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2007 California Racer Reunion-By Rex McAfee
Arizona Auctions 2007-By Charles Rollins
Upward and Onward into 2007-By Charles Rollins
Say What You Will About California, For Car Guys, We’ve Got It Good
Editor Charles Rollins
An Autocross in San Diego, Pasadena Art Center Open House and Car Show, watch the finish of the Great Race, El Mirage dry lakes racing, Rev-it-up at El Toro, Boyd Coddington’s Open House, or the Pomona Swap Meet. Those are your choices on a typical weekend for the car enthusiast in Southern California. What makes me appreciate this is a recent trip to New York City. Unless you are way into yellow Crown Victorias or Toyota Previa Vans (and now even Ford Escapes), besides Taxis, there is not much to look at on the streets of NYC. Did you know that more then half of the residents of New York City do not even own a car and that percentage climbs to 75% of Manhattan residents. In a four day stint including a 200 mile trip south along the Jersey shore, not a single remarkable car was spotted by yours truly. It sure brought our local circumstances to light.
Take a short drive along Pacific Coast Highway between HB and CDM and not counting the exotics for sale at the car dealers, 8 Bentley Continentals last time I counted, you are sure to see the latest most desirable six figure vehicles currently being produced. Carrera GT, Continental Convertible, Rolls Phantom, Ferrari’s latest, they can all be spotted being driven by regular old non-celebrity locals that have an extra $150K plus burning a hole in their loose fitting shorts. Let’s not even mention the nonstandard Mercedes, (AMG, Brabus, Lorinser) cars sporting an extra couple hundred horses from standard, tricked out interiors and body panels all at a bump of at least $20-$30K. Why spend the extra dough? So it is easier to find your car in the parking lot amongst the scores of stock Mercedes that are sold by one of the many local Benz dealers. Did you know that four local MBZ dealers are in the national top ten ranks?
These cars don’t even need trunk space, owners use the Cayenne or Range Rover if they are going to get groceries or a light bulb over at Home Depot (I told the staff to have that taken care of before the weekend). Where do we keep all these cars, 1.5 cars per licensed driver in the state of CA.? When you live near the bay or on one of the Newport Beach Island communities, a two car garage is a luxury so housing the extra vehicles somewhere else is a necessity. The growing trend among local uber-wealthy or Richistanis is to purchase an industrial unit or condo and turn it into their private car park complete with lounge area and entertainment center. Prices of these off campus “garage/toy bins” range from $750K to easily over $1 million. If this does not appeal to you the you are invited to try one of the recent commercial ventures that supply a parking spot and some built in amenities. Try Crevier Classic Car Co. or Family Classic Cars. For rates around $400 a month per car, your car is someone else’s responsibility until you need it. This actually looks like a deal when compared to a recently published article about a $225,000 parking spot in Manhattan. I will take my detached two car garage thank you and learn to live with that.
If you enjoy remarkable cars then living in Southern California is unmatched. Next time you have out of town guests or relatives visiting and they give you the least hint that they appreciate classic or exotic cars, treat them to some of the local talent at Donut Derelicts or Cars and Coffee at Ford PAG in Irvine. Don’t leave out the kids, we need to propagate the next generation of car nut, but go easy on them, don’t burn them out, let their affection grow into a true passion. Don’t make them a trained monkey to entertain and impress dad’s car centric friends. Regardless of how the rest of the country views SoCal, cars are as much a part of our culture as corn is to Iowa and taxis are to NYC. With the wide open spaces that California has to offer (just outside most urban areas) cars and personal transportation have always been a part or our lifestyle. The first freeway was built here and smog was coined in referance to the LA Basins’ brownish air. Hot Rods, Drag Racing, Custom Cars, & Lowriders were all born right here and Southern California continues to be the cutting edge of trends and styles. Every reason to be proud of our history and four wheel culture. Enjoy the scenery, the local roads, and of course the local cars. We’ve got it good!
Steve Fossett, Just over the horizon.
Growing up in nearby Garden Grove, California, Steve Fossett nutured his adventurous spirit while in the Boy Scouts. Hiking in the local mountains including climbing San Gorgonio and San Jacento peaks as early as age 12, Fossett acknoledged that Scouting was his most important activity of his youth. made his fortune in ChicagoAdventurer and Daredevil Steve Fossett purchased the property of Craig Breedlove’s “Sprit of America” LSR team in Arguably the #1 Glider and #1 Aviator in the world, Fossett holds 116 land and air speed and endurance records.
October 2006: Announces plans to beat the 763 mph land-speed record with a jet-powered vehicle racing on the Black Rock Desert. The record was set in 1997 in Nevada's Black Rock Desert by Britain's Andy Green. Fossett said he plans to go more 800 mph.Aug. 14: Fossett tells the Salt Lake Tribune that his "Target 800 MPH" project plans a run for the land-speed record in 2008 but that his S&S LM-500 turbojet powered race is almost completed in his Sparks workshop. He says he is planning a shakedown run by Sept. 26.Fossett’s small plane disappeared Monday as he was scouting dry lake beds in western Nevada, apparently searching for an optimum spot to set a world land speed record.Fossett already had sought approval from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to use a 15-mile-long playa in remote east-central Nevada, said Chris Worthington, a bureau spokesman in Battle Mountain. Fossett’s Marathon Racing Inc. had applied for a special recreation permit earlier this year in anticipation of making a run in Eureka County, about 225 miles east of Reno and 200 miles from where crews are searching for Fossett’s plane. Just last week, the bureau announced it had completed an environmental assessment of Fossett’s plan and would seek public comment this month. Civil Air Patrol Maj. Cynthia S. Ryan said authorities were told Fossett took off on Monday to scout sites he could use for testing. That puzzled Worthington. “That was news to me because he already found this lake bed some time ago, unless he was looking for a backup later on,” he said. Fossett had considered taking low-speed test runs of a turbojet-powered racer at Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats in anticipation of his attempt to set a land speed record. Instead, he decided to go for the record on the Diamond Valley Playa northeast of Eureka, which is relatively pristine, Worthington said. Briton Andy Green set the record of 766.6 mph in October 1997 in the Black Rock Desert 90 miles north of Reno, the same place more than 48,000 people gathered last week for the Burning Man counterculture festival. Fossett hoped his Sonic Arrow vehicle would be capable of exceeding 800 mph. Worthington said he spoke with Fossett as recently as last week. He said the adventurer thought Utah’s salt flats were too soft and the Black Rock Desert too rutted from use, so he chose the Eureka County site. Fossett suggested he would not attempt to break the record this year, but rather spend time removing rocks from the dry lake bed and improving an access road, Worthington said. “I was talking to him only last week, and everything was going great,” he said.In late 2006, Fossett said he planned to smash the 763 mph land-speed record, rocketing up to 800 mph in a jet-powered vehicle on the Black Rock Desert. The 47-foot-long, 9,000-pound vehicle Fossett plans to drive into the record books is warehoused in Sparks, five-time land speed record-holder Craig Breedlove said from his Reno home. Eric Ahlstrom, Fossett's project director and aerodynamicist, lives in Spanish Springs. Breedlove designed and built the car for an unsuccessful 1996/97 land-speed-record campaign. "He purchased the Spirit of America car from us about 12 months ago," Breedlove said. "When I sold him the car, we had run out of funds to complete it." Breedlove, who moved to Reno 18 months ago, said he was at a doctor's office Tuesday morning being prepped for cataract surgery when he heard that Fossett is missing. "I'm pretty dismayed," the 70-year-old said. "I certainly hope that there is a good outcome." He said he knows Fossett's car -- with its single, after-burning J-79 turbojet developing 22,650 pounds of thrust, formerly fitted to an Air Force F-4 Phantom fighter-bomber -- is capable of breaking the existing record. "It's a very fast car," he said. "Our goal now is to help Steve get the record. Hopefully that will still happen."
2007 California Racer Reunion
By Rex McAfee
The “heavies” were out in numbers at Hila Sweet’s 15th annual California Racer Reunion. What started out 15 years ago as a bunch of Jalopy racers gathering to relive stories has morphed into a “must attend” event for those connected to Southern California’s rich history in motor sports. Hila, a veteran racer herself with an astonishing record of 58 consecutive wins, was once married to Ummie Paulson, an early supporter of Parnelli Jones. Today, she works hard at organizing the annual event and it certainly shows; approximately 300 people were on hand for this year’s reunion. As for the venue, Joe’s Garage in Tustin couldn’t be more suited with its collection of race cars, murals and memorabilia. Those present enjoying the food and camaraderie included engine building legend Art Chrisman, Indy 500 winner Parnelli Jones , and well known southland motor-sports fixtures J.C. Agajanian Jr. and Ed Iskenderian.
As always, this year’s event formally honored a few individuals for their outstanding contributions in the motor-sports world. Those honored were Joe Henning, Dean Jeffries, Bob McCoy, Joe Scalzo, and Greg Sharp. Joe is known best for his speedway announcing and promotional work, including his stint as manager for Bakersfield Speedway. Dean is a legend in automotive custom painting, and painted A.J. Foyt’s race cars for almost 30 years, not to mention being credited for painting “Little Bastard” on James Dean’s ill fated Porsche Spyder. McCoy is an ex-racer from both the drags and oval dirt tracks where he used to race the “big cars” side by side with Andretti, Unser, and Foyt. Scalzo is a long time motor-sports journalist who recently published the book “City of Speed” covering much of LA’s roots in racing. As for Greg Sharp, he is one of LA’s most noted historians on hot rods and the custom car culture.
One of the main ingredients to this event’s success is its emphasis on a short presentation, leaving lots of time for people to catch up with old friends. While cars come and go, the people we share our pasts with only seem to dwindle, which is why the opportunity to “bench race” with faces from the past keeps Hila Sweet’s guests keep on coming back year after year.
Photos HERE
Arizona Auctions 2007
The phrase, “where the cars are the stars” is most appropriate for the spectacle which is the cluster of four January auctions that happen in Arizona each year. Headlined by the oldest and largest of the four, Barrett-Jackson (now in it’s 36th year), Russo Steele (noted Muscle Car centric auction, a breakaway auction from B-J), RM, (still packing them in at the prestigious Biltmore Hotel) and the Silver Auction in Fort McDowell. Bench-Racing was able to attend three of the four events and we are happy to share with you our insights and photos.
What was once a venue dominated by Classic American Cars, 50’s Cars, and the occasional Ferrari or Gullwing Mercedes, Barrett- Jackson presented 1200 cars for a six day feeding frenzy of buyers and sellers. In addition to the cars up for auction, a separate Pavilion (tent) held 60+ cars that were for sale outright, many of which already posted sold signs by mid-day Thursday. A very cool early 50’s Chevy “Carryall””, better known as a Suburban, was either modified or originally manufactured as a mobile vegetable wagon, complete with wooden bins and roll-up side curtains. Unfortunately the truck was covered with a plastic drop cloth preventing us from snapping a decent picture. Also, the cars that had been sold had the description cards removed so we could not record the sale price for reporting here.
Easily 60% of the cars entered into the auction were late 60’s to early 70’s American cars, a disproportionate amount of cars from the Muscle Car category. Few and far between was a verifiable American car from the 20’s or 30’s. Many custom cars and hot rods were available, most which eventually sold for near or below actual restoration/customization costs (not to mention the cost of vehicle acquisition). Tony Stewart (NASCAR) missed his chance when he gave up bidding on a ‘64 Chevy Impala with a trick streamlined roof (a donor from a 1960 Plymouth Fury, my first car) that visually worked so well it probably had the original designers scratching their heads. I think that car was so stunning that it should have won an award. There was a consistent crowd around the car much like the Best of Show candidates at Pebble Beach. Volkswagens were very well represented with Ghias, Things, Microbus’s, and over-optioned early Beetles. In the past a single 21 or 23 window Microbus and a Beetle convertible was the norm. A handful of actual vintage race cars, a few pseudo boy racer types (stripes and a roll bar), and a pocketful of Microcars rounded out the field. On Friday, a Fiat Jolly was won with an $82,000 bid. It must have been pregnant with twins or triplets to justify the price.
Star power of the Celebrity kind was also present at B-J: Reggie Jackson of course, Goldberg the wrestler, Coddington, NASCAR drivers Tony Stewart, PJ Jones and Jimmy Spencer, Pamela Anderson (selling a ‘59 Caddy that she had given to ex-husband Kid Rock), a goofy Stalone look alike and a couple of Elvis impersonators.
After a revealing episode of “Life on the Block” telling most of the story behind the sale/no sale of the GM Futureliner in 2006, it was very apparent that the orders from the top were heavy regarding verifying which bidder is bidding and exactly how much they are bidding. A few too many times the fast paced and amazingly orchestrated auction came to a screeching halt when any hint of fogginess regarding who had the bid and did the tote board have the correct price posted. I believe these issues were quickly rectified but it was awkward to say the least. A few times Craig Jackson flew off the main podium to get into someone’s face about what, I don’t know. You would think he could delegate these unimportant tasks to some capable employee instead of openly revealing his hot headed tendencies.
If you take note, the large framework/trellis is missing from the main stage and the ramp has been shortened. A huge (maybe 30 by 20 foot) light box was erected directly over the car that was on the block, the box concealed by a large banner. The purpose of this diffuser was to compliment the cars with a flood of natural light vs. the sodium lights in the tent tweaking the actual color of the car. This light box really made the cars “Pop” when in position and the SPEEDTV personal did not have to continually make comments about the actual color of the car vs. how the car was appearing on the Tele. Total hours of auction coverage by SPEED was increased again and kudos to you SPEED for putting Mike Joy and Steve Magnante on stage. These guys are real fountains of information and only contribute to the promotion of the collector car hobby. I don’t miss Alan deCadenet and his UK colloquialisms, “Look at the massive lump under the hood of this fabulous motorcar”. I don’t need cute at a car auction, just speak English Mr. Know-it-all. A new large night club themed tent was added complete with live bands along with scores of vendor tents selling everything from car hoists to artwork. Ford Motor Company has replaced Chrysler as the event sponsor and a live dyno drag strip was set up inside the main vendor tent where two “drivers” of tethered Mustangs competed side by side.
Although record auction totals were reached, it was more a result of lots of cars sold near the $100K mark instead of several multimillion dollar cars being sold. An incoming tide raises all ships and this was the case as $20,000-$40,000 cars seemed to be bargains when in actuality those cars were sometimes sold at twice book value. A new development was the increase in female bidders going toe to toe with the guys. Sorry for my chauvinism but I just don’t remember women bidders in the past and I thought I would point that out. Making a huge general statement, the overwhelming majority of cars presented at Barrett-Jackson were top drawer restorations. The kind of no excuses car that is capable of getting “all the money” and maybe a little more on the right day. Which day was the right day? Everyday packed a huge crowd at the West World location regardless of the weather (rain, high winds, cold, etc.) and I will stick to my crowd guesstimate from last year that the Barrett-Jackson auction is attended by 90% tire kickers and 10% bidders. What the heck? It’s a great car show with some of the best Reality TV thrown in. Real live drama of extremely desirable cars being sold, all at no reserve.
Russo and Steele expanded again this year with five days and 500 cars. At the same location, a stones throw from B-J right off the freeway at Scottsdale Rd. this auction strives to be known as a Muscle Car auction. All cars were under tents and “Free Shipping” was offered. What a great marketing idea! The crowd was more manageable and the overall vibe was much more laid back. Sellers were available and approachable and on site inspections were much easier. Example, the owner of an EMW, that’s right EMW not BMW had plenty of time to enlighten us about the car he had brought to the auction only interrupting to take a call from Germany on his cell. EMW produced around 125 cars post W.W.II, basically it was a BMW that got caught behind the Berlin wall. A lack of market for high line cars in East Germany made for the short lived production. A very well done Cobra Daytona Coupe replica was available and several examples of the Shelby Mustang GT 350’s gave plenty of opportunity to scratch that itch. Russo Steele did a great job landing a handful of retired drag cars. If your passion was drag racing, even when standing still these cars evoke strong emotions. There was even a Munster Coach claimed to be the third made by Barris for display purposes.
As was the case last year, several examples of like vehicles left me to wonder if there was not going to be a buying opportunity amongst the auction lots. Once the first one or two of these like cars are auctioned, the players might be all done or spent and the remaining lots could be had for reasonable prices. Lots of late 60’s Camaro’s, plenty of Mopar muscle, and some tasteful Hot Rods (some dated and not so tasteful). Because this is not a “No Reserve” auction, sellers could hold out for a predetermined price but like it or not, with lots of qualified bidders in the seats, the price achieved at auction is for all intents and purposes the market price. Regardless of how thick your pile of receipts may be, sellers should have the guts to put it all on the line and offer their cars at “No Reserve“. The excitement and bidding wars of B-J are what they are because someone will be going home with the car. Placing a reserve may let the seller sleep at night but it may also put off potential bidders from filling the seats and getting caught up in the moment. Bidders regularly exceed their pre-auction limits and also end up bidding on lots they originally might not have considered. Top seller of this auction was a
Again taking up residence at the Biltmore was the classy RM Auction house headed by New Englander Rob Meyer. 120 cars were brought together for the noticeably “mature” group of attendees. Moving to a larger ballroom at the Biltmore, the auction succeeded in selling $ worth of cars representing a % sell rate. RM was the weekends winner for variety which ranged from turn of the century Rolls Royce to the pinnacle of Muscle Car world, a 1971 Hemi Cuda Convertible (one of 11 produced). Six vintage Rolls/Bentley’s from the collection of were successfully sold (no reserve) including a pair of very sexy Henley coupes, and a few other brass era cars including a Ford Model T roadster that went for $82,000 and the oldest known Ford, a 1903 Model A achieved a unprecedented winning bid.
The caliber of the cars offered improved from last year and the Cuda shared the stage with several other stars. A competition Cobra ($), a Porsche RS61 ($), the last Dusenberg chassis manufactured and fitted with stunning coachwork ($), a Le Mans winning Porsche 9 ($), We missed the opulent display of diamonds and there was very little going on besides the auction itself. Not a bad thing but significant others need diversions while their bidder partners are anchored to a folding chair for five hours. The rain made for diminished viewing prior to the auction, the cars were parked out of the weather in an adjacent but dark and cold parking structure. A diligent bidder should not have waited until the day of the sale to do their pre-auction inspections.
RM has used the same auctioneer for years and his delivery is slow and deliberate with an occasional joke or barb shot at the bidders. Talk about pregnant pauses, when the Hemi Cuda Convertible was on the block and bidding had reached $2 million, the auction basically came to a stop until the next bid came ($100K bid increments). After maybe a five minute break, the bid went to $2.1. Finally, with the bid sitting at $2.2 the reserve was declared lifted and the car was hammered sold. When the Duesenberg was sold, the bidding opened at $1 million and progressed in four successive $250K increments until the bid reached $2 million. Bidding then progressed in $100K increments and the car was sold for $2.5 million. These prices do not include buyers premium and even though some cars had a reserve, the tote board indicated when the reserve was reached and the auctioneer seconded this by stating, “the car is now selling here today”. Some minor criticisms, the overhead monitors were useless as the picture quality was dark and at times indiscernible, and the placement of the staging put the car at such a low angle that the only way to actually view the car on the block was to stand up. The layout of the seating and staging might have looked good on paper but the strange wedge shape made for very few good seats with others literally sitting out in left field, no one was allowed on the stage. As Barrett-Jackson is a casual event with a fair like atmosphere, RM attracted a well dressed crowd of men and women aged late 40’s to late 60’s, most looking capable of plunking down serious cash but not well behaved enough to speak in hushed tones or observe reasonable cell phone etiquette. At times the chatter in the room was distracting, the only thing that could quiet them down was when the bid price reached $500K+. Look for a replay of auction highlights on ESPN Classic as they had a crew there filming the event. Need a dose of deCandenet? Well ole chap, just tune in and enjoy his classic insight and lively UK banter.
Once again Arizona dished up some great auction moments and for the third year in a row offered some extreme weather including some snow falling on Phoenix on Saturday night and Sunday morning. Warm shirt sleeve weather on Thursday gave way to rain, cold and windy weather by Saturday not to mention the mud and standing water. Most of the parking for these auctions are temporary dirt lots scraped flat and lightly sprinkled by a water truck. These quickly turned into mud holes with large puddles and rivers which made travel to and from your car a journey comparable to an expedition especially when leaving the event late at night.
Even though I have pointed out a few negatives from these events, there were lots of positives. There is no place for the car guy to be other then Arizona in January. If not to hunt for cars then to hook up with your other car pals and compare opinions and enjoy the cars on display. Again I will say that this is an excellent opportunity for persons new to the collector car hobby to look at literally a couple thousand cars, allowing them to narrow down their areas of interest and even get down to the level of year/make/ and model of car they might become interested in acquiring in the future. Take your time, leave your bank line of credit at home, and plant your hands firmly under your backside and sit down and watch how it all goes down. Educate yourself first before you execute. Remember that it is much easier to buy then to sell. There are plenty of old cars out there and lots of buying opportunities remain.
Thanks to our hosts at Barrett-Jackson, Russo and Steele, and RM Auctions for their information, access and accommodations. Special shout out to our Arizona transportation manager George Brenner for knowing all the shortcuts in town.
Charles Rollins
Editor
Bench-Racing.com
Upward on onward into 2007.
The year started with our 4th Annual New Year’s Day Tour. 250+ cars, great weather and a good two lane route through the OC. It was really cool to see all sorts of cars represented, sometimes the hobby gets a little cliquish and segregated. Plenty on reasons to do it again next year. Day two of 2007 found me at my friendly dentist’s office getting a crown on one of my molars. The temporary crown is chrome (maybe silver but to me it’s chrome). Maybe they can cast my permanent one in white gold, sort of an aftermarket/custom built tooth. Probably the closest thing to a tattoo I will ever get.
Looking back at 2006, the top automotive stories included:
The multimillion dollar GMC Futureliner bus sold at Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale auction. Rumors swirled about a remorseful buyer the weaseled his way out of the purchase. No retraction by B-J. A special edition on Speed TV will tell some of the real story.
The eBay Ferrari. Displayed at several locations and one heck of a story.
Detroit automakers hemorrhage billions of dollars in losses.
The Gizmondo crook that crashed an Enzo on PCH and blamed it on mystery man Dietrich.
Michael Schumacher’s retirement from F1. What will F1 be like without him, we shall see.
Sebastian Bordeis wins his 2nd or 3rd consecutive CART/Champ Car title. Anyone notice?
Marco Andretti almost pulls off a huge victory at Indy.
Indiana boys win the Brickyard (Stewart) and the 500 (Hornish).
NHRA Championships come down to the wire. NASCAR style playoffs start next year, maybe they should not have messed with it?
Adelphia cable succumbs to Time Warner. Time Warner moves SPEED to digital, viewers must get a digital box, one for each television. Must make dish or cable commitment or start a petition to get SPEED back on one of the regular cable channels. Anyone else in this mess?
When you are young, the calendar year is laid out by holidays. Christmas, Easter, summer vacation, Thanksgiving. As an older child, I now lay out my year by car events. January: Scottsdale Auctions and the AMBR Roadster Show @ Pomona. February: Winternationals. March: the start of the open wheel racing season (at least I still watch F1, holding a candle still for IRL and Champ Car). April: No Frills Iron Bottom Motoring Tour (three days of four wheeled Nirvana). May: Indy 500. August: Monterey Historics, The Quail, and Pebble Beach Concours, Bonneville Speed Week. September: Crusin’ for a Cure. October: Newport Concours, World of Speed Bonneville. November: SEMA Show and Carrera California. December: LA Auto Show.
What will 2007 bring? More Hybrid cars, a new all time auction price for a ‘71 Cuda Hemi Convertible, the roar of Indy Roadsters at Laguna Seca, more versions of the Ford Mustang. What new buzz words will come out of Scottsdale? Pro Touring, Restomod, Musclemod, Survivor, Tribute car, I can't wait to over use it. Keep the faith, maybe this is your year for the illusive Barn Find.
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