By SHELLEY TERRY - Staff Writer - sterry@starbeacon.com
“You may hate it now, but wait ’til you drive it.” - Clark W. Griswold, “National Lampoon’s Vacation” (1983)
ASHTABULA — No matter where Jason Skufca drives his hideous metallic pea-green station wagon, passersby always wave and honk their horns. Some folks even want their photo taken with the old road warrior, which is practically a member of the family.
Skufca, 36, who works with his father at Bob Skufca and Son Auto Body in Ashtabula, bought the Pontiac wagon three years ago to use as a work car. He paid $700 for it.
“People kept calling it ‘the truckster’ like the Wagon Queen Family Truckster in the movie, ‘National Lampoon’s Vacation’,” he said. “I was a fan of the movie, so I started to make it look like the Griswold family car in the movie.”
Skufca painted the car with a Volkswagon-green color, used wood-colored shelf paper for the side paneling and searched flea markets and yard sales for the blue Samsonite luggage attached to the luggage rack.
“We even lost a few on the highway, just like in the movie,” he said, laughing. “But really, I have put very little money into it.”
He’s added a special touch here and there, such as maps (including one of Chicago) strewn about the dashboard.
“National Lampoon’s Vacation” is the story of Clark W. Griswold (Chevy Chase) cross-country family vacation to Wally World with his wife (Beverly D’Angelo) and two children. The vacation is a disaster from the beginning when he is coerced into buying the horrid truckster by a slick salesman.
Skufca likes all the “Vacation” movies, but the first one with the family’s trip to Wally World is his favorite because of the car. In the next two movies, the Griswolds drive Taurus wagons, he said.
Skufca’s girlfriend, Jen Ferguson, also is a fan of the movie and loves the truckster, too.
She likes for them to drive it on trips, and even with today’s gas prices, it’s feasibly possible. It gets about 20 mph, he said.
“We took it on a camping trip to Columbus and people asked us to have their picture taken with it,” he said. “We can’t even go to Mentor and back. People beep at us all the time on the highway.”
