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Papa John's selling recovered Camaro diecast, free pizza and charity involved

Michael Harley — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:58:00 EST

Filed under: Classics, Etc., Chevrolet, Toys/Games

We're suckers for a happy ending - especially when it involves cars, kids, and hot pizza. Recall, if you will, this past summer when John Schnatter, founder of Papa John's Pizza, was on a nationwide quest to find his beloved 1971 1/2 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 - a car he sold in the mid-Eighties to fund his first store. John found his car in Kentucky, paid out more than a quarter of a million dollars in finder's fees, and then generously gave free pizzas from its 2,600 nationwide locations to all Camaro owners on August 26th.

Still feeling more than a bit elated with the return of his Z28, and intent on providing hope and inspiration to less fortunate children, Schnatter has now created a nifty little 1:64 scale diecast replica of his car. The metal cars sell for $4.99 apiece and each one comes with a coupon for a free medium cheese pizza ($1 from each car purchased will be donated to the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation). In addition to selling the cars online, Papa John's is donating 5,000 mini Camaros directly to Toys for Tots. All told, Papa John's is contributing more than $155,000 to the Marine program and touching countless lives in the process. Go ahead and order a couple... we did. Full press release after the jump.

[Source: Papa John's]

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Papa John's selling recovered Camaro diecast, free pizza and charity involved originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Papa John's Camaro reward situation turns salty, ex-owners looking for bigger slice of the pie

Jonathon Ramsey — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal

File this under "No Cool, Wacky Deed Shall Go Unlitigated." John Schnatter, Papa John of Papa John's Pizza, put out a $250,000 A.P.B. to find his long lost 1971 1/2 Camaro Z28. According to the folks at Papa John, the person who won the money was the one whose name was on the title of the car - that is, the owner of the car was paid the dosh for selling the car back to Schnatter. Kentuckian Jeff Robinson came forth with the car and took home the cash.

The Papa John's folks say the rules never said anything about finder's fees. But when the Sloanes of Indiana helped point Schnatter to Robinson, Schnatter offered them $25,000 for the assist. How did the Sloanes know about the car? They had owned it previously and sold it to Robinson.

Now the Sloanes aren't happy about "only" getting $25,000. Billie Sloane wants more of that quarter million, and will sue Papa John if he doesn't pony up the cake. Her evidence is "advertisements and a press release that promised the money to whomever could 'reveal the car's whereabouts.'" Jeff Robinson chimes in, though, and says Sloane came to him and said the original owner would buy the car from him for $125,000, and says that she didn't mention the contest nor the full amount of the reward.

No matter. Now it's between Sloane, Papa, and potentially the courts. If only Papa John had listened to the late M.J. about another famous Billie: "So take my strong advice, just remember to always think twice..." Um, yeah, never saw this one coming. Good luck, Papa John...

[Source: WLKY News]

Papa John's Camaro reward situation turns salty, ex-owners looking for bigger slice of the pie originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Happy Papa John to give Camaro owners free pizza after getting his ride back

Jonathon Ramsey — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:29:00 EST

Filed under: Etc.

John Schnatter, the Papa in Papa John's Pizza, has been looking for his 1971 1/2 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 for nearly 20 years. He sold it in 1983 for $2,800 and used part of that to rescue his father's business and the rest to begin the pizza chain that has gone global. He has spent more than 100 times that much trying to get it back.

Starting off with a FBI agent, then a web appeal and a $25,000 reward, he got nowhere. The reward swelled to $250,000, and then he got on television and talked about trying to get the car back. Some Indiana readers heard about it, and a web engine search led them to Schnatter's story on Jalopnik. Those readers, the Sloanes, thought they knew the owner of the car in question, because they had owned it and recently sold it.

The new owner -- only the third one, after Schnatter -- was a Kentucky man named Jeff Robinson of Flatwoods, Kentucky. He had transformed the original Z28 into an 825 horsepower dragster doing 9.55 quarter-miles at 141 mph. Still, he was unsurprisingly content to sell his car back to Schnatter for the $250,000 reward. The Sloanes also got $25,000 for the assist.

And now their gain may be your gain - if you're one of the Camaro faithful. Papa John is so happy to have his car back that he's giving away free pizza to all Camaro owners tomorrow, Wednesday, August 26. One pizza per Camaro, one visit per Camaro. Although we suppose if you can get that transforming Bumblebee Camaro suit from the Mexican Chevy dealer, you might earn a couple more pies. Thanks to everyone for the tips!

[Sources: Jalopnik; The Associated Press via Google]

Happy Papa John to give Camaro owners free pizza after getting his ride back originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Papa John's founder embarks on cross-country drive to find his '72 Camaro, offering $25k reward

Dan Roth — Fri, 29 May 2009 10:58:00 EST

Filed under: Classics, Etc., Chevrolet, Lifestyle

John Schnatter's 1972 Chevrolet Camaro - Click above for high-res image gallery

It's inconceivable that in 1984 there was any young man in America under 30 that did not love both pizza and the Camaro Z-28. John Schnatter had the Chevy. A '72 Z-28 in gold with black stripes, white-letter BFGs on chrome wheels, a sunroof and chrome-tipped duals. In other words, awesome. John felt a strong pull to try his hand at opening a pizza restaurant. To raise the needed working capital, the beloved Camaro had to go. As much as he loved his car, John loved his pizza plans more.

Twenty-five years later, John Schnatter sits atop his Papa John's empire, 3,400 restaurants strong. John's not the only corporate chief with a hankering for a gold sports car, but going on a quest for your long lost automotive love is certainly a pursuit that speaks to the passion with which the CEO chases his goals. Not satisfied to just hit the road in an assuredly great replica of the car we'll call the "lost Z," CEO Schnatter's off on a road trip, which is being covered comprehensively at the papasroadtrip.com web outpost, and his quarry is the very Z-28 he was forced to liquidate so many years ago. He may be able to get some help from the Lost Car Registry, and the $25,000 reward he's offering for anyone who finds the beloved car is certainly motivational. Along the way on his trip, Papa John will make time to deliver pizzas for local franchises, and his vintage Camaro is way nicer than the clapped out ride you'd normally expect to be wheezing up to the curb carrying your pies.

Gallery: Papa John's Z-28

[Source: Papa John's]

Papa John's founder embarks on cross-country drive to find his '72 Camaro, offering $25k reward originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 29 May 2009 10:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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