Autoblog

Pebble Preview: Gooding tests the market with Phil Hill's Packard and a prince's Duesenberg

Jonathon Ramsey — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 18:58:00 EST

Filed under: Convertible, Sedan, Auctions, Misc. Auto Shows, Ferrari, Luxury

Gooding & Company star cars for Pebble Beach 2009 -- Click above for high-res image gallery

Pebble Beach regular Gooding & Company will be bringing three special cars to this year's auction and the vintage rides are said to carry not only the requisite pedigree, but are expected to be barometers of the classic car market at a time when values are, at best, variable.

Included are a 1927 Packard 343 Convertible Sedan owned and restored by the late, great racer Phil Hill and being auctioned by his estate. It won Best of Pebble in 1977 and has never been auctioned before. Joining it will be a 1935 Duesenberg SJ Roadster (pictured) that was a gift from an heiress to a Georgian nobleman (Soviet Georgia, that is). Finally there's a car we can't help but love: a 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider. We don't care if it has a story or not. We want it. Desperately.

If you dig classic auctions and can't make it to Pebble, there will be a live webcast on the Gooding site at www.goodingco.com. Yet even though David Gooding said "Today's records become tomorrow's bargains," we don't expect to see any bargains at this year's show. You can read about all the cars after the jump and check out the gallery of high-res photos below.

Gallery: Gooding & Co Pebble Preview '09

[Source: Gooding & Co | Photo credit: Gooding & Company]

Continue reading Pebble Preview: Gooding tests the market with Phil Hill's Packard and a prince's Duesenberg

Pebble Preview: Gooding tests the market with Phil Hill's Packard and a prince's Duesenberg originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 18:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Warehouse Wonders: Lyon's pride and joys

Frank Filipponio — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 18:29:00 EST

Filed under: Classics, Etc.

Click above image for huge high-res gallery of our visit to the Lyon collection.

A little while back, a very special invitation was dropped in our laps. As part of a celebration for one of our friends, the doors to the Lyon private collection were being swung wide open. The name might not be familiar to all of you, but here in Southern California, General William Lyon is a name that commands respect. General Lyon, as his title might imply, had a very distinguished military career that spanned more than 30 years from the onset of WWII through the Vietnam era. Fifty years ago, he also started building homes (originally for returning military personnel) in SoCal with his father and brother. William Lyon Homes, Inc. has gone on to be one of the largest builders in the area with nearly 100,000 homes built.

But all of that pales in comparison to the reason why we know him here at AB. The General owns one of the finest private collections of award-winning classics in the country. Some 60 of those vehicles are on display to the lucky few who get to visit his private estate and tour the small museum he had built to show them off. Perhaps calling this a "Warehouse" is a stretch, but it is a surprising find, and we consider ourselves very fortunate to have been allowed inside.

Follow the jump for more details about the collection, and don't forget to check out the huge gallery, as well.

Gallery: General Lyon's classic car collection

Continue reading Warehouse Wonders: Lyon's pride and joys

Warehouse Wonders: Lyon's pride and joys originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Aug 2007 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chandler Collection auction sets record

Frank Filipponio — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 17:25:00 EST

Filed under: Classics, Auctions

The late Otis Chandler's collection of vintage autos and motorcycles was auctioned off over the weekend and the final numbers were record-breaking. A total of $36 million of art, cars and bikes went across the block, setting a record for a single collection. The previous record was for a 1990 Sotheby's sale that netted $22 million. The star of the show, a 1931 Duesenberg Model J Special Phaeton sold for $2.4 million, while a mere $2.05 million bought one lucky bidder the 1904 Mercedes Sport Touring. That was before the 10 percent commission charged by auctioneer Gooding & Company. 89 rare motorcycles and cars were sold during the former Los Angeles Times publisher's 5-hour-long auction.

As a student at Stanford University in the late 1940s, Otis rode a Harley-Davidson Knucklehead to school, and his passion for collecting began soon after. Over the years, the wealth from his family's ties to publishing allowed his collection to grow. Of particular interest to Chandler were one-of-a-kind cars and motorcycles form the '20s and '30s.

"Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines," was how Chandler's widow, Bettina Chandler, got the crowd going at the start of the auction. Standing at a podium inside the enormous Vintage Museum of Transportation and Wildlife in Oxnard, California, Bettina related her late husband's love for collecting vintage automobiles and motorcycles, as well as record-sized trophy game animals. Chandler "loved the hunt," his widow told the assembled bidders. "This very special event is a celebration of Otis," she said.

Also included in the auction were posters, sculptures and paintings depicting Chandler's love for cars and racing. One of the first items to be sold was a tapestry depicting two Porsche 959s that measured 11 x 16 feet. It sold for $10,000. A 12-foot-long wooden sculpture of a Ferrari and Porsche racing sold for $22,000. Things really took off when the cars started to reach the stage. The first auto up was a 1973 Porsche Carrera RS Touring that fetched $165,000. In fact, nine separate lots brought more than $1 million apiece.

Full results are available by clicking here. Thanks for the help on this, Duane.

[Sources: Ventura County Star, sub req., Gooding & Co.]

Chandler Collection auction sets record originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 24 Oct 2006 17:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Otis Chandler Collection going up for auction

Frank Filipponio — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 11:51:00 EST

Filed under: Classics, Auctions

When Otis Chandler passed away back in February, he left a lot more than a legacy of publishing prowess. Sure, during the 1960s he had transformed his family's newspaper into the world-renowned Los Angeles Times that we know today. But when he wasn't in his office, Otis liked to drive. And hunt. But more about the hunting later. It was his love of cars that brought him into our field of vision. Chandler was passionate about cars in the way one might say Jay Leno is. He had a whole warehouse of cars. And not just one make or model, no. When Otis got interested in a particular type of car, he'd buy a whole bunch of them, but his tastes changed regularly and so did his collection. Packards, Duesenbergs, brass-era cars, and even muscle cars have all come and gone. A few of each has stayed. Bikes and Corvettes seemed to be his most recent fancy and are well represented.

Mr. Chandler kept most of his cars and bikes on display at his Vintage Museum of Transportation and Wildlife in Oxnard, CA, halfway between L.A. and Santa Barbara. Many of his most prized pieces had already been sold, including his 1894 Baldwin steam locomotive and his beloved Porsche 917 racecars. But the remainder of his collection, some 50 cars and 40 bikes are going up for auction October 21st. Gooding & Company has been chosen to handle the event next weekend. We saw some of the cars that had been hauled up to Pebble Beach in August, and many of the others, including his 1931 Duesenberg LeBaron Special Phaeton, were captured by our friend Duane Steiner of SoCalSpeedZone on a recent visit to the museum. That Duesie, by the way, is expected to fetch $1.3 to $1.7 million.

And that hunting we mentioned earlier? Otis had a fascination, respect and true affection for wildlife, which led him to pursue record-size game animals. Visitors to the museum were frequently surprised to encounter some of the most magnificent dioramas of game animals from across the planet intermingled with the cars and bikes. No word on who might be handling that auction.

[Sources: Popular Mechanics, Chandler Museum]

Otis Chandler Collection going up for auction originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 13 Oct 2006 11:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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