Louie Mattar’s Fabulous Car
by Heidi Lewis
What makes this book for the younger set a true stand-out is even as it intrigues, fascinates and engages those youngsters, everything on every page is all absolutely true. It all really happened and the car still exists in running condition!
Not only is there nothing between the covers that is made up or imagined, the car, a 1947 Cadillac Series 62, is still owned by the family of the man who had the idea, accomplished all the modifications, then drove it into history. And you can see it today as it is on display for every visitor to the San Diego (California) Automobile Museum, located in that city’s historic and beautiful Balboa Park, to view.
The front cover on its own raises more questions than it answers—seeing the back cover as well adds some context.
Because education is among this book’s author’s multiple degrees and Heidi Lewis also has plenty of experience in the classroom, she knows just how to capture a young person’s attention and captivate their imaginations. Among her favorite types of stories to tell are those of “ordinary people (often forgotten to history) who have done extraordinary things.” Louie Mattar’s story fits that description to a tee.
Lewis’ story-telling skill is matched by the illustrative skills and artistic talent of Jordi Vila Delclòs for his illustrations convey all the charm and energy of what Louie dreamed then created and did. Born, educated, and living in Barcelona, Spaniard Delclòs is fully 20 years younger than Mattar’s Cadillac yet he completely achieved his goal of putting in his drawings “the sensations and the information that create the environments and images with the correct information so the reader can easily enter the text.” Delclòs’ ability to interconnect with his subject and the viewer of his illustrations readily communicates itself in each of the 17 full-color illustrations and the 20 or so thumbnails that decorate the pages of Lewis’ words in this landscape-format book.
So with all of that, what was it that Louie Mattar did that was so remarkable and extraordinary?
After buying that ’47 Series 62 4-door sedan which was already pretty luxurious, Louie decided to add a few more conveniences. Because he was mechanically adept he could do all the work himself so he added a drinking fountain, a barbeque, a washing machine and dryer, a shower, a refrigerator, and more. By the time Louie’s modifications were complete, he’d doubled the weight of his car.
Next, Louie built a trailer for the Cadillac to tow because he had a very special trip in mind. So the trailer contained a 230 gallon tank for gasoline, a toilet, a 30 gallon tank for water and a 15 gallon tank for oil, and more.
The trip Louie planned would set a world record for nonstop driving but he wouldn’t be just circling around and around on a race track or other closed course. Rather Louie would drive from San Diego to New York City and back, without stopping for anything or any reason—a total of 6,320 miles. That required some logistical planning and arrangements. Everywhere there was a populated area on his planned route, Louie arranged for the local constabulary to escort him so he would not have to stop for so much as a stop sign or traffic light and no possible traffic snarl couldn’t impede his progress. He took along two others and they’d each drive five-hour shifts while “one read the map and watched the 75 dials and gauges in the dash and the third rested on the folding bed in the backseat.”
A bonus not mentioned in the book but can be shared here is that the San Diego Automobile Museum produced a film in 2014 with a run time of 25 minutes. It features footage of Louie as he built his fabulous Cadillac. There’s footage of many of its features shown operating as designed such as the means of changing a tire on the road (a bit of which is featured on the front cover of the actual physical book (see below) showing the retractable running board and hydraulically operating support wheel enabling those tire changes and other repairs while remaining underway, albeit at a speed a bit less than their regular cruising speed). Members of Louie’s family are part of the film too including middle son LeRoy (Lee) who was one of the drivers on the second record setting even longer non-stop drive of 7,482 miles in 1954. The route for that drive was from Anchorage, Alaska to Mexico City. That film may be accessed (for free) by anyone on You Tube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HUCI4pLPR8
How to change a tire on a moving car!
This fabulous book telling its fabulous story of Louie Mattar’s Fabulous Car is the real deal—an automotive history for the younger set that includes no fantasy, nothing made up. The real story is fantastic enough all on its own.
Copyright 2026 Helen V Hutchings (speedreaders.info)
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