1915 Buick C-4 Delivery
Personal story and photograph submitted by owner Larry Schramm
for participation in the the 2008 GM Century Cruise
I would say that to be a committed car person, one would buy a vehicle that is not an easy driver like a modern car. It could be argued that a modern car definition in the car world is a vehicle built after 1929 or 1930 and generally accepted to have started with the advent of the Model A. It was the transition time from the Model T starting in 1929 + or - a couple of years. Supporting this definition is that it is also the cut off years for the Antique Car Festival at Greenfield Village in September of each year. Vehicles after that time are mature enough technically to be driven with minimum car commitment compared to the earlier vehicles.
The vehicles after this time were made in sufficient numbers that new parts are still made for them. There is also lots of technical information that almost anyone with some technical expertise is able to fix and maintain these vehicles.
The show of a committed car person is a person that owns and drives a vehicle prior to 1930 (except the Model T) where there were small numbers of vehicles built and few examples survived the scrap drives of World War II. I own a couple of those vehicles.
One is a 1915 Buick C-4 Express Delivery truck, or advertised as a Buick Commercial Car. It is one of 645 built for domestic sale. There was about 745 built for export with a large number going to Europe to be outfitted as ambulances for World War I. Mine is one of five 1915 known survivors. Everything is an adventure with this truck because of the limited information and acquiring parts to keep it running.
It is truly a labor of passion for cars. It starts from just keeping it running to getting parts for it. I have purchased information and parts from all over the world for my truck. That is in addition to calling for help and helping others in this passion. I am a truly a committed car person.
GM’s Century Cruise pays tribute to GM’s past and the passion owners have for their vehicles. On Saturday, August 16, 2008 this vehicle and more than 100 other classic GM vehicles will cruise from the GM Global Headquarters at the Renaissance Center up Woodward Avenue to the heart of the Woodward Dream Cruise in Royal Oak and the surrounding suburbs. One of these vehicles will be crowned “top cruiser” based on a text voting campaign.
Next GM Century Cruise Participant
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