PULLING A 2003 WITH A 1953

Don't tell any purists what I did last night, but I got my 2003 Ranger stuck in a snow drift, so I did the only thing I could think of and cranked up my '53 Pontiac Catalina hardtop to go pull it out.

It was cold. It got to -22 degrees overnight here in Iola. I was amazed that the Pontic -- stored in the "cold" part of my steel building -- started at all. The truck was stuck directly across from the building, so I backed the old Pontiac out and got it in front of the truck. Then I used a sturdy tow rope to hook them together and let the old Chief flex his muscles.

It didn't quite work, but I made such a scene that some neighbors eventually came by and took pity on me. They used their 4 x 4 pickup to replace the Pontiac and then I also drove the Ranger. It wasn't stuck all that bad and came right out on its own with the tug.

I'm almost sure that the Pontiac would have pulled it out, too, if someone else had been available to be in the Ranger's driver's seat.

Maybe some folks think old cars shouldn't be used this way, but it wasn't that long ago that I drove a '53 Pontiac sedan every day all year round. The "Ponchos" were always good winter cars. They did not have the most power, but they had a lot of pulling torque.