Autorama starting here in a few days. Cool local story in the Detroit Free Press.
Source: Detroit 2017 Autorama Feature Story - 1962 Chrysler 300 Sport
EXCERPT
Just days before giving birth, Anne Armstrong was still racing her '62 Chrysler 300 Sport.
"She was out to here," Armstrong's daughter, Denielle Armstrong, said earlier this week, standing in her Waterford garage next to the car. She held her arms out in front of her. She had heard her mom tell her — and her siblings — that story more times than she could count. "She could barely fit in the door. I was almost born in this car!"
The Beautiful Brute is what her mom called the car. And she loved it — almost as much as she loved her husband, Jack, whom she also sometimes called her Beautiful Brute.
Now, 54, years later, Denielle — Deni, to her friends — misses her mother and father, who died. But, she still has the car.
Armstrong is among a growing number of women who own and love cars and are exhibiting their hot rods at the Autorama in Detroit, a show long dominated by men, this weekend.
"I like hanging out with the boys," Armstrong said of her hobby. "Cars are fun."
A Detroit story
In many ways, Armstrong said, Autorama is more than just a car show. In fact, it is more than just about cars. For her, and others who grew up going to the show, it's part of her history and her memories of her parents.
Their story goes like this:
Her mom, Anne, was a housewife who married at 18 and had four children. Her dad, Jack, who was two years older, was a mechanic. Not long after they were married, they bought the Beautiful Brute together. Her dad picked the engine, a 413. Her mom picked the color, Bermuda turquoise. Her mom also gave the car its nickname.
"My mom, she fell in love with it," Armstrong said.
But, her mom wasn't satisfied to just look on while her dad tinkered with the car. She wanted to learn to do what he was doing — and did.
"She wouldn't bake cookies," Armstrong recalled. "She would be in the garage, under her car."
And then, one day, her dad asked her mom: "Why don't you drive the the car?" Her mom said she didn't know how.
So her dad told her: "You get in, point, and go as fast as you can!" That's how she started racing.
"She was out to here," Armstrong's daughter, Denielle Armstrong, said earlier this week, standing in her Waterford garage next to the car. She held her arms out in front of her. She had heard her mom tell her — and her siblings — that story more times than she could count. "She could barely fit in the door. I was almost born in this car!"
The Beautiful Brute is what her mom called the car. And she loved it — almost as much as she loved her husband, Jack, whom she also sometimes called her Beautiful Brute.
Now, 54, years later, Denielle — Deni, to her friends — misses her mother and father, who died. But, she still has the car.
Armstrong is among a growing number of women who own and love cars and are exhibiting their hot rods at the Autorama in Detroit, a show long dominated by men, this weekend.
"I like hanging out with the boys," Armstrong said of her hobby. "Cars are fun."
A Detroit story
In many ways, Armstrong said, Autorama is more than just a car show. In fact, it is more than just about cars. For her, and others who grew up going to the show, it's part of her history and her memories of her parents.
Their story goes like this:
Her mom, Anne, was a housewife who married at 18 and had four children. Her dad, Jack, who was two years older, was a mechanic. Not long after they were married, they bought the Beautiful Brute together. Her dad picked the engine, a 413. Her mom picked the color, Bermuda turquoise. Her mom also gave the car its nickname.
"My mom, she fell in love with it," Armstrong said.
But, her mom wasn't satisfied to just look on while her dad tinkered with the car. She wanted to learn to do what he was doing — and did.
"She wouldn't bake cookies," Armstrong recalled. "She would be in the garage, under her car."
And then, one day, her dad asked her mom: "Why don't you drive the the car?" Her mom said she didn't know how.
So her dad told her: "You get in, point, and go as fast as you can!" That's how she started racing.
