It’s not often one sees a Renault Dauphine in the wild. Seeing one on top of an Atlas looking figure wearing a W on his belt buckle in Bowling Green, Kentucky is something, that up until recently, was on the very high order of improbable. Even though we didn’t hit the winning numbers on the Kentucky Powerball, we did see this Renault Dauphine atop of what we can only assume is a reasonable likeness of Walt himself of Walt’s Allstates Transmission Service. According to current shop proprietor Carlos, the likeness is in fact supposed to be Walt, who is retired and living in Texas. Is Walt strong enough to hoist a Dauphine over his head? “At one time, he was pretty strong”, said Carlos. No one seems to know where the Renualt came from or how it ended up on top of the sign – which was built in the early seventies. No matter. What better resting place then a roadside sign for an automobile that Tom and Ray from Car Talk said was “truly unencumbered by the engineering process”. Taking this Dauphine off the road may be the only thing that preserved it for future generations to enjoy.
Walt’s Allstates Transmission Service is located at 1724 Us 31W Byp, Bowling Green, KY. Thanks to Carlos for taking the time out to talk.
It should be noted that viewing Walt’s and its Dauphine in Google Streetview, you also get to see a now rare Opel GT parked out front. I call that a Clunkbucket twofer!
Huzzah! I was hoping someone would click through on the map. Carlos said he has not one, but two Opel GT cars.