In August, two men plan to drive the 2,400-mile length of Route 66 in a restored 1973 Chrysler New Yorker in tribute to the car’s late owner.
The road trip by Markku Jaakkola and Jacob Gilbert will be part of an Official Route 66 Centennial event.
Jaakkola, a Finnish‑born automotive storyteller and quality engineer, wrote on Detroit’s Unforgotten Wheels website:
In the summer of 2024, I found myself standing beside a 1973 Chrysler New Yorker buried in weeds — a car that once belonged to my friend Hans Granberg, a fellow Finnish Mopar enthusiast whose passion for American automotive history matched my own. On his final visit to the United States, Hans used this Chrysler to tour across the country, especially throughout the Detroit area. He had plans to return, to drive it farther, to see more. But life had other plans.
After his passing, the car sat still. But it was never forgotten. […]
The Legacy Run is more than a road trip. It’s a memorial in motion. It’s a way to connect past and present, to honor the people and machines that shaped our journeys, and to share those stories with others who understand what it means to love the road.
We’ll be documenting every mile — from neon-lit motels to desert stretches, from roadside diners to historic landmarks. But more than that, we’ll be sharing Hans’s story, the car’s story, and the stories of the people we meet along the way. This project is built on friendship, heritage, and the belief that some cars carry more than passengers — they carry meaning.
This is our way of honoring a friend, celebrating a century of Route 66, and keeping the spirit of the open road alive.
The two have launched a GoFundMe campaign, with a modest goal of $600, to help cover expenses for the trip.
The New Yorker was a longtime luxury model for Chrysler, built from 1940 to 1996.
(Image of the restored 1973 Chrysler New Yorker via Detroit’s Unforgotten Wheels website)