Beloved convertible returns home
I was 11 when I first saw a brand new yellow Lincoln convertible in the school parking lot. It belonged to one of the teachers at my elementary school. The top was down, showing its white interior. It truly was love at first sight. I swore that someday I would have one with that same color combination.
Fast forward a few decades. I had taken up the habit of watching eBay for 1960s Lincoln convertibles. In the spring of 2010, I came across an auction for a 1966 Lincoln convertible, yellow with a white interior. I just had to bid on it. I was sure that someone would outbid me, but I figured I would at least try. When the auction ended two days later, I was the high bidder.
I named the car Joan, after the voluptuous secretary on Mad Men, because I imagined that she would drive a car like this one. I had Joan for three summers. For reasons still unknown even to myself, I sold her on eBay. A man named Martin in eastern Ohio bought her. I had an agreement with Martin to give me first dibs if he ever decided to sell her. A few months after receiving the car, Martin decided to ship her to a Lincoln guru in another state for all sorts of restoration. While the car was in transit, Martin passed away. The guru wound up having to pay for the shipping and consequently bought the car.
In September 2013, I tried to get in touch with Martin, only to find his obituary online. On that same day, since I had not looked at eBay Motors for some time, I searched current and past auctions of convertible Lincolns. To my dismay, I discovered that I had missed buying Joan by less than three weeks! I immediately called the guru and asked him to pass along my number to the new owner with the message that if he ever wanted to sell, to please call me first. The phone rang five minutes later. It was Owen, the new buyer, who lived in Connecticut. We had a pleasant conversation and I reiterated my request. He agreed to call me first. In the meantime, I had signed up for eBay notifications when convertible Lincolns were listed, just in case.
Early one morning this past April, I was alerted that there was a 1966 yellow Lincoln convertible listed. A quick check of the VIN number and it was confirmed - it was my Joan. The car already had over 300 views in just a few hours. I hit the “Buy It Now” button so quickly and with such force that I almost put my finger through my tablet.
I was understandably upset that I had not been notified first. Owen contacted me about some details and I responded on my husband’s phone through a text so he did not make a connection. Owen stated that he was going to be in our area on business that week and suggested that we get together for lunch and I could give him the check for the balance at that time. We met as arranged. He was still unaware of who I was. I gave an Academy Award performance of being perfectly secretive about the whole experience.
Joan is back with me now, never to leave again. Considering the long and winding road that Joan took, I should have lost track of her long ago. Somewhere along the time line, I suddenly remembered the first name of the teacher who owned the Lincoln that I had first fallen in love with so many years ago. Ironically it was Joan.
Attention Bay Area drivers
We’re looking for more submissions to the bi-weekly “My Ride” feature. We want to know what you drive and why. Send story ideas to cars@sfchronicle.com with the subject line “My Ride.”