48 Hours: Pedal to The Metal Part 2
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We are back talking cars with Richard Sloan of Sloancars.com
In part one”>part one we covered the early days of the Barrett-Jackson Auction and the phenomenal rise in the value of American muscle cars.
How many of you sold your prized beater years ago? That car, properly restored, might be worth more than your retirement savings.
Do you want to salivate over a muscle car worth $5 million? Read on…
When did you first get involved in buying and selling muscle cars?
In the early 1980’s...the market was certainly a lot different!
What is fueling the extraordinary appreciation of American muscle cars?
It is a combination of 55-year old guys who grew up with the cars and finally have the wherewithal to afford them and wealthy collectors who are diversifying their holdings and buy them strictly for investment purposes. Muscle cars are rolling art. You can sit in it, drive it, show it...and be proud of it.
Is there some spillover from the financial markets?
Sure, but those buyers are not as passionate as the die-hard enthusiasts. From what I see it is 60% enthusiasts who will actually drive the cars, and 40% collectors who are strictly investing and pretty much park ‘em.
Just how heated is the muscle car marketplace?
It is a circus. What we are seeing happened once before. The market was crazy from 1986 to 1991 and then crashed. Prices are nuts right now...I think they will eventually flatten out and pull back from these levels. Caution is warranted....the market for “clones” might be a warning sign of sorts.
Can you explain what a “clone” is?
Sure...Making a clone starts by taking a base car like a 1970 Cuda coupe with a 6-cylinder engine, automatic transmission and high mileage...and usually rust. You can buy these cars on the cheap and fix them up. You can buy a new “crated” 426 Hemi engine for $3,500 and buy additional components and turn it into a Hemi ‘Cuda coupe clone. It might take an investment of $50,000...and you can sell it for maybe $125,000. But the car is not “original”, the serial numbers don’t match, the color codes are wrong. Original cars with impeccable provenance will always command top dollars.
Are there any cars you could highlight at this years auction? What cars will see the most spirited bidding?
Anything with a big block engine...the sweet spot is 1967 to 1971. Despite my caution I think these cars will see increases of 15%-20% at this years auction.
This car should get ‘em going. A two-owner ‘70 Dodge Challenger R/T.
The Hemi’s are king...but they are really expensive. These are the next best thing...anything with a 440/Six-Pack is in demand.
Mid-year Corvettes
like this ‘65 convertible. It has matching numbers and is a nice car. The ‘67 is more desirable though.
I would love to have this
1968 Shelby GT 500 Fastback. The miles are high but the car is pristine.
Here is a rare
1966 Dodge Hemi Coronet that I have rarely run into. Only 204 made.
Chevelle’s never go out of favor.
This ‘69 SS 396 Convertible also has matching numbers. It seems to be documented and and nicely restored. If it had a manual transmission and the 375 horsepower engine it would command even bigger dollars.
I know you love the ‘69 Z28’s
This one has a dealer installed cross-ram and is one of 56 with the JL/8 option. Nice!
This ‘71 Cuda
hardtop is interesting. It is not a Hemi...but only two of these 383’s were made and it has been authenticated by experts.
Read on ....
48 Hours: Pedal to The Metal with Richard Sloan
We have likely chased the better sex off underthecounter given our recent posts. Our apologies...we will try to rectify the situation...but not today.
Let them enjoy their coffee talk.
We are going to talk cars as we inch closer to the annual Barrett-Jackson auction.
Richard Sloan is one of the more colorful characters we have met on our travels. He is pictured above with his son, Brett, at Sloan HQ just outside of New Haven, CT. Keeping them company is a 1997 Porsche 911 Turbo S. Porsche produced 182 examples of this particular model. Richard has sold 53 of them in the after-market. This car was #1 of 182 and was a special order by its original owner, Jerry Seinfeld.
Richard is a serial entrepreneur. He built and sold several businesses which allowed him to indulge his passion.
Automobiles
Today his office is a large structure filled with 40+ examples of Porsche’s finest.
You might be filthy rich. But you have not owned over 1,000 cars in your lifetime...like Richard.
Sloancars.com consistently has one of the finest selections of pre-owned, low-mileage Porsche 911’s in the world.
Looking for a 1989 911 Turbo Cabriolet? Richard can help. Here you go…
This one still has the window sticker on it...and 159 miles on the odometer. Do you enjoy the smell of a new car too?
Offer him $118,000 and see if he bites. He has it listed for $125,000.
Do you like to admire Ferrari’s in your rear-view mirror? How about a 2002 911 GT 2? It is like kryptonite to the prancing horse set and worthy competition for even the mighty Carrera GT. If you have been lugging around long positions in Sandisk (SNDK-NASDAQ) and Palm (PALM-NASDAQ) you probably can’t afford it. Call (800) Volkswagen.
Don’t worry...we will pay our respects to German gearheads next week...as we take a guided tour through the wilds of Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen.
This week we are waving the flag. Not the checkered flag...the American flag. Detroit is the home of heavy metal…
Lets get to it…
Thanks for sitting down with us Richard. We all remember our first car. What was yours?
My mother said I loved cars before I could talk. My first car was a 1962 Pontiac Bonneville. I got it in ‘65 and it had a 389 engine putting out 330 horsepower. I might be dating myself, it also had an 8 track player.
There is a new thing out called an I-POD. Go on.
I was suspended from prep school my junior year for leaving a 400 foot swath of rubber down the entrance to campus.
How and where did you catch the car bug?
In 1975 a friends father worked as a lawyer in the sales office of a dealership . He took me to Jerome Avenue in the Bronx, New York. It was the “mecca” of the highline auto world.
Were you into Porsche’s back in the day or was it strictly Detroit iron?
I bought my first Porsche in 1976, a ‘69 911 S Coupe. This purchase was the beginning of my great passion for Porsche’s but also the start of my buying, trading, selling Porsche’s. That year I began to advertise in Hemming’s Motor News, “the bible of of car collectors”. I continue to advertise in it to this day.
I started collecting Muscle cars in 1980 and became a specialty dealer with my long time friend Billy Silverman. I have been to Barrett-Jackson nearly every year since 1987 and have set world records for MB 300S, Ferrari’s, Jaguars and Shelby’s.
The auction has become quite a spectacle...what were the early events like?
The auction was held in a big tent with almost 1,000 cars scattered around outside. Cars everywhere!
Ditch The In-Laws
Things are slowing down on Wall Street.
But we won’t be. Its pedal to the metal around here.
Maybe you are Hindu. Jewish. Muslim. Agnostic.
Or a Christian with boring relatives.
We don’t care what persuasion you are...but we want to help you spend your bonus wisely before the women in your life get a hold of the checkbook.
We have been going to the Barrett-Jackson auction for years. It is only weeks away. Last years auction made quite a splash…
Would you pay $2 million for this Hemi Cuda Convertible?
Someone did.
Our fact checker is off this week...but we are pretty sure there were only 11 made...and one of those is up for sale this year too.
If you want to spend $3-to $5 million dollars it can be yours…
At least thats what a friend of ours thinks. We are going to preview the upcoming Barrett-Jackson auction with an expert…
Perhaps you have a car as an investment and need to hit the bid. Lets figure it out together.
Take a break from the in-laws this weekend and join us as we talk cars in the latest installment of 48 Hours.
No worries...the lights are always on at underthecounter
Just don’t try to outbid me on this one
48 Hours: Horsing Around With Jed and Amie Benedict
Spanish missionaries introduced wine to the americas in the early 17th century. Grapes toiled in obscurity, much like bankers in tiny cubicles, for hundreds of years. But American consumers, flush with cash, are turning to wine and wine collecting in increasing numbers. They have quickly figured out that their bedroom closet is no place to store precious nectar.
Wine is big business. And not just for winemakers and retailers. The auction market for wine is booming. There are even hedge funds who view it as another asset class in the alternative world. It is a liquid market. No joke.
There is a raging Bull Market in wine.
Sales of Eurocaves are booming too. But meticulously assembled collections require storage space beyond anything that a Eurocave can provide…
Thats where Horse Ridge Cellars of Somers, CT comes in.
1440 wants to introduce you to the only “Caveman” you are likely to meet outside of a Geico commercial.
Jed and Amie ditched the Wall Street rat race for a less stressful life. They certainly found that...and built a business that caters to the big-money crowd along the way. We would not trust just anyone with our precious wine stash...and they keep track of it better than we could ever manage.
Grab a sweater...its all of 55 degrees inside the cave…
Tell us about what yo do and the services you offer?
Horse Ridge Cellars offers short and long-term wine storage and related services. Transportation in climate controlled vehicles, inventory management, valuation, specialized insurance and introduction to buyers and sellers. Soup to nuts.
Is your storage facility actually a former bomb shelter?
Yes the facility was a cold war bomb shelter. The “vault” has a 12 ton bank vault door and was originally a document storage facility. It was built in 1962 and lies 15 feet below the ground with about 90,000 cubic feet of storage.
Awesome. I should have holed up there during the bear market. Where in the world did you get the idea to start this kind of business?
A friend of mine joked that it would be great to store wine there and a light bulb went off. At the time i had just started my MBA program and we built a business plan around the idea. We entered a competition from a class we were enrolled in and ended up winning the contest. We received seed money as part of the prize and started in April 2000. And here we are.
What is your typical client demographic profile? Wall Street types?
Yes, mainly Wall Street and financial services. Probably 70%-80% live in NY, NJ and CT. About 80% have wine cellars in their homes but have run out of space. The remainder of my clientele live all over the world.
What is the minimum you will deal with? Not everyone is a Rothschild. Please don’t worry, my average reader is filthy rich.
The minimum is 25 cases. My client’s average 120 cases in storage.
Whats the damage?
Our fee schedule is tiered ranging from $1.25 to $1.05 per case per month. Other fees include insurance, inventory handling and transportation. At the end of the day our fees are considerably lower over time than building a home or portable cellar. Most of the wine we store is long term in nature. Wine that they do not plan to drink for at least 10 years.
Are shipping laws for wine still an issue?
The shipping laws have changed a lot since the Supreme Court decision eased restrictions. Many states have relaxed their regulations and UPS and FedEx have adapted.
