauer said. “I said ‘If that thing is for sale it’s
mine.’”
The owner had placed a female mannequin
in the driver’s seat for a little added interest.
“I thought it was a ‘Barbie’ car because
of its color,” Sauer said.
Sauer ended up buying the car, which came
with the mannequin.
“I had to sell the mannequin,” Sauer
said. “I couldn’t get her legs to move out of the seated position.”
Now Sauer, also known as ‘The Pink Lady,’
is a member of the Roam’n Chariots car club. She often can be found
showing her car on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Pennsalt Club in
Wyandotte.
“I’ve done the Woodward Dream Cruise four
or five times and also the Harper Cruise,” Sauer said.
Saturday will be her seventh year driving
down Fort Street in Cruisin’ Downriver.
“When I drive by, they hold up the ‘10’
sign, and say, ‘Cool car’ and ‘You’re the bomb,’” Sauer said. “No
matter how bad I feel, when I get in my car I feel good.
“I love people’s reactions,” Sauer said.
“I’m especially pleased when the young people ‘dig’ something that’s
from the 50s.”
Originally, Ford Motor Co. had called the
car’s colors salmon and black, even though it was really pink.
“They probably thought men wouldn’t buy
it if they called it pink,” Sauer said. “In those days, women didn’t
buy those kinds of cars.”
Not so anymore. Pink and black fuzzy dice
hang from the car’s rearview mirror; there’s even a fifties-style tray
that attaches to the car that comes complete with a plastic hot dog,
onion rings and ice cream sundae.
“Anyone that rides with me has to wear
pink and black,” Sauer said. “I love this car. I want to be buried in
it.”
Vicky Crawford of Lincoln Park has loved
cars since she was a young girl.
“I’ve always been a car freak,” Crawford
said.
Both Vicky and her husband, Terry, have a
love for classic cars.
“We used to have a 1985 Corvette,”
Crawford said. “But when we had kids, we sold it.”
Now Crawford, 47, does all her own
detailing on the hot pepper red 1968 Chevrolet Chevelle convertible that
she’s owned since 1998.
“It’s loud,” Crawford said. “I enjoy
driving it on a summer night with the top down. It’s really more of a
‘muscle’ car.”
Like Sauer, Crawford is a member of the
Roam’n Chariots and has been involved with Cruisin’ Downriver since its
inception. In preparation for the cruise, she’s busy waxing and
cleaning her car that’s affectionately known as “She-Devil.”
Her husband has his own 1972 blue and
black Chevrolet Chevelle convertible.
“I like mine better,” she said. “Even
though his car gets more attention than mine because it’s ‘pro-streeted’
with extras like bigger tires.
“I’ve had guys ask me to marry them
because of my car,” Crawford said.
Though she loves her Chevelle, Crawford
already has her eye on a 1969 orange Camaro owned by one of son’s
teachers.
“It’s a beauty of a car,” she said. “I
told him if he ever wants to sell it to call me first.”
Glenda Marani, 59, of Southgate remembers
her father working on cars in their garage.
“He worked at Ford’s,” Marani said. “We
lived in Dearborn at the time. We were a ‘Ford’s family.’”
At one time, she and her husband,
Alfonso, owned a 1956 green Thunderbird that was featured as a baseball
player’s car in the movie “61.”
The couple sold the car last year.
“I decided then that I wanted a
convertible,” Marani said. Last July, she bought a 1967 Ford Mustang
convertible with a black exterior and red interior.
“It’s a cool little car,” Marani said.
“It has a tilted steering wheel that flips up and back windows that bend
in half when you let the top down.”
The car is in pristine condition with new
tires, a new exhaust system and a little over 25,000 miles on it.
“I don’t wash it with water,” Marani
said. “That would rust it. I use a wet towel and then a dry towel. I
never drive it in the rain, either.”
Alfonso, one of the founders of the
Roam’n Chariots, often accompanies his wife to different car shows.
“I love the older cars,” Marani said.
“From the back end, you can tell what kind of cars they are.”
During Cruisin’ Downriver, Marani said
she’ll most likely have her hair back in a barrette as the wind blows
through her convertible.
“It’s just so much fun to drive,” she
said.
For more information about the Roam’n
Chariots car club, go to their Web Site at
www.roamnchariots.com.
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