We own about 150 old ambulances, but you could fit all of them inside the orange and white Cadillac ambulance we took a photo of at the Eau Claire Big Rig Show in 2014 in Eau Claire, Wis. As anyone who visits Gunner’s Great Garage knows, we have a toy ambulance collection showcased there.

The passion for ambulances comes from spending 20 years on the Iola Ambulance squad. When we first started with them, they were using van-type ambulances. We never had the opportunity to drive a real car-type ambulance. Today, they use large box-van ambulances that look more like fire trucks. They can do a lot more for patients, but they just don’t have the style of a High-headroom Superior-Cadillac or a Miller Meteor Mercury.

Anyway, we have a bunch of toy ambulances, but we never got into owning the real thing. Our dream ambulance would be a ’53 Superior Pontiac with lots of chrome and gangster whitewall tires. We do have a police car and a tow truck, so an ambulance would fit right into the mix. We just haven’t had a real opportunity to get one we like at an affordable cost.