SEPTEMBER 15 • 2022 | 13

For the Love of Cars

continued on page 14

Coupe. Their Jaguar is very rare, 
one of only 19 1994 XJS Coupes 
imported to North America with a 
factory original five-speed manual 
transmission. But their love story 
centers on the Karmann Ghia.
“Dianne and I met in 1970 for the 
Oak Park to Wayne State University 
carpool. I had always wanted a 
Convertible Jaguar XKE (‘E Type’), 
which I thought was a beautiful car, 
but in 1972, we could not afford a 
Jaguar. However, Dianne bought a 
used bright orange 1970 VW Karmann 
Ghia Convertible. We drove it in 
winter, and it began to rust, so it was 
sold. 
“In 1996, when we could have 

purchased a beautiful Jaguar XKE, 
we decided to get another 1970 
Convertible Karmann Ghia instead, 
because that was our car when we were 
young,” Steve continued. 
“We had both cars on display at 
the Woodward Dream Cruise this 
year; however, my absolute favorite 
place to drive (cruise) with both cars, 
surprisingly, is just everywhere people 
routinely go on daily errands. People 
who do not know us at all, and who 
would normally not say anything to 
us, come up to ask about the cars, 
in parking lots, etc., and strike up 
conversations about our classic car. 
That is truly the fun of driving a 
sporty classic car in the summer!” 

Details
The North American International 
Auto Show takes place Sept. 
17-25. This will be the first-ever, 
indoor/outdoor Detroit Auto Show. 
Visit https://naias.com/ for details 
and tickets. You can also enter a 
Sweepstakes to win a Corvette, 
Hellcat or Bronco.

A RAFFLE WIN

Donna and Sheldon Klein live 
in Birmingham and have two 
daughters. Donna doesn’t have a 
photo of her “cool” car, but she does 
have a “cool” story to tell. “I don’t 
have my special car anymore, but it 
changed my life,” she said.
“I was 17 in 1973, in the 
Chicago suburbs, doing my college 
planning. I was proud and delighted 
to have been admitted to my dream 
school, Kalamazoo College. 
“My parents were thrilled for 
me. However, they got serious and 
did the math. They were shocked 
to see how much more expensive 
Kalamazoo College was versus a 
public university. They sat me down 
with their budget and told me they 
couldn’t afford it,” she added. 
“I thought my life was over … 
until a phone call the next week. I 
had won the grand prize from a 
50-cent raffle ticket! A brand-new 
car, one of those ancient, full-size 
station wagons, a gas guzzler, to say 
the least.
“My parents were now open to 
negotiation,” she continued. “I 
proposed that we sell it for the 
approximate $4,600 market price, 
which would cover a full year of 
tuition and room and board. They 
agreed. I started K College in Fall 
1974, met my husband, Sheldon, 
there. I graduated in 1978 and 
ended up here in Detroit.” 
It seems that Donna’s old-school, 
basic, large station wagon was 
indeed a special car.

Steve Chait with 
his 1994 Jaguar 
XJS coupe and his 
1970 Volkswagen 
Karmann Ghia

