Cars and genealogy

I have often thought about the cars our family have owned over the years. Some were a source of pride and others were a source of misery. Some of them were just daily transportation, and some of them played a major role in someone's life. Some of them had unique features, like the 1951 Morris pick-up truck to which Dad added a plywood shell for transporting the family. My Uncle Ray had a car where a notched board held the gearshift lever in gear. I wonder what memories of cars the younger generations of the family will have, or that we may have in 10 years.

Last night there was a red Tesla Model S parked in our driveway. The owner was Art, an old friend, who had come for some family history training. Art loves cars, especially those that are old or unique. And he has loved restoring them. I remember when he bought an MG roadster and disassembled it, then rebuilt it piece-by-piece, replacing any damaged parts. Then there was a British right-hand drive Jaguar that he converted to left-hand drive, so beautifully that you would never know it was a conversion.

Several years ago Art became interested in electric cars. He has owned several of them over the years. I think he has had the Model S since it was new six years ago. He also has an electric truck, a Ford F-150 Lightning. He said "Four years ago I installed solar panels on the roof of my garage, and since then my cars run on sunshine." (I suspect he got tired of jibes about driving a "coal-powered car", but I forgot to ask.) In any case, solar panels have gotten cheaper and better over time. He mentioned a community in Nunavut that installed solar panels. They were asked why they would install solar panels in a place that is dark six months of the year. They replied that when it is dark they continue to burn fuel oil, but the constant sunlight for the other six months of the year allowed them to pay off the solar panels within a year. So they cut their electric bill in half. Hmm... that possibility never occurred to me. 

I was surprised how big the Model S was. Art took me for a ride down the highway. Wow, what a car. It can do 0-60 mph in time equivalent to muscle cars back in their heyday. But there is no engine roar or smoking tires, just acceleration that pinned me to the back of the passenger seat. I will probably never buy an electric car, but I find them fascinating. This is the first time I have ever ridden in one.

I wonder how our families will remember their first electric car.

Art recently inherited his sister's photo collection, which includes thousands of photos. I told him about my experiences with photo collections that I had inherited and how I used FamilySearch albums to share them. But his sister's collection is on an entirely different scale. I wish him joy and success in digitizing and sharing the photos.