Lukas Watters, age 8, of Southampton approved of the M38A1 Jeep at Cruisers Cruise Night, June 2.

Hub Staff

A fair number of car enthusiasts cruised their way to the end of High Street in Southampton for the first Cruisers Cruise Night of the season, on a blindingly sunny Thursday night, June 2

“Usually you get 25 to 30 cars this early in June but tonight I’d say we have over 50,” said Port Elgin resident Mike Smith who brought his restored 1955 Mercedes 300SLR. Smith has been bringing the Mercedes since 2010 but has been coming for a while. ”I’ve been coming here since the very first day it opened with my other car. The one I have at home was the first car I ever owned.”

His Mercedes 300SLR is one of seven. “The company that built these made seven and of the original ones there’s only nine of them in the world, this is a copy of one of the originals and they're in German museums, and they won’t sell them,” Smith said.

Steve Hearn of Southampton finished his M38A1 a year ago and has shown it around Bruce County and admittedly comes to Cruisers every Thursday night. Hearn brings historical memorabilia with him and lets people touch the car, “it’s a Jeep, you can’t hurt it,” said Hearn proudly.

“This is the model that they based all the civilian version on, this could have been in Germany, could have been in Cyprus, could have been in Egypt but there was no combat at that time,” Heard said, June 2.

Hearn continued, “I actually learned to drive on a Jeep like this in Egypt when I was with the [United Nations]. The Warrant officer took me out, we went out on a straight stretch of road, I drove up through the gears once, down through the gears once; and he said, ‘That’s good enough,’ and by that afternoon I was driving a two and a half ton truck into the back end of a Hercules Air Craft,”

In later years Hearn got the hang of driving, became a Recruitment Instructor and would teach teenagers coming into recruit training how to drive on the M38A1 Jeep.

Cruisers Cruise night takes place every Thursday from 6:30 to 9 p.m. until August 25. For each 'Cruiser' there is a suggested $2 donation towards the Saugeen Memorial Hospital Foundation, which is added to by the 50/50 draw that is ongoing throughout the Cruisers season.

Longtime Cruiser, Port Elgin’s Mike Smith with his 1955 Mercedes 300SLR, at Cruisers Cruise night, June 2.

Southampton’s Steve Hearn replicated his M38A1 last year, from one he drove as a Recruitment Instructor.