Autoblog

The story of Bring A Trailer, as told by Petrolicious

Jonathon Ramsey — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 19:59:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Classics, Videos

We've featured the cars of Bring a Trailer, and not so long ago Jay Leno's Garage added a car found on the classics-focused site. Four-wheeled filmmakers Petrolicious have gone behind the web page with a seven-minute piece on the co-founders of BringATrailer.com, Randy Nonnenberg and Gentry Underwood.

Both gentlemen get screen time, but it's Nonnenberg that tells the tale of how his early interest in vintage machinery turned into him becoming The Oracle among his friends when they wanted to buy. Eventually, Underwood's friend spoke up to say 'People want to read about what you know,' and a web site - one of the finest time wasters in all the cyber world, we might add - was born.

You can hear how it all began in the video below.

Continue reading The story of Bring A Trailer, as told by Petrolicious

The story of Bring A Trailer, as told by Petrolicious originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Nov 2012 19:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jay Leno's garage grows by one thanks to BaT

Zach Bowman — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 18:32:00 EST

Filed under: Classics, Coupe, Performance, Etc., Ford, Celebrities

It turns out Jay Leno shops for classic cars just like the rest of us do: by ~~wasting untold hours drooling over~~ occasionally perusing BringaTrailer.com. The comedian and host of The Tonight Show recently took a shine to a memorable 1963 Ford Falcon Sprint shown on the site, and it wasn't long before a few phone calls were made. Now the previous owner can say he sold a car to one of the world's most well-known collectors, and Leno will have a very-cool Falcon in his Big Dog Garage.

So, what made this particular coupe worthy of such admiration? The '63 had undergone significant revision at the hands of the previous owner and builder, including a substantial weight reduction, suspension tweaks with input from the gurus at Koni, along with a fully blueprinted 302 V8. With an aluminum intake and heads as well as a lightweight T5 transmission, the seller claims to have plucked around 200 pounds from the vehicle's nose.

The idea was to build the car in the image of the Holman Moody Falcons that once competed in the legendary Monte Carlo Rally. Head over to BaT for both the initial sale listing story and the tale of Leno's buying.

Jay Leno's garage grows by one thanks to BaT originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 16 Apr 2012 18:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Settle our Dispute: 6,660-mile Omni GLHS or Porsche-powered Vanagon

Jeff Sabatini — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Classics

It's the battle of 1986: The best Shelby "Goes Like Hell" Dodge extant or a four-wheel-drive Volkswagen Vanagon powered by a flat six from a Porsche 911. Both of these awesome rides popped up in our inbox this morning, thanks to our favorite automotive classifieds site, Bring A Trailer. Argument ensued, with good cases made for both.

The Shelby Dodge is, of course, based on the Omni econobox. But with a turbocharged 2.2-liter four making 175 horsepower and a curb weight around 2,200 pounds, the GLHS was a real performance car. With a bit of tuning, the turbo Dodge engines were capable of topping 200 hp; this in an era in which V8 Ford Mustang GT's were barely pumping out 200 horses. Given that only 500 Shelby GLHS's were built, we've got to imagine you'd be hard-pressed to find a better example than this one, claimed to have just 6,600 miles on the odo. It's for sale by a Michigan dealer on eBay.

The Vanagon is the sort of project we all dream of undertaking in our backyards. With a 3.2-liter, air-cooled six pulled from an '89 911, we don't imagine this Syncro will have any problems making it up any mountain passes. Dumping the VW wasserboxer is a favorite Vanagon owner pastime, and given the historic relationship between the companies, we think it's only right to source Porsche power rather than the more common Subaru engine swap. The Syncro is for sale on TheSamba.com.

So help us resolve the Autoblog Staff Argument of the Day and vote in our poll, and click on the galleries below to see lots of photos of these two sweet vehicles.

View Poll

Settle our Dispute: 6,660-mile Omni GLHS or Porsche-powered Vanagon originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 05 Mar 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vintage VW Bug buyer already had key to the car

Jeff Sabatini — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:29:00 EST

Filed under: Classics, Volkswagen

At this time of year there are no shortages of holiday miracles. Most of them seem to involve animals, the cuter and furrier the better. Just today we read about a baby seal who sought shelter in a New Zealand woman's house and curled up on the couch. Earlier in the week, it was the four deer who were saved from drowning by boaters in Alaska. Well, here's a car story in the same vein.

It's about a Beetle. A red, 1963 Volkswagen convertible to be specific. Earlier in the month, the car was listed on eBay and the seller, Eric, contacted website Bring A Trailer hoping to get a little wider publicity for his strikingly original car. Eric was offering the car with a treasure trove of documentation, including the original registration for its California "black plate."

So who should happen to see the pictures of the car? None other than the son of the original owner, Jim, who was with his dad when they drove it home from the dealership almost 50 years ago. When he saw the license plate, those six randomly assigned alphanumerics lit up his memory and, well, then he saw his dad's signature on a photo of the registration...

Let's cut to the chase: Jim is the proud new owner of the Bug.

But that's not all. It seems that Jim had saved one of the keys to his dad's old VW, and sure enough, when he showed up at Eric's house to look at the car, it unlocked the driver's door. As if that's not enough to make you believe in karma, destiny, and Fahrvergnügen, Jim bought the car on his son's 15th birthday. So dad will teach son to drive in the same car that grandpa taught him in.

Take that, cute and furry.

Vintage VW Bug buyer already had key to the car originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bring a Trailer branches out, launches garage and storage service

Jeff Sabatini — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 12:59:00 EST

Filed under: Classics

There's really no website we like better than Bring A Trailer. In fact, when Congress passes the Stop Online Piracy Act and the corporations shut down everything on the Internet except WhiteHouse.gov, we're probably going to be more upset at losing BaT than our own jobs.

So we're stoked about this latest offering from the same guys who fill our e-mail inboxes with automotive dreams for sale every day: The BaT Garage. This is not some virtual garage hosted on an Internet server in an office park in Nebraska, but a real facility, with mechanics and tools and grease and oil and all the smells you associate with such. It's located in Hayward, CA, and here's the best part: You can store your own car there and let the staff take care of it for you.

While basic pricing runs between $200-$300 per month, BaT will also offer additional services like airport pickup, a fueling service, delivery and even detailing. The operation is being run by Virtuoso Performance, whose resume includes supporting 28 cars at this year's Monterey Motorsports Reunion. We can't wait to see the BaT Garage in person, and we have to ask, is it too early to talk about franchising opportunities?

Bring a Trailer branches out, launches garage and storage service originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 01 Dec 2011 12:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Autoblog Podcast #219: Geneva, Diesel Cruze and Backup Camera talk with Randy Nonnenberg of BringATrailer.com

Dan Roth — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 14:15:00 EST

Filed under: Podcasts, Geneva Motor Show, Etc., Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Dodge, Subaru

Click above for the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes, RSS or listen now!

Autoblog Podcast #219 is here, and the two Chrises and Dan are joined by Bring A Trailer's Randy Nonnenberg to talk oddball cars, all things Geneva Motor Show, the impending Chevrolet Cruze Diesel and the government's delay making backup cameras mandatory. Questions and feedback wrap it up, and it's an hour and thirty-six minutes of fun this week. Thanks for listening, we'll see you next week!

Autoblog Podcast #219: Geneva, Diesel Cruze and Backup Camera talk with Randy Nonnenberg of BringATrailer.com

In the Autoblog Garage:

Hosts: Dan Roth, Chris Shunk, Chris Paukert

Guests: Randy Nonnenberg

Runtime: 01:36:48

Get the podcast:
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Feedback:
Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com
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Autoblog Podcast #219: Geneva, Diesel Cruze and Backup Camera talk with Randy Nonnenberg of BringATrailer.com originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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16-Person Dodge VanKat is a blizzard of awesome

Jeff Glucker — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Minivan/Van, Etc., Dodge, Ford, Off-Road

The Vancat - Click above for high-res image gallery

Traversing snow-covered terrain can be tricky and if you need carry a dozen passengers, your options become quite limited quite quickly. Peak Snow Adventures of Northern Idaho has come up with a solution and it's called the Vancat.

A hybrid we can get excited about, the Vancat has a whole lot of everything going on. Starting with a full-size Dodge Ram van body mounted on a Thiokol chassis, the Vancat is propelled by a 391 Ford V8 engine and power is routed to a set of German-made Hans Hall aluminum tracks.

The Vancat can seat 16 passengers along with everyone's snow gear, and if that wasn't enough, the roof has been chopped up and turned into a canopy so your snowbunny passengers can enjoy the scenery. The Vancat is currently for sale with a reduced (and apparently negotiable) asking price of $30,000.

Gallery: The Vancat

[Source: Peak Snow Cats via Bring-A-Trailer]

16-Person Dodge VanKat is a blizzard of awesome originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 11 Jan 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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