Like the objects in a car’s side mirror, this father and son are closer than they appear, thanks to one specific car. “It was my dad’s dream car,” Dalan Ruttan says. “He always wanted a 1985 [Toyota] Supra.
” A dream that Dale Ruttan finally realized, buying the used car during the same week he welcomed his son Dalan. “This was perfect,” Dale recalls with a smile. As Dalan grew up, his dad’s car helped him develop a strong work ethic.
“Every Saturday, we were washing the wheels of the Supra,” Dalan recalls. “We had to get into every nook and cranny.” The car also transported Dalan to what would become happy memories from his childhood.
“My dad would take my mom on dates or we’d go out for ice cream,” Dalan says. “It was fantastic." Until that night Dale was driving home from work and got hit by a driver racing down the road.
Dale’s car was T-boned, spun into oncoming traffic and hit by a second car. “I got knocked out and came to with people opening the door to help me,” Dale says. While Dale was treated for serious bruising, broken teeth, and a bad concussion, the Supra was written off.
Dale never saw it again. “My dream car was gone,” Dale says. “But it was OK.
I was alive.” The moment Dalan heard his dad would recover, he made a private promise to himself. “I committed to building my dad his car again,” Dalan says.
“And I wasn’t going to let go. I don’t give up on things.” The then 15-year-old started saving his mo.
