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WOW!! what cars and what a location for an auction!!
I checked out the auction site and couldn’t believe what I saw. 49
that were world class. The owner should have his bust displayed in
the Collector’s Hall of Fame that I have been planning.
I see from the Bonhams’ website that the final sale price on the Pierce-Arrow was US$146,119, including buyer’s premium. Some of the cars made very big money.
https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/23234/?category=results#/aa0=1&w0=results&m0=0
That was a very good price for that car. Someone will have a lot of fun driving it, it runs like the wind.
Six cars out of the 49 brought over a million dollars. A ’51 Hudson
Convertible for $171K as opposed to $146K for a wonderful Pierce? An
early electric car that somebody forgot to paint went for $95K (a
world record for electric sales?).The top sale(Duesenberg) and the
cheapest sale(’24 Lincoln)were both American. The Lincoln could hold
it’s own quality-wise with anything in the sale and at $42K was
being disgraced by the market(it was a custom bodied at that).It was
a sale that reflected the troubled world economy and a headwind for
even the best of cars.
I think the year and the styling hurt the Lincoln, from a price realized standpoint. The boxy styling, even if a custom body, doesn’t excite big spenders about early 1920’s cars.
Looks to me that most of the cars brought top dollar. It’s good to see Pierce getting some bidding respect, even if that’s bad for someone looking to purchase one!
The earlier L Lincolns do not generally bring high prices but they are an excellent automobile.These cars however are Classics and as is well known,the CCCA has gone back to 1915 which is brass era territory but it does take in all of the quality cars of 1916-1924 which for a long time did not have a club.Some very interesting cars were made in the early 1920’s but they are not well known.The 1931 Pierce Arrow Phaeton was here in Albuquerque and is a beautiful car.I wonder where it will be going.
I agree, I once called the 1916-1924 era the “bastard years” on the AACA forum, and got censored for it. As you say, it’s a period when there were some great cars, but up until now many of them had nowhere to go! I’m not sure I agree with the CCCA decision, as I feel a club that starts changing partially to include more potential members may be in trouble, but it did bring some great cars into that club.
I agree, too, that Lincoln’s have always seemed to lag behind the price point that one would expect for such a quality car. Remember, too, that Pierce lagged behind Packard for a long time on price point, and that now seems to have changed for the “better” (depends on whether you want to sell or buy!)
I do not know how many members the new CCCA ruling will bring but beautiful coachwork had begun long before 1925.Many of the owners of these cars are no doubt already members of CCCA and the values of these cars keep beginners in the hobby from getting one and joining unless they are wealthy.The Model T club here is growing but then one can get a black radiator Model T for say $7000 and start touring.The price paid for the 1931 Pierce Arrow will buy a home in many places.
Yes, the Model T club is very active, Model T was the beginning and the backbone of old car activities in the early days….I follow and participate in the MTFCA forums, and justify it by knowing that Model T rear end gear were a near perfect fit in the differential of my Model 20 Hupmobile. There is no more active group out there, and the entrance fee to touring and enjoying old car activities is no lower in any realm of the hobby. I’m cure with liking the more unusual cars, and lucky that my first Full Classic was a 1934 Pierce, and I got hooked on the quality and engineering of same….yes, not everyone can afford a custom bodied car, but the same people who pay 40K for a new car at $800 a month could do the same for a nice Pierce sedan, and actually have some value at the end of 6 or 8 years…not to mention the fun during the same period…
I have tried to tell that to a friend who loves older Cadillacs.I said instead of paying lease payments for the new one he drives from home to work which is about a mile or so to buy a small car and spend the difference for an older Cadillac.He will then have something to show for his money.One of the best cars I ever owned was my 1951 Ford Convertible I had as a kid.It was a low mileage original with 33000 miles and cost $275.I drove it for about 50000 miles or so.Excellent car! One could drive a 1936 Pierce Arrow to the office.So many new car purchases are based on image.
I am fortunate to have been raised around big cars all my life, I just bought a nice 15 T touring last year. It’s a hoot to drive, and I enjoy it as much as any other collector car I have owned. It’s not about the cost, it’s about how much fun you are having.