After 11 years, 100+ events, thousands of miles, and countless appearances, we've collected a few stories along the way. Here are some of our favorites.
The Wedding Crashers
After a public appearance, we stopped at a local store before heading home. Ecto SD was parked in the lot like it always is, drawing attention from anyone who happened to drive by.
When we came back outside, we were greeted by a sight we weren't expecting.
An entire wedding party had gathered around Ecto SD.
The bride, groom, and several members of the wedding party were taking photos with the car as if it had been part of the wedding all along. Nobody had asked permission, nobody had planned it, and nobody from our team was even nearby. They simply saw the car and decided it was too cool to pass up.
We stood back for a moment and watched. The smiles, the laughter, and the excitement said it all.
Moments like that remind us that Ecto SD is more than just a vehicle. It creates memories. It sparks conversations. It brings out the kid in people, whether they're eight years old or eighty.
We've seen people slow down in traffic, pull into parking lots just to get a closer look, and stop us countless times to share their own Ghostbusters memories. But seeing a wedding party turn Ecto SD into an impromptu photo backdrop is definitely one of our favorite stories.
Not bad for a retired hearse from 1988.
The Mechanic's Report
Even Ghostbusters vehicles need maintenance from time to time.
One day, Ecto SD was in the shop for some routine service, which meant she spent the entire day parked outside a local business while the work was being completed.
When we returned to pick her up, the mechanic couldn't wait to tell us about what he'd witnessed.
"That thing gets a lot of attention," he said.
We laughed because we've heard that before.
"No, seriously," he continued. "I don't know how many people slowly drove past the shop just to look at it."
Apparently, all day long, people were easing off the gas, craning their necks, and trying to get a better look at the giant white Ghostbusters vehicle sitting outside the building. Some slowed down so much that it was becoming a distraction.
For us, Ecto SD has become a familiar sight. We've spent years maintaining it, improving it, transporting it to events, and sharing it with the community.
But every now and then, someone else's reaction reminds us just how unique the vehicle really is.
To most people, it's not just a car.
It's a piece of childhood parked on the side of the road.
And apparently, it's hard to drive past without taking a second look.
The Cockroach on the 12th Floor
After a Keloland Living appearance, we were walking through downtown Sioux Falls in full Ghostbusters gear when a construction worker spotted us.
He looked at us, pointed toward the building he was working on, and said there was a cockroach up on the 12th floor.
Then he spread his hands apart to show us just how big it was.
Immediately, we got the joke.
He was quoting one of the classic scenes from the original Ghostbusters movie:
"What are you supposed to be, some kind of a cosmonaut?"
"No, we're exterminators. Someone saw a cockroach up on twelve."
"That's gotta be some cockroach."
"Bite your head off, man."
The construction worker didn't miss a beat. The moment he saw a group of Ghostbusters walking down the street, he decided to play along and bring one of the movie's most memorable exchanges to life.
Those are the moments we love.
It's not always the big conventions, the parades, or the charity events that stick with us. Sometimes it's a complete stranger who sees the uniforms, knows the movie by heart, and turns an ordinary walk through downtown into a Ghostbusters moment.
We never found the cockroach.
But if it's still up there, we're ready.