Post by Mike B on Dec 19, 2008 3:49:01 GMT -4
My Favorite RIde - Herald Times
by Laura Lane H-T columnist | lane@heraldt.com
September 6, 2008
Vintage cars I can only afford to look at.
AUBURN — It took my breath away, the sea of vintage Cadillacs and Jaguars and Chryslers and Fords and Mercedes Benzes at the 2008 Classic Car Auction & Show last Friday.
Consider me transformed.
I have been saying I would drive three hours north to the show for years, but never got there. But when a catalog of the cars up for sale and a free ticket arrived in the mail here at the newspaper office, I knew it was time.
Kruse International Auction organizers claim there were 5,000 vehicles on hand; I must have seen about 4,000 of them.
Just when I thought I had found my very favorite, I would turn a corner and find another one I loved just as much.
I know it’s difficult to believe, but I was torn between a 1959 baby blue Cadillac (I’m not much for light blue but oh, if you had seen this car . and the keys were right there in the ignition) and a cream-colored 1965 Jaguar XKE 4-speed coupe I would have driven out of there if I could have gotten away with it.
The interior was supple leather, dark blue, and the car had shiny chrome spoke wheels.
Turns out I was shopping way our of my league. No surprise there — my tastes often surpass what’s possible.
For instance, that pretty one-owner Cadillac Eldorado Seville sold on Friday for $26,500. Everything on the car was original — even the separate ashtray and cigarette lighter near the front seat passenger window.
The Clark Oil Co. in Ohio had bought the car new, and had kept in a garage the past 50 years.
Another 1959 Cadillac sold at the auction, one with a once-famous owner. The custom metallic gold Seville Joe DiMaggio bought for Marilyn Monroe was displayed under spotlights.
Inside, a beautifully dressed Marilyn Monroe mannequin with bad hair was at the wheel. The car had every option available and a 345-horsepower engine. It is among the biggest cars ever made, weighing in at 4,835 pounds and featuring art-deco-like tail fins that measure nearly 44 inches high.
It looked like a rocket ship that could take off at any time. A private collector paid $202,500 for the historic car, one of just 975 produced.
It turns out that the Jaguar I could hardly tear myself away from did not sell during the six-day auction. Shawn Dougan from Hyman Ltd. Classic Cars in St. Louis, said he took it back to his climate-controlled indoor car lot after he did not receive the $49,500 he wants for the car.
So I still have a shot at purchasing it. When I told Dougan the car was too rich for my blood — I drive a 10-year-old Subaru with 294,0000 miles on the odometer — he offered to get me financed. I smiled — I’m a journalist, for goodness sake.
No Jaguars in my driveway.
“That’s actually one of our less expensive cars,” he said.
Yikes.
Later, inside a building with special cars, I discovered an Old English White 1962 Jaguar E-type roadster convertible with a $120,000 price tag. “A car with a sensuous visual presence,” the sign said, “widely considered to be the most attractive car every built.” I stood there a long time admiring that one.
I did find a bronzy pumpkin colored two-door 1958 Ford Edsel — sorry Edsel lovers, but I wrote the word “ugly” in my notebook on that one — that I could afford. I also wrote down “very cool wheel covers” and noted that the owner’s sign on the car’s windshield said it “runs and drives great.” All for $8,500.
I also lingered alongside a silver 1985 Mercedes Benz 380SL roadster with, again, navy leather interior and mahogany wood accents. It had a removable hardtop. Just $7,400.
I wondered if I could attach a chain or something to it and tow it home behind the Subaru.
Then came to my senses.
Got a story to tell about a car or truck? Call 812-331-4362, send an e-mail to lane@heraldt.com or a letter to My Favorite Ride, P.O. Box 909, Bloomington, IN 47402.
by Laura Lane H-T columnist | lane@heraldt.com
September 6, 2008
Vintage cars I can only afford to look at.
AUBURN — It took my breath away, the sea of vintage Cadillacs and Jaguars and Chryslers and Fords and Mercedes Benzes at the 2008 Classic Car Auction & Show last Friday.
Consider me transformed.
I have been saying I would drive three hours north to the show for years, but never got there. But when a catalog of the cars up for sale and a free ticket arrived in the mail here at the newspaper office, I knew it was time.
Kruse International Auction organizers claim there were 5,000 vehicles on hand; I must have seen about 4,000 of them.
Just when I thought I had found my very favorite, I would turn a corner and find another one I loved just as much.
I know it’s difficult to believe, but I was torn between a 1959 baby blue Cadillac (I’m not much for light blue but oh, if you had seen this car . and the keys were right there in the ignition) and a cream-colored 1965 Jaguar XKE 4-speed coupe I would have driven out of there if I could have gotten away with it.
The interior was supple leather, dark blue, and the car had shiny chrome spoke wheels.
Turns out I was shopping way our of my league. No surprise there — my tastes often surpass what’s possible.
For instance, that pretty one-owner Cadillac Eldorado Seville sold on Friday for $26,500. Everything on the car was original — even the separate ashtray and cigarette lighter near the front seat passenger window.
The Clark Oil Co. in Ohio had bought the car new, and had kept in a garage the past 50 years.
Another 1959 Cadillac sold at the auction, one with a once-famous owner. The custom metallic gold Seville Joe DiMaggio bought for Marilyn Monroe was displayed under spotlights.
Inside, a beautifully dressed Marilyn Monroe mannequin with bad hair was at the wheel. The car had every option available and a 345-horsepower engine. It is among the biggest cars ever made, weighing in at 4,835 pounds and featuring art-deco-like tail fins that measure nearly 44 inches high.
It looked like a rocket ship that could take off at any time. A private collector paid $202,500 for the historic car, one of just 975 produced.
It turns out that the Jaguar I could hardly tear myself away from did not sell during the six-day auction. Shawn Dougan from Hyman Ltd. Classic Cars in St. Louis, said he took it back to his climate-controlled indoor car lot after he did not receive the $49,500 he wants for the car.
So I still have a shot at purchasing it. When I told Dougan the car was too rich for my blood — I drive a 10-year-old Subaru with 294,0000 miles on the odometer — he offered to get me financed. I smiled — I’m a journalist, for goodness sake.
No Jaguars in my driveway.
“That’s actually one of our less expensive cars,” he said.
Yikes.
Later, inside a building with special cars, I discovered an Old English White 1962 Jaguar E-type roadster convertible with a $120,000 price tag. “A car with a sensuous visual presence,” the sign said, “widely considered to be the most attractive car every built.” I stood there a long time admiring that one.
I did find a bronzy pumpkin colored two-door 1958 Ford Edsel — sorry Edsel lovers, but I wrote the word “ugly” in my notebook on that one — that I could afford. I also wrote down “very cool wheel covers” and noted that the owner’s sign on the car’s windshield said it “runs and drives great.” All for $8,500.
I also lingered alongside a silver 1985 Mercedes Benz 380SL roadster with, again, navy leather interior and mahogany wood accents. It had a removable hardtop. Just $7,400.
I wondered if I could attach a chain or something to it and tow it home behind the Subaru.
Then came to my senses.
Got a story to tell about a car or truck? Call 812-331-4362, send an e-mail to lane@heraldt.com or a letter to My Favorite Ride, P.O. Box 909, Bloomington, IN 47402.