Dodge Ram

This was taken during my trip to Springfield, MA in January. My son and I were walking through the parking garage to get a different vantage point on Springfield's beautiful, old architecture, and we spotted this at the same time.

It's been many years since we've seen hood ornaments on cars and trucks and I miss them. I'm not sure why the car manufacturers suddenly thought we didn't need them anymore. I think they gave a car a classy look.

I included the rust on this old truck because it further shows its age. The rust is also a sign of the brutal New England winter weather. In Florida, one rarely sees rust on cars; yet in New England, it's the norm. The snow and salt really takes its toll on vehicles up north.

It would be OK if you could wash the car everytime you drive it in snow, but that's pretty impractical since the cold would freeze the water then there would be a worse problem. The locks would freeze, you'd have to scrape the windows again and the ice would promote further rusting. Besides, it snows too often. The car would need to be washed every day.