Page 27 - 2020 Auto Show Guide

And what you see on display at the Atlanta International Auto ‘Cousin Eddie’ has become quite the attraction around town.
Show is no replica. It’s the real deal – the actual RV used in the It gets lots of attention in traffic and makes for great fun when
film. So, how did it get to Atlanta? Why is it at the show? Well, asking random soccer moms for directions. “Just pull up to
let’s just say it took a village. a stop light and ask the lady in the minivan next to you for
directions,” says Bob. “She won’t make eye contact and will,
Fourteen years ago, Judy Boston was on the hunt for items most times, very quickly drive off.” He says that about one-in-
to add to her Christmas collection. That collection consists of, five people will recognize it in traffic, flash their lights and give
among other things, Department 56 Christmas Village pieces. a thumbs up. “Driving this RV is great fun.”
Judy had been purchasing pieces from a gentleman in Arizona,
and during a conversation regarding one of those pieces, he The RV has also become a Christmas fixture in the Boston’s
told her that he had the RV used in the film. The man had neighborhood. A couple of weeks before the holiday each
retired to Arizona and brought the RV with him for his sister year, Bob parks ‘Cousin Eddie’ in front of their home in a well-
to live in. She, upon seeing the RV, declared that “there was to-do, gated community. Not exactly the kind of neighborhood
no way she was going to live in that thing.” So, the RV was in which you’d expect to find such a vehicle. The display is
offered for sale to Judy and the adventure began. complete, right down to the pile of trash and burned-out
recliner on the sidewalk (complete with the charred outline of
an electrocuted cat on the bottom). And from under the left
side of the RV runs that familiar hose, the one Cousin Eddie
wrangled as he emptied the contents of the RV’s sewage tank
into the storm drain in front of the Griswold’s house. If you
close your eyes and concentrate, you can hear those infamous
words he uttered as the neighbors looked on in disgust. There’s
no need to repeat them here.

Bob recalled one Christmas when a new neighbor, having
By J.W. Southwick just moved in a couple of months prior, spotted ‘Cousin Eddie’
Director of Marketing & Social Media parked in the cul de sac. The neighbor wasn’t just new to the
MAADA
community, he and his family were new to the United States
Enter Bob Boston. Bob is Judy’s husband, who owns Adaptive and had never seen ‘Christmas Vacation.’ They promptly
Mobility Systems in Tucker, Georgia, a company that produces reported the RV to the HOA’s president, who went on to explain
specialty vans to accommodate handicapped individuals. Bob the story behind it. Soon after, the family saw the movie and
said, “Judy commanded me to get that RV for her.” So, he sent became great fans.
his shop foreman out to Arizona to pick it up. Upon arrival, a
quick inspection revealed that the RV looked just as it did in They say, “One man’s trash is another man’s
the movie, finished in water-based paint to make it look dirty treasure.” This piece of, um, movie memorabilia,
and dingy for the cameras. Soon thereafter, it was on the road, is certainly something to behold. Bob is quick
headed back to Atlanta. to point out who this treasure really belongs
to. “I’m glad Judy made me buy it,” he
‘Cousin Eddie,’ as the RV is affectionately known, didn’t make said. “It’s been great fun and will be
it very far before a mechanical issue brought the trip to a staying with the family for years to
halt. A blown differential seal sidelined the RV for three days come, creating smiles along the way.”
until repairs could be completed, and then, it was back on the
road. Managing a measly four miles-per-gallon with no air
conditioning meant that most of the trip was made at night.
After a couple more minor breakdowns and $1,700 worth of
gas, Cousin Eddie reached its new Atlanta home.

The Boston’s son, Jay, took it upon himself to repaint
Cousin Eddie with a more permanent finish and
Plasticine mud, using still images from the film to get
all the details just right. The mud on the windshield and
paw prints on the door, from Eddie’s dog ‘Snots,’ are
identical to what you see in the film. The attention to
detail is quite impressive, especially considering that the
details being matched aren’t for something sleek and
shiny.
38 ANNUAL ATLANTA INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW 25
TH