Vintage car auction prices jump

(Initially published in February, 2016)

It was fun to be housebound in late January.  With chilly temperatures, snow and wind making the option of doing outdoors yard tasks only a winter-time dream, I was happily stuck indoors glued in my recliner in front of the flat screen.

For days on end the melodic banter of professional auctioneers’ voices filled my living room.  There were two major automotive auctions that were televised in January.

Mecum Collector Car Auctions, headquartered in Walworth, WI, started the winter auction parade in mid-January at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Florida. 

Dana Mecum’s first auction event took place in 1988 at Illinois’ Rockford Airport.  Despite a brief visit by a tornado that played havoc with the event’s display tents, the event was a success. 

Now, one of the best-known and successful automotive auction houses in the country, Mecum Auction has earned a reputation for delivering quality cars, great customer service and high-energy auctions to collector car crowds throughout the year, in locations across the United States.

At the Mecum’s televised auctions Dana, and his son Frank can be seen working the crowds, encouraging reluctant bidders to loosen their purse strings and place one more bid on a desirable vintage car up on the auction stage.

The Mecums started out as a small business buying and selling muscle cars.  In the ensuing decades, Mecum Auctions has grown into a leading auction house selling not only muscle cars – still their specialty – but also a variety of collectible vehicles.

In 2009, Mecum made a major decision and joined high-end auction houses like RM, Bonhams, Gooding & Company and Russo and Steele in Monterey, California and held one of its auctions during the week of events that lead up the Pebble Beach Concours.  

With that move, Mecum became known not only for selling muscle cars like Mustang, Camaro, Mopar E-bodies and Shelbys but also exotic sports cars, classics and other high-end collector vehicles.

More on Mecum in a moment.

From January 23 to the 31, my TV watching plans shifted from central Florida to Westworld of Scottsdale, a huge venue in Arizona that is the home of the famous Barrett-Jackson auction.  Billed as “The World’s Greatest Collector Car Auction,” Scottsdale-based Barrett-Jackson almost defies description. 

On display at the Westworld site under huge white tents were thousands of collector cars.    Classic beauties like Cadillac V-12s and Packards, American muscle cars and a slew exotic imports like Ferrari and German premium models filled the program listing vehicles for sale.   Unlike many auctions, almost all of the Barrett-Jackson consignment cars are offered at no reserve.

Russ and Nellie Jackson and business partner Tom Barrett founded Barrett-Jackson in 1971.   Today, Russ and Nellie’s son, Craig who serves as Chairman and CEO, heads the world-class auction house. 

Craig, and Steve Davis serving as president since 1996, works hard to keep the annual extravaganza a massive success that attracts each January thousands of consigned vehicles and tens of thousand of interested car enthusiasts, many with money in their pockets.

Unlike most automotive auction events, Barrett-Jackson has made a strong philanthropic commitment.  Over $84 million has been raised, with 2015 being especially successful with over $10 million raised for charities.  
 
Both Mecum and Barrett-Jackson have grown significantly in recent years.  Mecum Auctions are held not only in Kissimmee but also in cities and towns big and small across the U.S.  Coming up will be 500 – 2,000 vehicle events in Kansas City, Denver, Harrisburg and Dallas, to name only a few. 

Even my hometown of Lapeer, MI will be the site of a Mecum Auction on June 4.  Lapeer resident Charles Schneider will be selling the world’s largest collection of orchard, vineyard and grove tractors.

Barrett-Jackson now holds several auctions outside of Scottsdale.  Gambling towns Las Vegas and Reno and Palm Beach will all host a Barrett-Jackson in the months to come.

Both auction houses attract top-end vehicles because both draw active bidders with big pockets.  Each year auction prices reach astronomical levels with some vehicles attracting prices in the seven digit figures.

Both auction houses permit owners to place their vehicles with a reserve but that practice appears to me to be more prevalent at Mecum than at Barrett-Jackson.  A reserved consignment means that the owner reserves the right to not sell the vehicle if the hoped-for price is not met. 

Personally, the excitement level is higher with no-reserve sales because it increases the chance that a very valuable auto may be sold at a rock bottom price.  Obviously the bidder hits the jackpot if he or she can acquire a vintage car of their dreams at a price significantly below the expected price point.

Sometime, and this is when an auction is fun to watch, two wealthy bidders want the same car and money is no object.  That’s when auction observers witness a so-so vehicle go out the door at a price dramatically higher than normal market price.   

No surprise this year - a number of vehicles were sold at record prices.  Perhaps the most captivating story for me came out of the Mecum Kissimmee auction.  Readers know I have bias for Mopar cars, especially for the E-bodied pony cars offered by Plymouth and Dodge in the late 60s and early 70s.

Nine of the top-10 cars sold at Mecum’s Kissimmee sale were muscle cars.  Of these, seven were Mopars.   The auction’s top-10 sold vehicles brought in $10,747,500, and Mopar muscle cars accounted for $9,125,000 of the total.

The muscle car that brought top dollar was a low-mileage 1970 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda convertible with a four-speed transmission.  Only five ‘Cudas Hemi convertibles were built in 1970 in this engine/transmission configuration.  This rarity prompted some lucky buyer to bid an astonishing $2,675,000 for the Mopar!

Giving this ‘Cuda an extra appeal may have been its showy High-Impact Lemon Twist Yellow, Shaker hood with hood pins and a long list of desirable factory options.

It might interest readers that several other E-body Mopars also reached above the $1 million mark.  They included both a 1971 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda convertible at $2,300,00 and a 1970 Dodge Hemi Challenger R/T convertible at $1,650,000. 

An additional four muscle cars fetched over $500,000 and included a 1971 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda ($950,000), 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 “tanker” ($710,000), 1969 Dodge Hemi Coronet R/T convertible ($625,000) and 1970 Ford Torino King Cobra ($525,000.)

Bidders didn’t have to be a millionaire to pick up a nice car at Mecum, however.  A nice 1962 Mercury Comet sold for a modest $5,000 and someone went home with a big 1964 Buick Electra 225 four-door hardtop for only $2,500.

If you have a fat bank account or not, whether you are looking to buy a vintage car or not, attending or watching these popular vintage vehicles are great fun and a perfect way to while away a long winter day.

                                                             1970 Plymouth ‘Cuda 

Forget the stock market.  If you want to build a nice retirement portfolio without resorting to Wall Street, look no farther than the collector car hobby.  Cars that sold in four figures when new, sold in the five figures twenty years ago are now selling in the seven figures at well-publicized auctions.  Case in point:  At the recent Kissimmee, FL Mecum Auction, a 1970 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda convertible sold for an astounding $2,675,000!  Low mileage and rarity (only five Hemi ‘Cuda convertibles were built) undoubtedly contributed to bidder interest.
 

                                                    1963 Corvette split window coupe  
                                        (Note:  This is not a Z06 Fuelie “Tanker” Corvette)
       
It can probably be said that just about every Corvettephile in the world would love to have a 1963 Corvette split window coupe.  The dramatically new 1963 Corvette coupe was a styling sensation but the spiffy split window feature was eliminated after just one year of production to address complaints of poor rearward vision.  Sixty-three 1963 Corvettes were built with 36-gallon gas tanks and were given a "tanker" handle and now fetch big auction prices.  At the recent Mecum Auction in Florida, a Z06 fuelie "tanker" Corvette sold for $710,000. "Tanker" Corvettes were built to campaign in SCCA competition races.


   

Edsel - a grand idea cursed by fate

Over the past five years I’ve written articles about my favorite models of ten domestic automotive brands including Chevy, Mercury and DeSoto. I’m feeling the urge to share with readers my take on another domestic automotive brand.

My task of picking a number of favorite specific models will be put to the test, however.   My selection?  Ford Motor Company’s Edsel.  The Edsel was a car so scorned since its introduction in September 1957 that the word “Edsel” has become a metaphor in describing any form of colossal failure. 

The Edsel was in production for just two and a half years, so the number of favorite models to choose from is limited.

Some years back I wrote a column about the Edsel and its history.  I liked the car when it was introduced in the fall of 1957 and I like it even more now. 

I never have and I never will heap scorn on the Edsel.  I don’t think its grille looks like an Oldsmobile sucking a lemon, as it was so cruelly described back in 1958.  I have no way of knowing if its build quality was as bad as it has been written about in the years since in a number of books on its creation and sudden demise.

I was only 15 years old when the Edsel was brought to market.  I got my first peak at a “real” Edsel on a warm day in August of 1957 in Dearborn.  My big brother had offered to take me to Ford’s popular Rotunda exhibition site on Michigan Avenue. 

I really enjoyed the impressive displays inside the Rotunda, but the most memorable part of the trip was during the walk back to the parking lot.  As we exited the building, a car carrier was passing by with a load of canvas-covered, yet-to-be-shown all-new automobiles. 

I wouldn’t have identified them if it hadn’t happened that on one model a canvas cover was left untied and a portion of the canvas had flipped up on the car’s trunk.  It was a new, much ballyhooed Edsel.

Although the car had not been officially announced to the press, word of how the car would look had leaked out and every one who read a newspaper or a car magazine knew the new Edsel would be quite different looking with a vertical grille up front and flat, horizontal boomerang-shaped taillights in back.  That boomerang-shaped taillight just jumped right out at me.  It was a thrill to see it.

Most older readers probably know the Edsel story as it’s been told so many times.   For younger readers, here’s is a brief history.  Ford decided in the early 50s that the company needed another mid-priced marque to join its Mercury model range to compete more effectively with GM’s Oldsmobile, Pontiac and Buick and Chrysler’s Dodge, DeSoto and Chrysler.

Sales of mid-priced cars were growing like crazy.  By 1955 Buick had displayed Plymouth as the third best selling auto in the U.S. and Olds wasn’t far behind.  So the green light was given by Ford brass in 1955 for the go ahead to bring out the Edsel for the 1958 model year.

Unfortunately, by the time the Edsel reached the market, mid-priced car sales had softened dramatically due to a severe recession at introduction time.  It didn’t help that the new car had a very odd name (Henry Ford’s son was named Edsel) and the car’s controversial Olds-sucking-a-lemon grille didn’t help sales either.

Edsel was supposed to sell 100,000 units in 1958 but only 63,110 vehicles were built.  In 1959 Ford reduced the size of the vertical grille, limited the number of models and still the car didn’t sell well – only 39,771 were sold.  The 1960 model, now with a Pontiac-like split grille and a body almost identical to Ford’s, was in production for a few months and only 2,846 cars were built when Ford pulled the plug in November of 1959.  The Edsel was no more.

The Edsel failure cost Ford a lot. In the millions of dollars spent on research, testing, production costs and dealer payouts but also in prestige and reputation.  So it is little wonder the name Edsel is not held in high esteem, even after 56 years.

Me? I loved the Edsel when new and still do.  Only three year’s of Edsels were produced, so to select a few favorites is rather easy.  Some may argue that I can include the Mercury Comet amongst my choices, as the senior compact was intended to be sold a the Edsel Comet when it was introduced in mid-1960.

Certainly the most memorable and attractive Edsels were the first-born 1958 models.  Ford went all out to cover as much of the mid-priced field as possible and offered the Edsel in two distinct sizes.

The Ranger and Pacer were built on the Ford platform/body and offered similar powertrains and options.  The more luxurious Corsair and Citation models were actually Mercurys under the skin and were larger, heavier and more powerful.

The new Edsel came in two and four-door post sedans, two and four-door hardtops, convertibles and wagons.  The best seller was the Ranger, with the slightly upscale Pacer a close second.  The luxury twins Corsair and Citation together only found 17,500 buyers.

Of the four Edsel nameplates in 1958, I’d pick any one of them as a winner.  I tend to be most attracted to the Pacer and Corsair, as they were less chrome laden. 

The entire 1958 Edsel line up offered an optional automatic transmission that featured pushbuttons located in the steering wheel.  Ahead of the driver were a driver-centered instrument panel with a circular, drum-style speedometer and lots of chrome and idiot lights. 

Out back, turning its nose up at Chrysler’s soaring fins, you would find handsome and modest looking dual horizontal taillights perched at the end of a flat trunk lid.  All of the Edsels had sculptural cove-like indentation on the rear doors and fenders.  This design element looked especially handsome when the owner ordered their Edsel with two-tone paint.

And, of course, all the Edsels came with the vertical grille up front.  Paired with quad headlights and split front bumpers, the Edsel made quite an impression to onlookers.  Not everyone thought it looked like an Olds after making lemonade.

The 1959 Edsels were little more than a gussied up Ford.  There were no Mercury-based models.  The vertical grille remained, but smaller in size.  Gone, too, were the horizontal taillights.  Now dual oval chrome pod held three taillights each, one a backup light.  The dash was but a Ford with a little extra chrome trim.

For its final year, as little as possible was done to make the all-new Ford look like an Edsel.  A split grille, mimicking the 1959 Pontiac, was used up front and two vertically mounted ovoid taillights out back tried to live with the horizontal fin found on the Ford.  It was not a happy marriage.

The Edsel lasted less than three years.  Ford’s reputation got bruised but car guys like me were given a batch of new cars that captured our imagination for a spell and continue to give us joy. 

I sometimes wonder what an Edsel would look like if the ill-fated marque were still sold today.

Ford Motor Company's 1958 Edsel was created to do battle in the mid-price field, a hot selling part of the auto market in 1955 when the decision to build the Edsel was given the go ahead to proceed.  The Edsel came in four flavors on two platforms.  The Ford-based Edsels were named Ranger and Pacer (shown - turquoise) and the Mercury-based Edsels were the Corsair and Citation.  Unfavorable economic conditions doomed the first year Edsel and after only 26 months on the market, it was discontinued.  The Edsel, named to honor Henry Ford's son, featured bold styling features like a vertical grille and horizontal "fins."

The introduction of the 1958 Edsel mid-priced lineup of automobiles was suppose to solve Ford Motor Company's problem of not having enough brands to compete effectively with GM's Pontiac-Olds-Buick line up and Chrysler Corporation's Dodge, DeSoto and Chrysler offerings.  Ford had only the Mercury to do battle.  Unfortunately sales of mid-priced autos quickly collapsed in late 1957 and 1958 during a severe economic depression and the expensive effort by Ford to do battle with GM and Chrysler failed miserably. The Edsel sold poorly and was discontinued in November 1959 after a little more than two years on the market, offering three model year offerings.  Shown here is the 1960 Edsel that was produced only for three months.

Brock Hoagland of Pringle, South Dakota, (left) stops by Dar Davis' house to show off his brand new 2017 Chevy Volt .

Chevy’s all-new 2nd gen Volt is a winner

This past summer not long before the August Concours car show I was asked by car friend Brent Caperton of Baroda if I’d like to meet a friend of his who had just purchased a new second generation Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid hatchback.

I said yes to the invite and shortly Brent and his friend from Navy days, Brock Hoagland of Pringle, South Dakota, showed up in a beautiful 2017 Kinetic Blue Metallic Volt.

It was a pleasant visit and I got to meet a new car friend and drive the newest Volt.  I also learned quickly that Brock has a technical background.  Like his friend Brent, he was an operator of power plants here in the U.S. until his retirement.

As readers know I’m a low-tech guy and prefer a car as simple to operate as possible.  For these reasons, the remarkably advanced Volt hybrid (and Chevy’s upcoming all-electric Bolt EV hatch) would not be high on my list of potential vehicles to purchase to replace my Buick Verano.

My cluelessness about things mechanical doesn’t stop me from being curious about how the Volt works and I learned a lot about the Volt from Brock during his St. Joseph visit and from subsequent emails that he thoughtfully sent me after his visit.

First a little Volt history.  Readers may recall back in 2011 when the Volt was first on the market that I wrote a column about the all-new and highly anticipated car.  Tom Burch, my son-in-law who works for GM and was loaned a Volt for the weekend, paid a visit and I had a chance to examine the car up close and take it for a spin. 

The Volt is a technological superstar.  Unlike pure electric cars (EV) the Volt was created to eliminate “range anxiety” and give owners peace of mind.  If the batteries in a Volt run out of juice, a gas-powered engine starts up and begins charging the batteries.  With this clever set-up, owners just needed to keep gas in the tank.

For a new piece of machinery with so many new and unproven technologies, the Volt has been remarkably trouble free.  Since its introduction in 2011, I found online only three recall notices.  Two involving 14 cars regarding steering and Electronic Stability Control and 50,236 involving an engine and engine cooling problem.  Global sales of Volt total 117,000 as of June 2016 with over 100,000 sold in the States.

Hoping to boost sales Chevy began selling the all-new second gen 2016 Volt in October 2015 with a lower price.  The new Volt is also quicker, quieter, more fuel-efficient and goes farther on all-electric power.

Base price of $33,995 is $1,115 below the 2015 Volt.  This price does not include the federal tax credit of up to $7,500 nor the state rebates of up to $1,500 available in some states.  The base price includes such desirable standard equipment as rear-vision camera, LED low-beam headlights, 8-inch touch-screen display, keyless access, push-button start, 10 air bags and 17-inch wheels.

Also making the new Volt more desirable, and perhaps explains why sales this year have nearly doubled, is it is recommended by Consumers Report magazine and the car has earned five out of five stars for occupant protection in U.S. government frontal and side crash tests.

So what does new owner Brock think of his Volt that he purchased for the price of $36,005 (before the tax credit)?  He thinks quite highly of it, thank you, and he has been kind enough to apprise me of how economical his hybrid has been performing in the ensuing months since his visit.

Brock considered the Volt because he was impressed with the new model’s improved battery range of over 53 miles (40 percent greater than before) and because he has a GM credit card that afforded some financial incentives.

Wanting a lighter interior but settling for black, Brock also opted for the premium sound package. 

I asked what he liked best about the newest Volt and he first mentioned that he “is a bit of a hyper-miler” and does everything possible to improve mileage so he’s especially keen on the regenerative braking feature with a paddle located on the left side of the Volt’s steering wheel.  I’m not familiar with how this works but Brock indicated that he does almost his entire stopping using the paddle, not the brake pedal.  By using the paddle to brake, some of the energy of the car’s motion is converted to electricity for the battery pack.

The Volt is designed to go two years between oil changes.  The batteries in the Volt are guaranteed to last 8 years.  Brock projects that based on a number of full battery charges on his Volt since ownership that his batteries may last as much as 16 years.

For those of you who may wonder, the Volt cannot be charged at the Tesla SuperCharger station located behind Panera Bread on Hollywood Road.  Instead, Volt batteries can be charged by plugging into either a standard 120-volt home outlet or a 240-volt fast-charger.  All Chevy dealers are required to have a fast charger free for use, as well as there being other charging stations.  There is a free app listing the locations of all Volt fast chargers nationwide.

In several emails that Brock has sent me since his Michigan summer visit; he reports that his Volt actually out-performs the rated 53-mile EV range.  On short and long trips his car is enjoying between a 56 to 63-mile EV range.  He credits the higher figure to his conservative driving style and using regenerative (paddle) braking as much as possible.

Brock also sent me his estimates on what it costs to operate his Volt.  Brock wrote, “Since the last OnStar report (for his Volt) for September, I drove 551 miles electric and 185 gas for a total of 736 miles.  Fuel economy was 187 mpg equivalent and electricity consumption was 29 KwH per 100 miles.  At electricity rates here that would be $3.19 per 100 miles.  If a car gets 40 mpg and gas is $2.25 the cost for 100 miles would be $5.62. 

Brock notes that it takes 17 KwH to fully charge the battery when exhausted.  He goes on to say, “For me that means a cost of around $1.85 and I can go about 60 miles for that.  I’m finding that I only need to buy gas for it every 6-8 weeks.”  However, he expects his EV range to decrease approximately 30 percent in winter due to the need to heat the car cabin and decreased battery efficiency at lower temperatures.

How many readers can go two months without filling their vehicle’s tank?  Low gas prices have put a deep crunch on sales of EV and hybrid vehicles this past year.  I salute Brock Hoagland for opting to buy the super economical Volt.  Not only will he be in a great place if gas prices spike in the future, he is presently realizing significant savings with his electric/gas plug-in hybrid.

South Dakota resident Brock Hoagland and his brand new 2017 Chevy Volt paid a visit to old Navy friend Brent Caperton of Baroda this past summer.  Dar accepted Brent's offer to stop by his house with the Volt for a look-see at the second-generation plug-in hybrid. A quick spin revealed that the super economical sedan - based on the same platform as Dar's Buick Verano - shares nearly the same driving dynamics as a typical gas engine vehicle.  According to Brock, his Volt gets 187 mpg equivalent and uses $3.19 worth of electricity per 100 miles.
 

 Gilmore Car Museum high school students to compete in Great Race

I got a chuckle the other day when car friend and Concours committee member Brad Wire of Gun Lake, MI dropped me an email stating the he’d “stepped in it again!”   He used the email to announce an adventure he had volunteered for next summer involving students enrolled in Gilmore Car Museum’s Garage Works program.  More on the adventure in a moment.

Readers who attended the Lake Bluff Concours last summer may have met Brad.  He and a 1909 Buick chassis held down a spot in Lake Bluff Park at the car show across from The Boulevard Inn.  Since 2011 Brad has volunteered each year to trailer a vintage vehicle to the Concours on loan from the Gilmore Car Museum.

Brad brought the vintage Buick chassis to the Concours so he could share his enthusiasm for the Garage Works program and spread the word of its success.  For those who didn’t stop to chat with Brad and learn about Garage Works, permit me to do so now.

Now in its 8th year, the Gilmore Garage Works program was formed on the campus of the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, MI to serve youth interested in attending automotive shop classes.  Sadly many local high schools in the area had eliminated shop classes and Gilmore saw an opportunity to fill a void.

The Gilmore utilizes its facility and staff members, along with up to 20 volunteer mentors made up of car enthusiasts like Brad, a volunteer for the past six years.  The mentors range in age from late 40s to mid-70s. The Garage Works is an after-school program that provides hands-on involvement with maintaining and restoring vintage cars.

The unique program is held on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. and each semester is offered to about two dozen students in grades 9 through 12.  Mostly young men sign up but Brad points out that a few young women have also attended the classes and have done equally well.  In addition to the in-shop experience at Gilmore, the teens are also taken on field trips to events like the Grand Rapids auto show, Off Bros. vintage car collection in Richland, MI and the Rat Rod Shop in Grand Rapids.

Over the course of the program’s existence, the students and mentors have completely restored the chassis of a 1931 Willys-Knight and 1909 Buick, a handful of vintage motorcycles and are currently working on a Model A pickup, 1948 Lincoln V-12 and a 1935 Packard sedan.

What about that adventure Brad Wire signed up that I mentioned earlier.  A number of the students and three of the mentors (that’s Brad) have signed up to form a team to participate in the June 2017 running of the esteemed Great Race of vintage automobiles – now in its 34th year.  Over 120 pre-1972 autos will be traveling more than 2200 miles from Jacksonville, FL to Traverse City, MI in a nine-day vintage car endurance rally competition.

The rally begins on June 24th in Jacksonville and will follow pretty closely the legendary Dixie Highway all the way to Michigan.  Along the way the Gilmore team will make stops to visit interesting auto-related sites like Coker Tire Co. in Chattanooga, Corvette Assembly in Bowling Green and Hostetler Hudson Museum in Shipshewana.

Of the over 100 entrants in this year’s Great Race, about six teams are from high school and college programs.  The school teams will participate in the X-Cup Division of the rally and won’t compete for cash but will vie instead for possible student scholarship funds and “an experience of a life time,” according to Fred Colgren, Education Director of the Gilmore Car Museum.

According to a Gilmore press release, the students will become the navigators, guiding the driver’s way and making all the calculations during the trip.  Mechanical repairs are the sole duty of the teenage team members.  Precise turn-by-turn written instructions that include such directions as how many seconds to sit at stop signs or exact speed and distance to accelerate to, the navigators must assist the driver without using formal maps, GPS or calculators.  Stopwatches and pencils are allowed.

Also in the press release it stated that last year’s winner of the Great Race concluded the event in just 1 minute and 20.3 seconds off the perfect race time.

The aforementioned 1935 Packard has been selected to run the Great Race.  Bea Dinger donated the stately car to Garage Works as a restoration project, her late husband Bud had started the restoration of the luxury car before his untimely death.  The Packard has been worked on for several years by various groups of Garage Works students and this coming winter and spring a concerted efforts will be required – by students, museum staff and the mentors – in order finish the car in time for the rally.  A Ford Model A pick-up will also be completed and will serve as the race team’s back-up vehicle.

I asked Brad what his motivation is for being a Garage Works mentor.   Says Brad, “I love the positive impact this program has on kids.  I’ve seen how it improves the young people’s attitude about school and their outlook on life.”  He goes on to share, “We mentors get as much or more out of the program as the kids because we know we are making a positive impact on their life.”

The Gilmore team’s participation in the Great Race rally will cost some money…$30,000 is an estimated amount.  Thankfully the travel, motel and food expenses for the students and the mentors are being picked up by an anonymous donor and by the museum.

I’ll ask Brad to get in touch with me in July following his adventure to let me know the outcome of the Great Race.  I’ll be sure to share his report with readers.

Mike Buckland, retired machinist from Hastings area, is shown with two area high school students who are enrolled in the Garage Works youth program on the campus of the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners.  Buckland, along with two-dozen other retired mentors, volunteers his time working with 25 eligible students by showing the ins and outs of restoring a vintage automobile.  In June of next year, a team of Garage Work teens and mentors will participate in the Great Race, a 2200 mile rally that starts in Florida and ends up in Traverse City.  The Gilmore team will participate in the race in a restored 1935 Packard that has been restored by the Garage Work team members.


Photos provided by the Gilmore Car Museum

Buick LaCrosse gets a “Denali” upgrade

U.S. automotive sales in recent months have the slowed down a touch.  Industry pundits are predicting that the record sales pace of last year will not be repeated in 2016.

With unexpected low gas prices over the past few years, auto-buying trends by Americans have become quite topsy-turvy and purchases of truck-registered vehicles are now at an unexpected two trucks for each car sold pace.  Who would’ve thunk it just a few years back when gas was heading for $5 a gallon. 

A closer look shows that not all of the automotive segments are hurting.  Certainly family size cars (Camry, Accord, Fusion, etc.), compact cars (Focus, Cruze, Impreza, etc.) and even gas-guzzling pickups are losing sales momentum, but the incredible success of crossovers, especially compact (Toyota RAV-4, Honda CR-V, Ford Escape, etc.) and sub-compact models (Buick Encore, Honda HR-V, Chevy Trax, etc.) reveal robust, record sales for these models.  Also, some luxury segments are doing well.

Naturally, what people buy in big numbers has a huge impact on automaker planners and thinkers, both here in the States and in foreign countries that import vehicles to stateside.  If you haven’t noticed, automakers are introducing crossovers in all sorts of sizes and price ranges.

Certainly the German luxury makers got the “crossovers are cool” memo and moved quickly to offer the models in all sizes.  The Mercedes/BMW/Audi triplets have so many crossovers either in showrooms or in the pipeline, I can’t keep track of them all.  

Sorry to say, the crystal ball used by our struggling domestic luxury brands must have been on the fritz a few years back and neither Cadillac nor Lincoln have a full lineup of the popular vehicles.

The crossover memo eventually did reach Cadillac and Lincoln and both GM and Ford are working feverishly to get more of the red-hot models into dealer’s showrooms in the couple of years.  Last I read Cadillac has three crossover models in the oven.  Without doubt, Lincoln has a few beauties planned as well.  I hope better late than never works for those two in the months and years to come.

Another segment in the auto universe that is doing well are luxury trucks.   Full-size, pickup truck sales are softening a bit but not top-of-the-line models.  Readers may recall a few months back I wrote a column about the unexpected success by GMC with selling their high end Denali package since its introduction in 1999. 

At the time of my column, it was reported that the Denali package was being installed on up to 25 percent of GMC trucks sold.  These are trucks with a $5,000 to $8,000 premium over the next highest trim!

The luxury package became so popular when introduced on the full-size Yukon and Yukon XL SUVs; the dealers demanded that the Denali option be offered on all of the division’s offerings, from the entry-level Terrain to the mid-size Acadia.  The latest GMC model to get the Denali treatment is the mid-size GMC Canyon.

GMC and Buick became a marketing pair back when GM exited bankruptcy in 2009 and since then the two-vehicle division has been headed by brand chief Duncan Aldred.  I’m sure he more than anyone is delighted about the Denali success.  Luxury trucks make big money for automakers.

With still robust interest in vehicles in luxury trim, it was not a big surprise when I read an announcement by GMC/Buick’s Aldred a couple of weeks back that Buick’s largest near-luxury sedan, the LaCrosse, will be available in a ultra-luxury trim or sub-brand. 

No, it won’t be called the Denali, but rather the Avenir.  This is the name Buick gave its gorgeous, svelte concept car that it introduced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit back in January 2015.  Avenir is a French word meaning “future.” 

I’d rather have read that Buick was building a production version of the Avenir.  But alas, the Avenir is not the newest Buick Roadmaster.  Instead it is the division’s version of GMC’s Denali.  Because of Denali’s success, I bet the idea of using the Denali name crossed their mind during the naming debate.

What buyers get with the Avenir option are larger wheels, a unique grille and premium trim features, among other upgrades.  

GM did not divulge prices but we can assume the premium Avenir sub-brand will add several thousand dollars to the top-of-the-line LaCrosse Premium price. 

Buick is attracting younger buyers and it has made significant inroads with women, and half of customers now come from competitive brands.  Perhaps with the growing appetite for high-end touches, Buick will continue to grow its sales in the year ahead. It certainly didn’t hurt its chances when the division introduced the sporty Cascada convertible last spring and the attractive mid-size crossover, the Envision, made it to Buick showrooms this past summer.  Next year the popular Enclave crossover will be replace with a brand new models as well.

Buick U.S. annual sales of around 200,000 pale compared to China Buick sales of more than 900,000, but the once proud, Flint-based American brand is slowing gaining back its mojo and I see bright skies ahead. 

My disappointment will fade regarding GM’s decision to drop the capable and right-sized Verano and I will continue to be a cheerleader for the 113-year old All-American brand.






Buick recently introduced the third generation of its near-luxury LaCrosse sedan.  To entice upscale buyers, the planners at Buick have decided to take a page from division stablemate GMC's lavish Denali luxury sub-brand and offer a elegant Avenir upgrade on the LaCrosse.  What buyers get with the Avenir option are larger wheels, a unique grille and premium trim features, among other upgrades. The Avenir is the name given a Buick Concept that wowed audiences at the 2015 North American International Auto Show.  Availability and price for the Avenir upgrade will be announced later.