Art of the Car

I was a volunteer at the 2013 Art of the Car Concours event this past Sunday, arriving at the KC Art Institute at 6am to help get the cars checked in and parked in their assigned spots for display. This show is limited to factory originals, or purpose built racers. Some high dollar pieces were present, and some very cool historical racers like the bright yellow birdcage Maserati, the bright red Bandini, and the silver Jag among others. No hot rods allowed in this show, so I'm just posting a link to a PhotoBucket album vs posting images - may not be too many interested in these....:)
2013 Art Of The Car Concours Photos by rlspears | Photobucket

Some very nice cars there Roger, thanks for the pics!!!!

Nice pics--I like looking at the hood emblems(from swans to rockets(used to have a basket full of the ones I had removed to lead in the holes when SHAVING the emblems and door handles))

Always am showing Robin the differances in hood/trunk emblems, door handles, bumperettes, grill teeth----


That pic of the green car with two tires on the trunk should give you guys an idea of how to handle those issues from that other post a few days ago---------

Nice job Roger-------

Nice selection of cars. Thanks.

Last few years I've gotten to like those Nash-Healeys.

Thanks for sharing and High dollar may be an UNDERESTIMATE on some of those

Thanks for sharing those Roger. Who made all the wheel chocks? LOL..

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Originally Posted by 34_40

Thanks for sharing those Roger. Who made all the wheel chocks? LOL..

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I think one of the volunteers made them - quite nice, 6x6 blocks about a foot long with a nice radius cut ramp. I told them if they wanted something from me they would be 4x4 cut at a 45, to get two blocks from one cut!!

Fuc.... stupid site....... I had written a note of thanks and the site wouldn't allow me to post so stuff it.
I wanted to say thanks for posting the link and wonder which car won ..

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Originally Posted by Whiplash23T

Fuc.... stupid site....... I had written a note of thanks and the site wouldn't allow me to post so stuff it.
I wanted to say thanks for posting the link and wonder which car won ..

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Whip, as a volunteer at the event I did not see, nor did I pay attention to, the people's choice process or the "awards". This is kind of a unique "Concours", as the guy who makes it happen felt that at the big events like Pebble Beach and Amelia Island they spend big $$$ paying travel & lodging for a big bunch of judges, and in the end a large part of the group is angry with the judges so he eliminated the whole judging process. There is no formal judging against originality, fit & finish, etc, but each person paying to come in for the show gets a ballot, and those determine which of the cars get recognized as "favorites". Trophies are hand made by the Art Institute students, and are quite unique! I feel quite sure that had they been liberal enough to allow bad boy hot rods in the show I would have had Best of Show :LOL::LOL::LOL::p:rolleyes::rolleyes::p:p:p

Crikey!
Thanks Roger; some nice cars there alright, and very diverse.

Even a wee Morris Minor!

Good stuff Rog............no hot rods, but some hot rod material. I enjoy a display like this as well, and it was a pretty diverse lot.

Thanks for the great shots Roger!

Love that Hudson!!!!

...but the corvair?

P.S. The cars looked to be laid out with lots of strolling/looking room!


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Originally Posted by Hot Rod Surfer

Thanks for the great shots Roger!

Love that Hudson!!!!

...but the corvair?


P.S. The cars looked to be laid out with lots of strolling/looking room!

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It's an "Invitation Only" event, limited to the number that fit the space as opposed to lining them up for max numbers - indeed a well organized showing.

I had opportunity to look at the Corvair wagon and talk to the owner (he arrived before his assigned time, and had to pull to the side for a while because his spot blocked access to other places), and it is a very, very nicely done restoration. The paint work is top notch, and not a speck of dirt or grime anywhere! Not sure why someone goes to that much time and money on an OEM Corvair, but it's a beauty!

One of the people attending was a principal at one of the regional auction houses, and he provided some comments on a couple of the cars that were shown, the Birdcage Maserati and the 250 GTO Ferrari, which happened to be documented as the last Ferrari to win LeMans.

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The last publicly sold Tipo 61 (Birdcage) Maserati fetched a tidy $3,795,000. U.S. back in 2010 - that was chassis 2040. Of late, a private party sale for a 2.8 liter car achieved $4.2M.
Now, about the Ferrari. I think it was 12 or 15 years ago a 250 GTO was offered for public (auction) sale for $7 or $8,000,000 and did not sell.
Then in 2008 two 250 LM’s sold ( #6173 & # 5845) for about$4Mill and $7million respectively. In the last 5 years, everything has changed ( and I’m not talking politics) We now know that private sales for the last of three 250 GTOs to sell realized the established trading figure of $30,000,000. So, here’s the speculation, if a 250 GTO, which is one of the most magnificent cars ever built by Ferrari, but which NEVER won a race is now worth $30,000,000 then how much is the 250 LM which WON Le Mans (and several other races) and is THE LAST Ferrari to win Le Mans worth??? Boggles the mind doesn’t it.

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What a wonderfully diverse, eclectic collection of Cars! Very impressive and tasty. Isn't the yellow one a birdcage Maserati? You certainly know how to use a Camera (love how you framed things)-I would have liked to attend this event-

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!