The Thing about Cars on Back Roads...

I live in Alabama. Not a place known for exotic classics or low production European cars. But even in a rural state like Alabama, 

surprises happen and on a recent trip that is exactly what happened. I am not talking about seeing some 2011 Ferrari 358 Italia or a Bentley Turbo R screaming down the road (which does happen in Birmingham). I am talking about cars that once drove the highways and by-ways of our world.

My journey began in Birmingham taking me to the rural northwest corner of the state. As I left the interstate and began to drive the back roads I begin to see farms and rolling hills, small churches and -- shells of old cars and trucks. Most, if not all of these cars are not restored or pristine. Most have been painted by rain and sun to a uniform flat brown rust color. For most the chrome, wheels, interior, and usually the motors are just distant memories. They probably ran when parked but clearly no longer do. On a side note, do cars think of fields as hospitals, a place where they will be restored to their original health but find instead they become nursing homes where they spend their final days?

Anyway, with Alabama being a good 'Merica state the majority of these cars are old American models from the 50's, 60's, 70's and even the 80's. They are fun to find but ubiquitous enough that I don’t need to write about them. So imagine my surprise as I drive by a building that used to be a church, no kidding, a white church with a steeple and everything, surrounded by a chain link fence in which sit cars that clearly have European flair and design.

I pulled over to the side of the road and stared at these unique, also translated ugly, cars and I had no idea what they were. I know my cars and I had no clue to the manufacturer

 of these vehicles. I thought these must be kit cars. For those not aware a kit car is essentially a vehicle that uses a fiberglass body over a modern frame to produce something that looks like an Italian supercar or just a unique vehicle altogether. The goal is get a 'Ferrari' for a quarter of the price.

These vehicles clearly never came from a production line of any major, or minor, manufacturer so what are they? I look for logos, none. Styling cues - an Alfa Romeo grill, a Citroen door handle, a Ferrari sloped fender (hey, I was desperate!) and nothing. So Hi Ho, Hi Ho, off to the internet I go. My first search -- 'European cars that look like Gremlins' (and other hideous monstrosities). 

AMC Gremlin

That search yielded nothing except that the Gremlin has made many of the top 50 ugliest cars ever made. I searched for Lamborghini models because this car had pop-up headlights similar to the original Miura. Thankfully not a Lamborghini. An Alfa Romeo, nope, not an Alfa. Being a strange car I thought, ‘Citroen?’. Even the quirky French manufacturer could not claim these vehicles as family. I kept trying - Peugeot, Maserati and got nothing, nada, nunca. I didn't dare consider Ferrari for fear of sullying the name. I was also fearful of finding out that it was a Ferrari or that I would be on the hit list of some Mafioso for even thinking it.

So what was it? Definitely not American. What European brand was left? Lotus? I

laughed for thinking such a silly thing. Lotus, the designer of the 40 year old Esprit that still looks current and beautiful today? The creator of the lighter than air but stuck to the ground by glue Elise? The inventor of the Elise’s evil brother the Evora? Even years ago they penned the wonderful Elan. Lotus makes simply stunning cars, albeit unreliable, and clearly these mutated Gremlins could not be theirs.

Suddenly, no, it can’t, be but pictures don’t lie -- it is, the Lotus Elite. A two door wagon, yes, wagon, made from 1974 to 1982. The car actually had multiple iterations over those years (in hopes to make it better but as they say ‘you can’t make a sports car out of a Pacer’). Total production for the US was 305 cars. The 

car is rarer than an Enzo Ferrari. Think about it, in Alabama sits 3 of these extremely rare cars that have original wheels and bodies and paint! Unimaginable.

Why are there old European cars stored at a former church? I don’t know, maybe the only way those 3 Lotus Elite's will ever run again is via prayer? Maybe, as it is written in the Bible, that God sees the inside, not the outside and those 3 Loti (it is the plural for Lotus, right?) are beautiful inside, at least to God. I guess the real question is, does it matter? No, but fun to think about.

Why share this? Sadly the idea of using back roads to get somewhere is becoming something of folklore and needs to be saved. You may drive a vintage Fiat, classic muscle car, mid 2000's family sedan or an SUV, regardless, get out there and drive on those back roads. As you drive don't make the trip about getting somewhere but instead enjoy the journey – and keep those eyes open. You never know what you are going to find. Maybe, just maybe, there is another ugly car out there that few know about. It may be sitting in a barn, yard, or driveway, who knows, but you too can take a picture and post it to friends to tell them about your driving adventure.

I guess that is the thing about cars, they can take you places to see cars that can no longer move themselves.