Todd Richard says the family’s 1970 Oldsmobile 442, nicknamed “The Blue Streak” is definitely a “he.” Richard explains, “‘He’ sounds like ‘he’ means business at the stoplight. This car is not to be referred to as a ‘she.’”
ARLINGTON – David Engle was 22 years old in 1969 when his new Oldsmobile 442 arrived the week of Thanksgiving.
The Piqua man bought it from Norris Olds in West Milton. It was special-ordered straight from the factory, arriving with a window sticker price of $3,075.
It was quite a purchase at that time for a guy who worked for Jericho Tool in Troy. Engle would end up spending 46 years there as a mold maker in the tool and die industry. As for the 1970 Olds 442, it became part of his family, who have come to refer to it as “The Blue Streak.”
Today, the car has more than 300,000 miles on it. Not only has the pedal been put to the metal by David but also by his wife, Carolyn, and two sons.
“It was driven every day, often from Piqua or Tipp City to Dayton,” said his son, Todd Richard, of the Hancock County village of Arlington. “I remember one trip in particular to the Smokey Mountains and how terrible the radio reception was. Today it has a replica factory stereo with Bluetooth.”
That’s not all he remembers.
There are also memories of a certain paddle that to this day can be found under the front seat.
“Often, my brother Jon and I would be horsing around in the back seat, and after a while, my mom would reach under her seat and pull this paddle out that used to have the little red ball attached to it. She would turn around and give us a few whacks — if she could reach us,” Richard said. “It would keep us quiet for another 10 minutes or so before she’d have to do it again.”
In 1976, David Engle purchased a Jeep, which he preferred to drive. That put the steering wheel of the 442 in the hands of his wife.
“She knew how to handle it pretty well,” Richard said. “Jon and I would tell her to ‘gun it’, and she’d put the pedal to the floor and say, ‘There went five gallons of gas!’”
Todd and Jon drove the car in high school.
“Eventually, it sat and started to waste away,” Richard said. “My uncle’s cousin bought it for $500 on the condition my dad had the first chance to buy it back some day. It got ‘restored’ and in 1993, my parents bought the car back. We drove it during the nice months and kept it in storage in the winter.”
In November of 2019, a complete, professional restoration was started.
“The car was in really bad shape. It had been rear-ended in 1978 with the slightest dent in the rear bumper, but actually, the frame had been heavily damaged,” Richard said. “Rich’s Restoration in Rawson, Ohio, did a fabulous job bringing the ‘Blue Streak’ back to factory line condition. We had a surprise unveiling in May of 2021. The ‘new’ car started over with all zeros on the odometer.”
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