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2009
Best Ride Contest!
Win $500 in Gas!
Think you have the best wheels on the road? Well put your classic car up to the test in the Community's
Best Ride Contest. Submit a story stating why you think your ride rules the rest and you'll be entered to win a $500 gas card.
Sign up here.
He who dies with the most toys wins? Really? I got an email from a buddy of mine the other day about this amazing collection of classics in Punta Gorda, Florida. You can read the article here. I looked through the pictures and it reminded me of a poster that I had in college. It was a poster of a 4 car garage where you can see a Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini and I think a Shelby Cobra, the caption read “He who dies with the most toys, wins.” I thought that was awesome. Then I read this article and thought, this guy took that saying way too far. I mean, when does it become an obsession vs. hobby vs. enjoyment? I read another article about a couple in Canada that collected every convertible that Chevy ever made, up to 1973. I thought again, where is the fun in that? Do they drive these cars? At times, I bet, they don’t even remember buying some of those cars. Every car I had, I drove. Cars are meant to be driven, especially collectibles.
Now, if your argument is that these are investments like fine art, Picasso and the like, then I would agree, the more the merrier. However, you would have to put the cars on display in your home somewhere, so when you walk by, you can look at it and enjoy the beauty. That I agree with, but I sincerely doubt my wife would allow me to park a 1969 Boss Mustang in our master bedroom. Although, I remember a story in the eighties where a guy in Italy bought a Ferrari F40, tore down a wall in his living room, moved that car into it and built the wall back up. That was AWESOME!
Back to the two articles and my next question…quality or quantity? The collection in Florida has over 200 cars and if you compare that to (another show that I watched) the Ralph Lauren Collection where he has about 30 cars, of which are some of the rarest Ferraris in the world, then who wins there? The combined value of those 200 Chevy’s might be worth one of Ralphs (we are on a first name basis) cars. So now what? Does quality win over quantity?
I am going to shift gears here. Another story that caught my attention was on the show Chasing Classic Cars last week. A Connecticut couple bought a 1960 Chevy Impala convertible in 1981 and literally parked the car and never drove it. I think the car had 26,000 original miles. The wife asked the husband if they could take it out and drive and he said, “No it will diminish the value.” Sure enough, the husband passed away earlier this year and the wife called Wayne Carini to help her sell the car. Wayne took the car freshened it up, detailed it and put it up for sale at a Mecum auction. They wanted somewhere between $35k and $45k. The car sold for $33,250 dollars. I thought…what a shame. That great couple had that car for so long, didn’t drive it and then only got $33,250. What a shame! I say drive them. Drive the hell out of them, restore them, drive the hell out of them again, and restore them again.
Now, I know many of you are saying to yourself, they are only original once. I then would ask what kind of original do you want? Do you want the Connecticut couple’s impala that has no history because it was parked for 50 years, or do you want the original Shelby that Caroll Shelby himself raced and won all those championships with? I say drive the hell out of them.
To sum up, the enjoyment of the cars should be the first reason you buy a car. Even if you are fortunate enough to have all kinds of cars in the stable, or one of the rarest cars in the world, get out there and drive them. As for “the guy who dies with the most toys wins”…no matter how fast your car is, no matter how rare your car is and no matter how perfect your car is…someone will make a car faster, someone will have a car that is more rare and someone will have a newly restored car that is more perfect than yours. And in the end, you can’t take them with you, so DRIVE THE HELL OUT OF THEM!
2009 Best Ride Contest
This is just a friendly reminder to submit your car for the 2009 Best Ride Contest. Time is running out. All submissions must be in by December 31st, 2009. The community will then vote for their favorite in January 2010 and the winner will be awarded in February. To submit your ride, you must logon and click the Contests link in the right column. $500 to the first place winner! Thanks everyone.View the past winners here.
So there you have it. I hope you have enjoyed this Newsletter.
If not let me know. And don't just say "You Stink!" Tell me why I stink.
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