#somanycarsjustonelife
#disaffectedmusings
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Ennui (N): a feeling of listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occupation or excitement. Describes me very well…
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I have been using Amazon for about 20 years. Twice in the last month orders have not been executed well or at all. Early in December I purchased an item intended to be a gift for my best friend, Dr. Zal. I thought I had ordered it early enough so that it would arrive before his visit to my house. It has never arrived. I did receive a prompt refund when I notified Amazon and the third-party seller, but I would have rather had the item. That’s why I purchased it in the first place; to me, the item was “worth” more than the money I spent on it. (A complete tangent: in general, I am not a big fan of opinion polls. The difference between a person’s stated preferences and their preferences as revealed by their actions can be quite stark.)
Yesterday an item arrived that I had ordered from Amazon and not a third-party seller. It was a lockbox in which to store important papers, etc. However, it arrived with no keys! (By the way, we have a safe and access to a safe deposit box. I am just OCD; what can I say?)
Before the last month only one order from Amazon had failed to be delivered or was delivered incomplete. Is the last month the start of a new trend? Is Amazon creaking under the weight of the tremendous increase in online shopping?
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Given the current landscape for automobile auctions in the US, it is difficult to believe that when Dana Mecum started his auction company 30-odd years ago he differentiated it by focusing on muscle cars. He said that he didn’t want to sell “just Packards and Model A’s.”
A search of the docket for the upcoming Barrett-Jackson auction reveals just one Packard, no Nash or Fraser cars, a few Model A’s but some of them are “custom” cars. I guess the generation that collected those cars either doesn’t collect anymore and/or is no longer around to collect them.
The current Mecum auction at Kissimmee does have 13 Packards for sale, but about 3,000 vehicles will be offered. Thirteen is only about one-half of one percent of the docket. 175 Ford Mustangs are on the docket, not including another 15 Shelby Mustangs. Combined those cars represent more than six percent of the docket. Yes, about 10 million Mustangs have been sold since 1964 while Packard has been out of business for 60 years and sold only two million cars total. Yes, I have an unhealthy obsession with defunct American makes.
Are rare cars only sold at auctions like Bonhams? If anyone reading is familiar with automobile auctions in the US feel free to let me know.
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Although their reliability hasn’t always been optimal, in my opinion Aston Martin and Jaguar have made some of the most beautiful cars in history. I hope to execute a Disaffected Musings first: a poll. First, a couple of photos:
The top picture of a 1964 Aston Martin DB5 is from bestcarmag.com; the bottom photo of a 1964 Jaguar E-Type is from svs-ltd.com.
Until I hit publish I have no idea if the poll is embedded in the post.
OK, the poll didn’t seem to work. (No wonder I haven’t used one before.) I want to know which car do you prefer, ONLY considering its looks. Thanks.
Disaffected Musings 
I like the Jaguar.
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Thanks, Q.
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Aston!
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Thank you, sir.
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I prefer the Aston. The E-type Jaguar nose was rather long in my opinion. The yellow Jaguar brings to mind the one I used to see parked in the parking garage where I worked 40 odd years ago. At the Arizona Public Service headquarters in Phoenix, the CEO, the late Keith Turley would park his yellow E-type Jaguar 2+2 in his designated space. I got to pass it on my way into the office building and admire it.
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Many thanks, Philip. Your vote makes it 2-1 Aston, so far.
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Aston! 🙂
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3-1 Aston…
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It is a tough choice. The Jag was sexy at its finest upon its debut and has held up well over the years. The DB series, made famous by Mr Bond, is an icon of its own. I will take both, thank you!
As for auctions, Barrett-Jackson used to be the gold standard for post and pre-war vehicles back in the day. It is what Thomas’ dad wanted and preferred. Over the years the move to a “No Reserve” for all their vehicles meant hand-selecting only what will sell versus giving everyone a chance to see and/or bid on anything and everything. Remember the boats, the oddities like GM buses and the rare items they showcased merely a few years ago? Barrett-Jackson wants to be the LEADER in cars sold and pricing, thus, they go for the muscle cars and show pieces of American and some other muscle. People who buy at Barrett then take those cars to another auction months later. For Barrett-Jackson and Russo & Steele (which has received tons of bad press from their recent auctions) it is about overall numbers, cars sold and total dollar figures.
Meanwhile, Bonhams and a few select others cater to the rare beasts. The 250 GTO’s, the MB 500’s and the Dusies as their buyers are true collectors and Bonhams cares less about the overall figures of the sale versus bringing true works of art back to change hands once again. They truly care about these precious cars going to good people and catering to what others no longer feel is in vogue.
Mecum is still bringing some variants but in order to remain consistent with the other big auction houses, they too are starting to be more selective of cars on their docket. Though truth be told, Mecum is probably the last remaining place to get “affordable” cars in the grand scheme of things.
Sorry for the long rant, its a Monday.
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Steve, never apologize for adding real knowledge to a conversation. Many thanks.
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PS, the Jag coupes were ot very stylish, I was talking E-Type ragtops. Many of the coupes were 6-cylinders. Potent for what they were but lacking the enigma that was the V12
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