Art of the Car

Those auctioneer comments are "interesting", and I'm sure he's no stranger to hype, but he should know better. The 250 GTO is iconic, wins or no............it's just hands down got IT, whatever IT is. It's somewhat like the mistake the uninformed make when trying to value a car based on rare alone. A small number of any vehicle being produced doesn't assure higher value.............it's the length of the line of those interested in it, and the depth of the pockets of those in that line, coupled with desirability that drive up the market price. That Hudson Italia is very rare, and somewhat desirable, (and a body made in Italy btw) but will never match the GTO for value.

Thanks Roger. Those were the car designs I drooled over as a kid. My Dad was from Italy, and would import Masseratis, Ferraris, Lancias, Alfa, etc. to sell here in the U.S. As kids we got to ride in some really cool cars, that were high strung to work on! I really like the first yellow Le Mans style racer you posted. Very cool collection, even the Nash!

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Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter

Those auctioneer comments are "interesting", and I'm sure he's no stranger to hype, but he should know better. The 250 GTO is iconic, wins or no............it's just hands down got IT, whatever IT is. It's somewhat like the mistake the uninformed make when trying to value a car based on rare alone. A small number of any vehicle being produced doesn't assure higher value.............it's the length of the line of those interested in it, and the depth of the pockets of those in that line, coupled with desirability that drive up the market price. That Hudson Italia is very rare, and somewhat desirable, (and a body made in Italy btw) but will never match the GTO for value.

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Bob,
I'm not holding the auction guy's comments as truth, but just passed them on as information. I agree that the "provenance" of being "...the last Ferrari to win LeMans..." may not add a dime to the value of the car, but if one, or better yet two or more of those guys with deep pockets happen to attend the sale, and have the desire to say that they own "...the last Ferrari to win LeMans..." then it could indeed affect the price in an extreme positive direction. For me I have a hard time accepting that any car like this is "worth" $30MM! That's just an unimaginable amount of money to lay down for a sports car! Of course, to the guy who has a billion what's $30MM.... It's braggin' rights with his buddies is what it is.

At those prices it ceases to be hardware as we common folk see it.................it transcends to art. If an old Chinese flower pot or a piece of rag with some paint splattered on it can reach those kinds of numbers, why not a car? I may have to rethink my marketing......................

Now now Bob, don't give em any ideas here, geeze look at how much prices have inflated in the last decade, lets not make it any harder to complete a rod! :) ;)
Seriously though, I was at a garage sale looking at some stuff the owner had put out, and asked the price of an old lamp missing the shade with a spliced cord, wrapped in electric tape, we bartered and he went for the price I offered, but right next to it was a beat up old cast iron bell with rust on it that he was calling an antique and asking an outrageous sum for, on close examination it was cheap Chinese junk that he had left out side in the rain for a few seasons to rust, but he was betting the "Patina" would cause people to bite and consider it an antique!