The current Cash for Clunkers program may be a great success, but islander Robert Paulson has no intention of trading in his wheels any time soon.

That’s because those particular wheels are attached to a Niagara blue, 1928 Ford Model A Roadster convertible.

For Paulson, the car is more than just a classic – it’s a lifelong companion that he bought in 1953 after leaving the U.S. Army. The cost? All of $5, plus another $5 for the fabric top.

“I don’t know what it is worth, but it has appreciated quite a bit,” Paulson said.

The car was originally sold for about $400 but in its present condition it’s likely worth many thousands of dollars. But the car’s sentimental value is worth much more than any cash he could get for it.

“Everybody wants to buy it but nobody comes up with any money,” is the way he likes to put it.

With Paulson turning 80 tomorrow and the car now 81 years old, the Model A holds many different memories.

“I courted my wife in this car,” he said.

It is easy to imagine Paulson and his wife, Margie, watching a drive-in movie from the rumble seat or cruising out for dinner with the top down on a summer evening. When they moved from California to Bainbridge in 1978, the car came with them. As it has aged, the car has never been relegated to a garage or allowed to fall into disrepair.

“The repair is constant,” Paulson said. “It goes on and on.”

Some of his repairs include replacing the V8 engine that was in the car when he bought it with the original four-cylinder model, and repainting the car in its original color.

Because of its antiquity, the second-coming of the Model A – built in 1928-31 after Ford first manufactured the model in 1903-05 –has plenty of character and idiosyncrasies, including: no outside door handles; a fuel gauge that is essentially a window that allows the driver to see gas sloshing around in its tank; and a hand crank that set the windshield wiper into action until Paulson installed a motor.

Thanks to its many quirks, the Model A is one of the classiest cars seen on the island, and it certainly is one of the oldest that’s still operating on a daily basis.

Paulson reports that his Ford always draws its share of stares when he drives on the island, especially when parading down Madison Avenue.

“You catch everyone’s eye, but…they get tired of having to stay behind you,” Paulson said. The car is also a magnet for car enthusiasts and people who tend to be nostalgic.

Paulson said he often comes out of a shop to find a group of people gathered around his car. For some, the Model A was the car they learned to drive in, or the car they drove on their first date.

For Paulson and his family, it was their primary car for years. He drove it to work every day while working as a boat designer. They now own a Honda for long trips, but the couple still uses the Ford for day-to-day chores.

Even bad weather doesn’t stop it. “I have a set of chains for it and I take it in the snow,” Paulson said.

Paulson has no plans to stop driving the car he loves. He is going to take his family and friends out for a ride in the Model A on his birthday.

No matter what, Paulson plans to keep driving his Model A for a very long time.