ORLEANS – In this lower Cape town boasting Nauset Beach, Skaket Beach, and Rock Harbor, a 1946 Chevrolet Fleetmaster police cruiser is a tourist attraction.
“My God, you wouldn’t believe the number of pictures people take with it,” said Lt. Kevin Higgins of the Orleans Police Department.
This police car is a rock star.
This police car is a rock star, and it is part of the family history of the town of Orleans.
The ’46 Chevy will appear in a movie, “The Finest Hours,” filmed recently in Chatham. It has also appeared in television commercials for W.B. Mason, and is often requested for weddings. Plus, it is featured in parades, and on display at the town block party every summer. During events such as parades, officers with the car even wear old Orleans Police uniforms.
This winter, as the snow piled up, so many people expressed concern about the well-being of the car, the department turned to social media and wrote: “For those of you that have expressed concern for our ’46 Chevy and where she has been during those snowy, cold days and nights….rest assured, she’s in a heated garage in an undisclosed location.”
We are now authorized to disclose the specific location of the garage as somewhere in Brewster. But it doesn’t matter because soon it will be back outside; yet another sign of spring on Cape Cod. “April 15 is the day we push for,” said Higgins.
The car has been undergoing some TLC this winter, said Higgins. On the day Cape Cod Wave visited in late March, he started the engine for the first time since December, and it started right up – VIDEO
Compared to the power steering of a modern car, Higgins said the ’46 uses “armstrong steering.” In other words, your arms better be strong.
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