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Back to the future
Restored Ford, Coca Cola golf cart are parade tradition
When Bob and Lorraine Haas pass the crowds at the
Northville Parade each year, the crowd always lets out a
cheer for their specialty golf carts built by hand and the
restored bright red 50s Ford. The couple has driven in the
parade for about 15 years.
Driving his 1954 Ford sedan brings back a lot of memo-
ries forHaas, 77.
“You didn't have to lift the hood open,” he recalled of the
completely restored vehicle, the same model as the first car
he ever owned.
“I havemy original hoodup in the garage.”
He andLorraine have two grown sons, and driving the '54
Ford reminds Haas of a rainstorm on I-75 when the wind-
shield wipers failed. The Ford Motor Co. retiree, traveling
withhis son, riggedup shoelaces to do thewindshieldwork.
“My son all the way home worked the wipers back and
forth. That's howwe got home,” he said.
“If it rains, I bring something else to the parade,” he said.
“Lorraine drives the golf cart.”
“I drive it, as long as it's not raining,” Lorraine Haas said.
Plans this year are for their Coca-Cola-themed red and
white '50s Ford sedan, as well as the red custom golf cart to
again travel the parade route.
They like to participate in Hartland, as he's a 1959
Hartland High School graduate. Haas has built “probably
about 10 cars inmy time. I've built six of the golf carts.”
“Not a golfer, don't care for it,” said Haas, who was look-
ing for something different in golf carts. He also restores
autos in their spacious garage. He was at Ford Motor for 35
years, andhas been retired 21 years.
“You've got to find a parts car, cut it up,” he explained of
building a golf cart. The bright red metal cart shines as it
gleams in the couple's driveway, boasting a rear sign of,
“Honey, I shrunk the car.”
Lorraine Haas is not into auto mechanic work: “I ride in
them. Ride or drive in them,” she explained of their collec-
tion.
“It takes about a year, putzing on them,” to build a cart,
Haas said, “”It keeps me busy. What else would I be doing?”
he added.
The couple said they enjoy theNorthville event.
“It's a fun parade.” He noted that following the dance
teams, however, means “sometimes the cars overheat.”
“And it's usually hot,” LorraineHaas added.
“They're just fun cars. And it's not street legal, so we can't
be driving it around,” Lorraine Haas said. They get permis-
sion fromOaklandCounty SheriffMikeBouchard to join the
Woodward Dream Cruise, where they've had up to seven
vehicles at a time.
He sells the golf carts, which are eye-catching at the
DreamCruise and car shows.
“They love it in the parade. I drive it on Woodward,” she
said.
Bob Haas said that his favorite car is always, “the one
that runs good.”
Haas hosted the 1990 and 1996 Crown Victoria
Association shows at Ford World Headquarters in
Dearborn, drawing people from around the globe. “You go
there to see the people,” he noted.
That's useful for getting parts from fellow collectors; the
enthusiasts also like to convoy to conventions and car shows.
The couple, who also hosted a 1954 Ford club gathering,
have several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. A
grandson at DTE Energy gas division got them an old-fash-
ioned “Phone From Car” sign which sits not too far from a
Mobilgas pump showing 12 cents per gallon.
“That's when there were pay phones. Now everyone
phones fromthe car,”Bob said.
Their collection also includes a yellow and cream
Ranchero car, “They didn'tmake themtil '57.”
They hadSoapBoxDerby fun both in the 1960s and 1970s
with sons and nephews. “I wish they would bring it back. It
was a good thing for the kids,” saidHaas said.
See
Ford,
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Bob Haas shows off his hand-built golf cart that wife,
Lorraine, will drive in the parade for the 15th year.
