Why Lola? Mom's version

For me, it was the view from behind. It was the taillights and the trunk.

Somehow, in their simple elegance, the taillights and the trunk overrode everything else. They made me ignore the crumpled bumpers and the body rust. They made me not worry about the holes, dings and dents which served as a testament to past fun times and hard living. I knew the engine was supposed to be a special engine, a "Slant 6". I knew Paul bought the car for its engine. Probably we'll just have to clean up 15 years of eastern Washington dust and debris, change some belts and add some fluids to get it up and running. Right? Too bad we couldn't open the car doors to look inside. There was just way too many unhappy wasps now inhabiting every nook and cranny of the car . I could see the interior through the large window expanse. The dashboard looked quite mangled and the seats looked like they exploded. I could see plenty of dried up yellow foam poking through the shredded remains of black vinyl.

But, the taillights... They were in near perfect condition. Just about the only thing on the car that was. The chrome was shiny and unscratched. The lenses were clear, unbroken and still a vibrant red. The lights curved up and over the back fenders. The asymmetrical slant of the top and bottom chrome edges gave the back end a cat-like coolness. The trunk was flat and the full width of the car. You could spread a tailgate picnic on top of the trunk. You could sneak a couple of friends into the drive-in movies inside the trunk. The car was made in 1972, the year I graduated from high school. Looking at the Valiant from behind made me smile.