A GDYNETS®
PUBLICATION Car Collector
Chronicles
© 2011, G. DAVID
YAROS. ALL
RIGHTS RESERVED.
Volume IV, Issue 2 Car Collector Chronicles
Exploring:
 Car Collecting Today Us vs. Them: Protecting Your Ride
 Classic Rides A large number of theft re-
ports have been surfacing lately.
 Reports From the Field
Hemmings Motor News and the
 Oldsmobile (1897-2004)
Los Angeles news media are
among those covering this
story. It seems the San Fer-
 Cadillac (1902- )
nando Valley in particular is
 Allanté (1987-1993)
being targeted?
 Corvair (1960-1969) The thieves are more than
brazen, doing their dirty work in
broad daylight, after disabling
security video and alarm sys-
tems. The thieves have the
heist process down to a science.
They arrive with a truck to use
both as a battering ram to
IN THIS ISSUE: breach gated properties, and as
a push vehicle. Once the ride
is off the owner’s property, it is
pushed to a waiting trailer
Us vs. Them: 1 where it is loaded.
Protecting Your As these vehicles are readily
Ride identifiable, being multiple
award winners well known in
GDYNets 1 the car community or so unique
On the Web as to be 1-2-3 of a kind, it is not
likely they shall be seen again on
U.S. streets. I suspect they go
Car Collectors, 2
Who are They?
GDYNets® on the Web
The Nethercutt 4
Find GDYNets on the web:
CCC® -THE FORUM
Coming Next 4
Issue http://ccc.activeboard.com
Car Collector Chronicles-scribd
Photos 5 Saved 62 - 1962 Olds web site
http://www.freewebs.com/
jeandaveyaros
The Gray Lady - 1955 Cadillac
CCC® Forum Coupé de Ville web site
EMail:
OldsD88@gmail.com
®
February 2011
directly from the waiting trailer
to a waiting container for ship-
ment overseas?
Another disturbing piece of
info I ran across a while back
was a You Tube® video show-
ing how easy it is to breach an
overhead door closed via an
electric garage opener. All it
takes is a coat hangar. The time
needed to open the door is less
than a minute! The task is ren-
dered far simpler, and quicker, if
the overhead door has win-
dows in it. This is because the
thief can see where the wire
needs to go to unhook the
catch, instead of having to fish
for it.
All that is required is to use So, how does one protect their
the wire to release the catch ride from the bad guys? Obviously,
that engages the drive mecha- having a Lo-Jack™ device would be
nism. That would be the part invaluable in tracking the car once it
with the rope/handle on it. is gone. If my garage overhead door
Once the catch is released, the had windows in it (which it does not)
door is able to be opened I would be covering them, pronto! Is
manually. it time to buy wheel locks/boots?
SAVED 62: A website devoted DAVE’S DEN: A website de-
to our 1962 Oldsmobile Dy- voted to a myriad of interests.
namic 88 convertible. The site Foremost is extensive informa-
also has a lot of information on tion on the “Steel City” of Gary,
Oldsmobiles and its founder, IN. There are also offerings on
Ransom Eli Olds. steel making, U.S. Steel-Gary
Works, U.S. Marine Corps, M14
THE GRAY LADY: This web-
assault rifle, of course Oldsmo-
site features our 1955 Cadillac
bile, and the tragic story of the
Coupé de Ville and Caddy in-
murder of Gary, IN Police Lt.
formation.
George Yaros.
Car Collector Chronicles Page 2

CAR COLLECTORS, Who are They?

I am a member of the Historical Vehicle Association, or HVA (http://

www.historicvehicle.org/). Recently, this body commissioned a survey to de-
termine who collects cars. It queried 13,000 individuals in both the U.S.
and Canada. The picture revealed by the survey is of interest. Here are
the highlights:
Of the estimated 2.75 million historic vehicle owners in the United States and
Canada, 95% are male.

The mean (average) age of enthusiasts is 54.8 years old. 65% are between the
ages of 45 and 65.
“There are 5.5 There are 5.5 million historic vehicles in Canada and the United States, of which
million historic the number in Canada is 0.5 million and the number in the U.S. is 5.0 million.

vehicles in The 2.75 million historic vehicle owners in Canada and the United States spent
nearly $35 billion in 2009.
Canada and
the United Historic vehicle owners own an average of 2.0 vehicles worth close to $25,000
each, for a total value of nearly $50,000. This is quite large considering median
States, … and annual income of between $75,000 and $99,999 per year.

2.75 million The average enthusiast is likely to have been involved in this movement for 10
historic years or more.

vehicle They attended one or more historic vehicle events in 2009.

owners.” The vast majority (92%) of historic vehicle owners do at least some hands-on
work on their vehicles, everything from cleaning and polishing to completing
full restorations. The average historic vehicle owner spends 11.1 hours per
month on this kind of hands-on work.

A large percentage (56%) of enthusiasts have college degrees, which is greater

than the U.S. average of 35%, or 50% of the Canadians with college or trade
certifications or university degrees.

The most common reason (84%) for ownership is a sense of personal nostalgia.

The most common types of historic vehicles owned by enthusiasts are “Post-war
Classics”

Fewer than 2% of respondents indicate they purchased their vehicle through

live auctions.

Instead, these vehicles were most often (57%) purchased directly from a friend,
family member or other historic vehicle owner, while 16.9% were purchased
through eBay® or other online auction, 7% from a specialty vehicle dealer, and
5% through a used car/vehicle dealer.
Car Collector Chronicles Page 3

The average historic vehicle owner spent the following in 2009 -

$8,770 Restoration, repair and maintenance, including parts,

materials and payment for services rendered at
restoration and repair shops
$1,600 Purchase of actual historic vehicles
$1,005 Magazines, books, DVDs, models, museums, posters, seminars,
tools, clothes, and automotive memorabilia
$698 Travel to historic vehicle shows and events
$557 Registration and insurance “There are
$35 Club/Association dues and fees
$12,665 TOTAL 15,000 historic

The average historic vehicle owner drives his historic vehicle(s) 30 times per
vehicle clubs
year, or roughly 2-3 times per month. Since owners own an average (mean) of and
2.0 historic vehicles, this equates to 15 times per year per vehicle, or just over
once per month. associations in

The majority (60.8%) of historic vehicles were driven 300 miles or less in 2009, the United
and only 3.2% of historic vehicles were driven more than 2,100 miles in this same States.”
period. The average historic vehicle was driven 484 miles in 2009. Historic vehi-
cles traveled 2.7 billion miles in 2009.

Close to one-half of respondents (48%) report belonging to at least one historic

vehicle club or association.

There are 15 thousand historic vehicle clubs and associations in the United
States.

The average historic vehicle enthusiast spent the following number of hours per
month engaged in the indicated activities related to historic vehicles -

6.3 hours On the web/internet related to interest in historic vehicles

(not including social networking)
1.9 hours Social networking
4.9 hours Watching television programs related to historic vehicles
4.9 hours Reading books or magazines related to historic vehicles
18.0 hours TOTAL

Data © 2011 Historic Vehicle Association

Of particular note is the fact that over 79% of car collecting folk do
make it a point to vote. What this means is, we intend to make our
voices heard on matters of concern to us.

It is not my intent to get on a soapbox here. Suffice it to say there are

many pending issues in state and federal legislatures of which we need
to be aware, and be heard (E-15, emissions testing, registration require-
ments, etc.).
Car Collector Chronicles Page 4;;

THE NETHERCUTT

I have just returned from a unplanned trip to Los Angeles, CA. While there, I had a
chance to take in the exhibits at the Nethercutt Museum (http://nethercuttcollection.org/) in Syl-
mar. The Nethercutt displays the personal car collection of the founder/owner of Merle
Norman cosmetics. The vehicles are housed in 2 large buildings and consist of vintage
rides from the 1910’s through the 1930’s. There is also a large collection of hood orna-
ments, motometers and automobile badges. Admission is, get this free. However, to see
the cars displayed in the Grand Salon, one must have an advance reservation. All cars
are maintained in operable condition.

I will close this month with some pics from the Nethercutt Museum.

It is hard to see, but what the badge reads is “Oldsmobile Legion of Honor.” I wonder what one had to do to earn one?

Ok, I’ve had my say for the month. Now its your turn! I invite/encourage submission of
your comments, opinions and contributions, and ask that you help spread the word about
our pub. Everything sent shall indeed be reviewed by me. Submissions should be sent
to CCC® at OldsD88@gmail.com.

Now, that you have finished reading our pub, come join in the ongoing dialog between
other CCC® readers and like-minded car collector folk on the CCC® Forum. Stop by,
check us out and share your views … .

_______________________________________
-- RESTORE 'EM, AND DRIVE 'EM!

COMING NEXT ISSUE:

 The Ride That Got Away—NOT
 MotoMeters
 If I am lucky, your comments on CCC® –THE FORUM will provide grist for the mill?
Car Collector Chronicles Page 5;

The Grand Salon of the Nethercutt. “Grand Salon” is a

term for an automobile showroom back in the 20’s.

A 1912 Oldsmobile Limited Motometer

Early illumination

Anyone able to state what marque this logo represents?