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Video: A 101-Year-Old Woman and Her 81-Year-Old Packard

Living history, plain and simple.

By Sam Smith Jul 11, 2011 6:16AM
(Margaret Dunning. Image courtesy NYT.)Margaret Dunning is 101. She has been driving for more than 90 years, albeit not always legally. The straight-8-powered 1930 Packard 740 roadster she's pictured with here is hers. It's 81 years old, and she has owned it since 1949. She still drives it -- drives it! at 101! -- and changes the oil and spark plugs herself. 

This might just be the coolest thing you see all week. 

The New York Times has devoted an entire piece in its Automobiles section to Dunning, complete with a short video. We can't embed NYT video here, but it's more than worth the time. (A link to the clip, along with a few relevant quotes, can be found after the jump.) The article is a hoot; it talks of Dunning's time growing up in the early days of the automobile, offering up gems like this:
She cherished her time in the car alone, reaching into the wind for roadside stalks of fragrant sweet clover. “I’d see a few friends or race past a blind pig,” she said, using the euphemism for Prohibition-era drinking establishments. “Before I could get home, people would be calling saying, ‘I think I just saw Margaret, with quite a dust pile behind her.’”
"I'm a little older than some of you people," Dunning says. Yes, yes she is. But heck if she doesn't look a day over 80. 

(Margaret Dunning. Image courtesy NYT.)Dunning lives in Plymouth, Mich. In addition to the Packard, she owns several other classics and a 2003 Cadillac DeVille. Most of the maintenance on her older cars is taken care of by a team that includes a 90-year-old friend; Dunning says his hands are "just magic." 

Oh, and she says that Henry Ford was a family friend who used to stop in and have dinner. Which is just kind of jaw-dropping. 

The full article is here, the video can be found here, and a comprehensive image gallery is here

It may seem like an obvious comment to make, but somehow, I can't picture a similar story being published 80 years from now, featuring some current college kid and any car built today. 

Glorious. Absolutely glorious. 

Photo credit: Fabrizio Constantini for The New York Times.

[Source: NYT]
12Comments
Jul 11, 2011 12:10PM
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She's so old it's just like the first typewritter, no comma, no memory and no period.
I have to call you out on that.  That is rude and uncalled for.

Jul 12, 2011 6:26AM
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Plus, the article states she's driving illegally.
I think it refers to 101 years old - 90 years driving = 11.  Not her current age.  I am against any strict age limit on driving.  I am however a proponent for required periodic medical examinations of ALL drivers young and old.  A shorter examination interval may be prudent for older drivers, but if any citizen is medically fit there is no reason not to let them drive.

Jul 14, 2011 9:12AM
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Admiration - for this dear lady and the car.  Smile
Jul 14, 2011 6:22AM
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She's too old to be driving. It may be admirable until she runs over someone and kills them because she couldn't see or re-act fast enough. Plus, the article states she's driving illegally.

I missed these comments yesterday.  Who are you to assess someone's driving skills whom you've never met?  I've known people well into their 90s that were better drivers than a lot people a fraction of their age.  It would be like me saying you're incapable of driving because you're too stupid based on what you often write here.

 

 

She's so old it's just like the first typewritter, no comma, no memory and no period.

Can't get any lower than that comment......or can you?

 

It's "typewriter" by the way.

Jul 13, 2011 4:23AM
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No doubt that Packard is worth 6 or 7 figures.  That's a beauty!
Jul 12, 2011 7:04AM
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As it is, do you think anyone will have any passion for a Prius, a Tiburon or a Tc 30-40 years from now?

There may be fewer car enthusiasts around, but that doesn't mean they are going away.  The car replaced the horse as the main form of transportation over 100 years ago.  Yet there are still horses used to this day.  They may only be used for sport, but there are still enthusiasts around who enjoy riding in their free time. 

 

I believe the same will be true for car enthusiasts in the future even when we have our automated cars and jet packs.

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You still racing around in that Packard? Like I said, "Super-Fantastic!" The beauty and strengh of older super horse powered chariots. Keep on! Keepin On! Granny!

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