Re-run, www.ClassicCarCommunity.com, Newsletter 11.25.2009

In This Issue Celebs and their cars Best Ride Quick Links Events Parts Cars Calendar Girl Contest! $1000 Grand Prize Classic Car Community is looking for the next Classic Car Calendar Girl.  This contest is open to all members.  Submit your poses with your favorite classic and you could be chosen to represent your community on the first of many calendars to come ... more Best Ride Contest!!! 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.

I wrote this article back in April of 2007 and I still get requests for it. So, being that I have about 5,000 more members, here it is again.  Celebrities and their Cars This week I would like to tell the story about my brother and his car.  Many of you know that Charlie Sheen is an avid classic car collector.  He has many cars in a warehouse in Los Angeles.  During my college years down in Tucson AZ, Charlie and his crew were filming the movie Terminal Velocity (it sucked, don't see it) and my brother was selling his 1966 Mercury Cyclone GT Convertible.  Charlie saw the ad in the paper and called my brother.  My brother was in Phoenix at the time (about 2 hours from Tucson) and told Charlie that if he would pay his price, he would drive the car down to Tucson and visit me at the same time.  My brother was asking $11,000 for his ride.  Charlie agreed and my brother took a road trip. Before my brother arrived, I got a call from Charlie instructing me what to do.  He gave us two options.  First, was to go to the set and he would drive it home from there.  Second, would be to meet him at the hotel and he would buy the car there.  Considering the first option was at night on a Saturday, (both my brother and I were college students) obviously that wouldn't work.  So I told Charlie that we would meet him at the hotel on Sunday. Sunday rolls around and me and my brother get up and go to the hotel.  We asked for his alias name and the lady behind the counter said that he is not ready and to go to the bar and have a drink on him.  After a night of drinking....heavily...we weren't that thirsty.  So we hung out.  A half hour goes by and no Charlie.  We ask the lady again and she told us that he was catching up on his sleep, "he was filming all night."  Now we are pissed.  "That's OK we will wait." We went back into the bar, ordered some drinks and one of every appetizer on the menu.  Two more hours went by and his assistant comes in and says Charlie will see us now.  My brother told the assistant that Charlie can now wait for us to finish our drinks and we will be out in a minute.  The bill came and we racked up $125 on appetizers.  HA!  My brother strokes a $75 tip and charged it to Charlie. We leave the bar and go out to the parking lot where Charlie and our car were.  Just then another sweet classic ride arrives on a flatbed, a 1970 Oldsmobile 4-4-2 convertible.  The guy jumps out of the truck and seemed excited to sell the car to Charlie.  Remember this for later, because I do have a lesson to this story.  After that deal was done he started looking over my brother's car. The Cyclone was not a trailer queen by any means, but still was a solid rust free AZ car.  Charlie started picking it apart.  He test drove it and offered my brother $8000.  My brother went nuts.  He started going over all the restoring that he did.  New rebuilt engine, new top, new interior etc.  "It sounds like you don't want to sell it?" Charlie proclaimed.  "I will sell it at the price I thought we agreed upon, $11000" my brother replied.  "How about $9000."  My brother literally didn't say anything and got in his car, looked at me and said "get in".  We drove off. During the test drive, Charlie told us that he picked up the 4-4-2 for $9000.  It was at this time that I realized the power of celebrities.  If a non-celeb were to buy that 4-4-2 for $9000 (by the way it was the 455 W-30, I remember the red wheel wells) he/she would have automatically made at least $10k on the car.  But because Charlie Sheen owned the car, tack on another $10k.  Plus, I am sure the owner of that 4-4-2 would NOT have sold the car for $9000, but because it was Charlie, he now has a story that he sold his car to Charlie Sheen. I learned a lot that day.  I learned that my brother has some big...you know.  I learned to not be intimidated by celebrities.  I learned the power of celebrities.  I learned the dynamics of a negotiation.  And most importantly, I learned to know your limits. So what have we all learned?  Celebrities have the power and intimidation to take advantage of the rest of us.  They have the star power to get top dollar for everything they own.  So, remember to know what you are selling, know your price, stick to your guns and know that the stories will always be there.  Besides, even though we did not sell the car to Charlie, we still have this story.  Right? Want to know the funniest part?  At the time we met Charlie, we did not know the history of the Cyclone.  We found out later that they had 50 special Cyclones for the Indy 500 in 1966.  The '66 Cyclone paced the Indy 500 that year and our cyclone was one of those special edition 50!  Needless to say, my bro sold the car for a lot more than the original $11000.  Win one for the little guy...and we charged $200 to Charlie. Thanks for lunch Charlie. Best Ride Contest The  Best Ride Contest is in full swing!  The 2009 Best Ride Contest is open and taking applicants.  Remember to enter your car for a chance to win $500. We need at least 20 cars entered to continue on with the contest. Here are the current entries, so if you think your ride is better and has a better story, then enter! View past winners here.  $500 to the First Place Winner!!!!