Griswold Station Wagon Makes Its Rounds In Chicago Area
MCHENRY, IL — Keep your eyes peeled while out and about this week. Ted Ray, 33, of McHenry, will be rolling through towns, with his Clark Griswold-lookalike vehicle and you won’t want to miss it.
You can also check out the station wagon, and his Griswold-inspired holiday lights, at 2201 Country Lane, McHenry. His holiday lights display started out with 500 lights five years ago and increased to 4,750 lights last holiday season.
Last December, his electric bill was $850. This year, he swapped out the incandescent lights for LED and added 600 more total lights, Ray said in recent weeks.
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In 2022, he took it a step further and acquired the most Griswold-like station wagon he could find.
Initially, he planned to just use the vehicle as a prop in his driveway.
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But after spending months updating the 1990 Ford Taurus GL, which is the exact make and model of the station wagon in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation;” putting vanity plates on it that read “Griswold” and then securing a tree, roots and all, to the roof, he decided to take it for a little spin.
From there, things have just gotten bigger and better for Ray.
“The car has been a huge hit this season, mainly because of how ridiculous the new and bigger tree is,” said Ray, who has been drawing crowds to the car anywhere he’s parked.
In recent weeks, when Ray drove to downtown Chicago to attend an event, he had crowds surrounding it while stopped at lights on Michigan Avenue, Ray said. This past Christmas week has been especially merry and bright for Ray thanks to the attention from local media and appearances on Chicago TV stations.
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And the station wagon made an appearance at the McHenry Outdoor Theater this past weekend for the showings of Christmas Vacation. Ray took the opportunity to take a picture he’s been hoping to snap.
Ray said he tries to only drive his car locally and had to “beef up” the suspension to deal with this year’s bigger tree.
“it’s kind of like a wind-sail when driving,” Ray said.
How It Began
Ray first watched “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” when he was in second grade. He was already a huge fan of Christmas.
He knew when he had a house, he’d light it up like Griswold. While his wife does not love this, she “deals with it,” Ray said.
She also does not love the movie as much as Ray, so he tries to watch it “every couple days” during the holidays when “she’s not there.” She also does not love that he sometimes tells people they named two of their children, Audrey and Russell, after Griswold’s children, also named Audrey and Russell.
But, that happened to just be a fun happenstance, Ray said.
His wife always wanted to name their daughter, if they had a girl, after Audrey Hepburn. So their oldest child, a girl, has been named Audrey. She is 2.5 years old.
Ray has always wanted to name their boy, if they one, Russell.
This past summer, the couple had twins: a boy and a girl. The twins, who are now 4 months old, were named Russell and Addison, Ray said.
So far, the whole family has not gotten to go for a ride in the Griswold-inspired vehicle, but he’s hoping it happens before the holidays. Audrey did get to ride along with Ray in the holiday parade in Fox Lake.
Once his station wagon is repaired, Ray hopes to keep driving it every day. So, for those hoping to spot it or get your picture with it, keep your eyes peeled.
His holiday lights will be on nightly for those hoping to drive by.
And the station wagon will also be stationed outside the Outdoor Theater, 1510 Chapel Hill Road in McHenry, on Dec. 20 and 21 when “Christmas Vacation” will be playing.
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