“SOLD!” Attending my first classic-car auction

Car enthusiasts and collectors from around the globe have gathered en masse in Monterey, California, for the sixty-first Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance this weekend. One­—or rather, five—of the biggest attractions are the various accompanying auctions that blanket the Monterey Peninsula from today through Sunday, from the likes of Bonhams, Gooding & Company, Mecum Auctions, RM Auctions, and Russo and Steele.

A few weeks ago, I attended my first-ever vintage-car auction at The Inn at Saint John’s, an RM-sanctioned sale that was paired with the inaugural Concours d’Elegance of America in Plymouth, Michigan, an event that was formerly held at Meadow Brook Hall in nearby Rochester.

The strangest and perhaps most interesting car on offer was a 1939 Pontiac whose body panels were constructed exclusively of Plexiglas. This truly unique ride sold for $308,000 and even got some coverage in mass media such as NPR, Yahoo!, and the New York Times. But what impressed me the most was the RM staff’s extreme efficiency at keeping the cars moving across the block. The first car, an fairly unremarkable 1976 Cadillac Fleetwood, drove into the Grande Ballroom through wide double doors, immediately up a short ramp, and onto the stage. As soon as the car was centered on the turntable, its driver keyed it off so that its engine didn’t add to the commotion in the room or drown out the auctioneer’s voice. The Cadillac spun 180 degrees on the turntable and was soon pushed—by four or five workers—off the stage and downhill on the same ramp. Only once it had rolled outside did its driver restart the engine so he could pilot it to a parking spot under a large outdoor tent. As soon as the Cadillac was hammered SOLD—bidding usually continues after the car has left the room—the next offering (a 1974 Triumph TR6) was placed into first gear and swiftly driven into the building and up onto the same stage. That process happened about seventy more times with different cars over the course of the next few hours.

Most auction attendees probably don’t pay too much attention to the staging process, though, because auctioneer Max Girardo is so adept at getting and holding people’s attention. This Australian doesn’t use the double-speak that I’m familiar with hearing at farm and estate sales in rural Michigan. Instead, he speaks the bids slowly and clearly, a cheerleaderlike permasmile on his face, filling the pauses with amusing (and lightheartedly pressuring) comments like these:

“Let’s say $50,000—we’re all behind you!”

“Go on—I dare you!”

“Don’t stop bidding … why would you want to do that?!”

“Bid to your happiness!”

“I would bid again if I was you, sir.”

“I want you to have it. You deserve to have it!”

“The phones are winning. They’re leaving you behind!”

“It’s gotta be worth that … ”

“Why not? Do it!”

“It’s worth your while—I guarantee it!”

“Don’t say ‘no’ today.”

“It’s slipping away from you, sir.”

“It’s only $25,000—forget the million bit.”

Check out the December issue of Automobile Magazine—on sale around Halloween—for contributor Dave Kinney’s extensive report on the auction results at Pebble Beach. He’ll cover the Saint John’s sale in our November issue.

While at the RM Auction, I ran into Hagerty's Jonathan Klinger, whose 1930 Ford Model A is the subject of 365daysofa.com and was featured in our July 2011 issue. I enjoyed driving it around the parking lot but wished I had more time and space to get the hang of nonsynchro shifting into second or third gear.

The top seller at Saint John’s was this 1932 Packard Twin Six Individual Custom Convertible, which sold for $1.1 million The obligatory Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, in this case a 1955 model that sold for $676,500 The 1939 Pontiac ‘Ghost Car’ back in the day 1939 Pontiac Deluxe Six “Ghost Car,” before the auction
The Pontiac “Ghost Car” goes across the block Auctioneer Max Girardo (left) is often a blur at the RM Auctions podium A 1954 Kaiser-Darrin drives up onto the stage The Kaiser-Darrin rolls out of the ballroom, making room for the next car in line
A 1951 Jaguar XK120 gets ready to enter the ballroom Some already-offered cars staged beneath the Grande Ballroom awning at the Inn at Saint John’s The staging area outside the RM Auction, including cars, tent, and trailer While at the RM Auction, I ran into Hagerty’s Jonathan Klinger, whose 1930 Ford Model A is the subject of 365daysofa.com and was featured in our July 2011 issue. I enjoyed driving it around the parking lot but wished I had more time and space to get the hang of nonsynchro shifting into second or third gear.

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Frankfurt 2011: Our Favorite Finds — Jason Cammisa

Our editors have been plenty busy scouring the show floor of the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show — but in between running to and from press conferences and battling spotty Wi-Fi connections, they picked their three favorite concept and production cars at the show.

Jason Cammisa, West Coast Editor

Peugeot HX-1

Yes I’m a sucker for wagons but that’s not why I picked the Peugeot. I picked it because I about fell over when I saw it. It’s gorgeous. And while I’m intrigued that it has either two or three rows of seats and is only as tall as my knees, the truth is that none of that matters. The French once designed the most beautiful car in the world (Citroën DS, I’m talking to you) and I think it’s about time a car makes the world stop and stare again. This one could do it.

Ford Evos

The Evos shows like less of a new design language than an evolution of Kinetic design but let’s face it – the Kinetic cars are pretty darn hot. And I think we’ll look back at this car (and the similar looking Jaguar XJ) as the beginning of the end of enormous headlights. Of which, ironically, the bigger offenders were the original Kinetic cars. Three cheers for irony, especially when it looks so good.

BMW i8

Amidst all the bad news about terrorism and economic collapse and pollution here’s some good news. This is what I want my future to look like.

PRODUCTION CARS

Porsche 911

I don’t care that you can’t tell it apart from the last 911. That’s the point. It’s a 911 and this is what a 911 looks like.  Except the back looks concept-car awesome. And let’s be honest-that’s what you’ll be seeing after it blows by you.

Mazda CX-5

I haven’t yet seen my co-workers’ choices but im guessing I’m alone in my nomination of the new Mazda crossover as a favorite. I like the CX-5 because it’s cute without looking cheap, it has boatloads of room inside, and if it’s anything like Mazda’s existing crossovers, it’ll be best-in-class to drive. But above all, it doesn’t smack you in the face with a stupid smile.

Volkswagen Beetle R

OK, so VW calls it a concept, but c’mon — this is clearly a preview of an upcoming production model. As for the car itself? If TV’s Carson Cressly, made famous by being the least manly of the Queer Eyes guys, suddenly became a professional boxer and beat Mike Tyson into a persistent vegetative state, you’d root for him too. ‘Nuff said.

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A Heavy-Duty Perspective

Amidst the usual stream of crossovers, sedans, and two-doors passing through the Automobile Magazine garage, a heavy-duty truck is an anomaly. The slow steering, the graceless ride, and the hard-shifting transmission are strange qualities for a modern four-wheeled vehicle, even if they are the designed-in traits of massive capability. Every time we drive a heavy-duty pickup, we’re keenly aware that this segment requires a unique mindset more so than a minivan, a Ferrari, or a Can-Am Spyder. Actually, no. There’s nothing more queer than a three-wheeler. Even so, a little perspective on the heavy-duty truck is always helpful in evaluating these brutes.

To that end, I was grateful for the four-day span during which I split time between a Ford F-250 Super Duty and a hairy commercial truck. The Ford’s foil, a twenty-foot box truck, wasn’t just a U-Haul emblazoned with come-ons to the motoring middle class (Air conditioning! Automatic transmission! Lowest load deck!), but an International chassis-cab complete with an air-suspension driver’s seat, a six-speed crash box, and a hydraulic lift.

Before I could drive the International, I had to rent it. And that proved to be nearly as entertaining as getting behind the wheel. If reality TV ever becomes so desperate that it takes interest in the dynamic truck rental scene, Mike at Star Truck Rentals will undoubtedly land on the cast. He is loud, cheerful, and animated, with a Midwestern friendliness that could be confused for naïveté. Insurance on the truck will cost 29 percent, he informs me but it’s never totally clear 29 percent of what. When I ask him if that covers just the listed driver or anyone, he answers by clapping his hands over his ears and singing like a child: “LA LA LA!” But the most interesting exchange with Mike, who has a mustache as wide as his glasses, comes when I ask him whether I need to fill the truck’s fuel tank before I return it.

Mike advises: “If you put any diesel in it, bring me a receipt, because this is a CDL vehicle.”

“I don’t have a CDL. Is that a problem?”

“Not if you bring me the gas receipts.”

Having completed Mike’s version of commercial driver training, I’m now qualified to drive the rented rig. I’m not sure what exactly is under the hood, but it is most definitely a diesel and it creates a soundtrack clearly intended to mask how slow it is. The usable power band stretches from 1500 to just 2500 rpm, at which point power doesn’t just taper off, it instantly evaporates. Acceleration doesn’t exist at anything less than full throttle and even then I still find myself apologizing to those behind me as I lead parades of traffic through every intersection. The anxiety of driving such a slow vehicle puts me on edge such that I feel the need to hurry everything I can control. I’m hyper attentive to changing traffic lights, I’m reluctant to slow to recommended speeds for curves, and I feel the need to execute gear changes like I’m running a quarter-mile. That last effort is, of course, exactly the wrong move. The International’s manual gearbox is an unsynchronized, sliding-mesh affair, which is to say each shift requires patience and a touch of finesse to perform smoothly. Instead, I’m hurrying through shifts–grinding, grinding, grinding–until the three-foot long stick finally falls into place and the transmission clunks into second. I eventually get a hang of the shift technique, but I never quite master the wooden brake pedal, which has neither travel nor feel. Consequently, every stop starts and ends with an abrupt lurch.

All of this turns out to be great, novel fun. It also greatly skews my perspective of the F-250. When did Rolls-Royce start building pickup trucks? The driver’s seat adjustment in the International doesn’t work, so I’m constantly pounding against the bottom of the seat’s travel. And in contrast with that, the Ford feels utterly limo-like. Things get even better once I  load 600 pounds of water into the bed, introducing some weight to the stout rear leaf springs. The F-250 uses a 6.7-liter, turbo-diesel V-8 with a stratospheric 4200-rpm fuel cutoff and can punch out 800 lb-ft of torque at just 1600 rpm. Apologies are now in order for every driver that I embarrassed at each stoplight. Then there’s the six-speed automatic, which now presents itself as soft and tame compared to the surly manual in the International. In conjunction with comfort features like dual-zone climate control, heated and ventilated front seats, and satellite radio, the Super Duty’s civility is actually quite shocking. Compared to a commercial truck, the Super Duty is a common passenger vehicle. But compared to a car, it’s not just any passenger vehicle–it’s one with a 14,000-pound towing capacity and 3190-pound maximum payload.

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Pagani Huayra Makes its U.S. Debut in Los Angeles

What really gets me about the Pagani Huayra are the leaf-like side mirrors, glancing away from the bodywork like errant shots on goal. These flourishes are within the European artistic tradition, bringing to mind Picasso’s crazy faces or Modigliani’s stretched women. When everybody else is trying to make mirrors disappear for aerodynamic purposes, replacing them with rear-facing video cameras, Horacio Pagani, a short guy with a great head of silver hair and a penchant for quoting Leonardo da Vinci, comes along and sticks out mirrors so they can cleanse California hillsides of skateboarders.

Of course, the rest of the Huayra really gets me, too. First of all, there’s the fact that the name Huayra is pronounced “WHY-ra,” as if someone’s challenging the Egyptian deity. As it turns out, although the car is made in Modena, using up a lot of electricity to bake its carbon fiber chassis, Pagani himself is originally from Argentina, where he would’ve learned about the Andean god of wind, Huayra Tata.

Rather than Huayra commanding the waters of Lake Titicaca to rain down upon the parched earth, what we got Thursday at the mid-engine supercar’s North American debut at Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design was a good, close look at one of the most OCD roadburners this side of a Chip Foose streetrod.

While the exterior suggests snippets of McLaren and Panoz, the cockpit and engine bay offer more originality. Specifically, the instrument panel suggests the cosmic pileup between a Wurlitzer jukebox and a jewelry shop. And the powerplant, a twin-turbo 6.0-liter V-12 supplied by Mercedes-AMG, seems to have been commissioned by a Medici prince.

Reading about the Huayra, which made its debut last March at Geneva, you’re probably asking: How much power, how fast, and how much moola?

Answers: more than 700 hp and 230 mph, and as high as $1.4 million if instead of paint you want the all-carbon finish, which takes an extra three weeks to perfect.

The first Huayra is said to be destined for a Swiss buyer this November. (Why do Swiss buyers always emerge in situations like this?) Certification for U.S. sales is under way, and deliveries are expected in 2012.

Pagani’s staff of sixty can produce thirty or so of these cars per year. With two American dealers so far, both in California, don’t expect to see a Huayra on the street anytime soon unless you live in Beverly Hills or Sausalito. But Pagani asserts that with his company’s independence, the support it receives from important technical partners, and its integrated operations, the seven years he’s put into the Huayra will pay off. Whereas other boutique manufacturers may think that computer-controlled devices can grind out perfection, Pagani’s point is that extraordinarily good artistic taste, like Leonardo’s, is part of the formula, too.

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BaT Fortnight Favorite: 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302 and Ford C-800 hauler—Trans-Am tribute

If the prospect of owning this Boss 302 Trans-Am race car and complementary cab-over Ford flatbed doesn’t give you chills, you’re not human, as far as I’m concerned. Bringatrailer.com recently dredged up the matching set, which was carefully built to replicate the car that won the historic 1970 Trans-Am championship and the truck that hauled it. The Mustang is a real Boss 302 that was restored to full racing specification, with some concessions to modern technology. The Caterpillar-powered, 1986-vintage hauler lived most of its life as a fire truck in Pennsylvania before it was shipped to California for restoration and the addition of the ramped bed. The pair is being offered on boss302.com for $145,000—or $60,000 for the truck only.

That’s a whole lot of money, but these flashy Fords would give you serious star power at most car shows, in addition to offering a great conveyance for satisfying your track-day fix. Plus, a car with real Parnelli Jones racing provenance would likely cost hundreds of thousands more than this and be impossible to replace. The car is particularly cool because the legendary Jones drove it for famous team owner Bud Moore, not to mention the fact that the eleven-race ’70 Trans-Am season probably represents the absolute high-water mark in American road-racing history, as all domestic manufacturers fielded serious entries—and many big-name drivers competed—in the over-two-liter class.

I’m usually interested in old cars that are easily usable on the street—a description that fits neither of these vehicles—but this orange twosome is just too awesome to ignore, even as simple eye candy. Many commenters on BaT testified to the quality of creator Les Werling’s work, too, and our sister publication, Mustang Monthly, published this interesting feature story on the pair of Fords in August 2009.

Race-car haulers are hot right now, by the way. Bringatrailer also recently featured this 1959 British Motor Corporation transporter and this 1950 International and trailer that’s painted to look like it once ferried esteemed European marques to and from the track. And a couple years ago, our own Preston Lerner dove into this story of an enchanting Fiat transporter that shuttled Scarab racing cars during the 1960 Formula 1 season.

Honorable Mentions
Finalists for my favorite BaT car from July 1 through July 16 include the following, ranked from most tantalizing to least:

1. 1972 Chevrolet Townsman wagon
It’s hard to resist a good-ole American station wagon, especially one this nice, clean, and green (and I’m not talking about fuel economy). A good price and a fancy disappearing tailgate helped put this Bel Air wagon at the top of my list of also-rans.

2. 1954 Lotus Mark VI
It’s not often that you see genuine early Lotuses for sale, and this enticing Mark VI was offered for just $39,000 on a somewhat obscure Utah news site. The Mark VI was the first “production” Lotus; about 110 were built from 1952 through 1955.

3. 1974 Dodge D100 pickup
The Mopar guy in me loved this California-clean truck from the moment I clicked on it. The stick shift, pale green paint, and mild engine mods ensured its high spot on my list—and in my heart.

4. 1966 Sunbeam Imp
I very seriously considered buying this Imp before I decided to purchase my 1967 MGB/GT in 2007. The problem with Imps, though, is that there just aren’t very many of them out there, especially in North America. If this $2500 car hadn’t been full of Bondo, as reported, I might’ve had to make a trip to Ontario to check it out.

5. 1965 Ford Cortina V-8
A Cortina was another model that I seriously lusted after when I was in the market a few years back. I’m not usually a fan of engine swaps, but this car seems like it would be ridiculously fun—and loud enough to drown out the purist in me.

Previous Fortnight Favorites
1. Early April 2011: 1965 Austin Mini Cooper S
2. Late April 2011: 1959 MGA Twin Car race car
3. Early May 2011: 1964 Ford Falcon station wagon
4. Late May 2011: 1966 Chrysler Newport convertible
5. Early June 2011: 1960 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint coupe
6. Late June 2011: 1964 Porsche 356SC coupe

Subscribe?
If you’re not as committed to daydreaming about old cars as I am, check out my semimonthly blog, where I select my favorite Bringatrailer.com car of the past couple weeks. If you want to stay fully up-to-date on what the old-car buffs are discussing, subscribe to BaT’s daily email blast of a wide assortment of old cars for sale and visit automobilemag.com every so often to learn what cars I like best. And feel free to share your thoughts—and your own favorites—in the comments section below.

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BMW is making a 335is sedan! But where’s the 335i Touring?

So apparently I’m out of the loop, but I didn’t realize that BMW was making a sedan version of the 335is. Okay, so it’s not called the 335is – it’s called the BMW Performance Edition 335i.

It’s even available with four-wheel drive, as the 335i xDrive Performance Edition. To get it, you need to order your 335i sedan with either the Sport Pack (ZCP) or the M Sport Pack (ZMP) and then add ordering code is ZMZ. So add “E90 ZMZ” to your internal lexicon of cool BMW codes along with things like the old E46 ZHP .

Anyway, it gets 20 hp and 17 lb-ft of torque more than the regular 335i (or 32 lb-ft if you’re nuts and buy the automatic.) According to BMW, that’s good enough for 0.2 seconds off the 0-60 mph sprint.

Best of all, the ZMZ package adds only $550 to the MSRP. Okay, so that’s not quite as potent as the 335is’ engine (which gets temporary overboost for another 37 lb-ft of torque – on top of the 32 lb-ft – with the stick) but the 335i sedan uses the new N55 single-turbo engine. The 335is uses the old twin-turbo unit. Whatevz, either way, it’s hot.

The only problem? Where is the damn 335i Touring? I’m so sick of people asking me why BMW won’t build one — and I used to be able to answer “because the company doesn’t want to step on 5-series wagon sales.” Well, now there is no 5-series Touring! I’ve heard company spokespeople pull every excuse out of their hats, but if BMW wants to sell 3-series wagons to enthusiasts, it’s going to have to put the “big” engine in there. Don’t believe me, BMW? Make a 335i or 335Xi Touring and watch your 3-series wagon sales double.

So yes, I’m thrilled that 335i sedan buyers can get a couple extra horsepower from the factory. But come on BMW, pay attention! Nobody asked for (and nobody’s buying) the 5-series GT. Your old wagon customers are walking over to the Mercedes dealer and buying E-Class wagons. So how about you through your 3-series Touring buyers a bone?

Jason Cammisa on July 17 2011 11:49 PM

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A poem for those who have never driven an Aston.

There are those who think this nameplate is called “Austin Martin.”

There are those who criticize Aston for making endless variations of sports cars with the same basic design. Who can’t tell a DB9 from a DBS from a Rapide from a Vantage from… the Virage.

There are those who don’t understand why you haven’t actually lived until you’ve driven a sports car with twelve cylinders.

There are those who think Perfect Steering doesn’t exist.

Sadly, those are those who have never driven an Aston Martin. I’ve been swooned by Ferraris, enchanted by Lamborghinis, beguiled by Bugattis, and coddled by a Bentley or two. But every time I drive an Aston Martin, I remember what it’s like to be swept off my feet.

And what the hell am I doing in the trunk?

Jason Cammisa on September 1 2011 3:55 PM

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