Hershey
2011 - Fantastic Fall Days
I’m sure you’ve all heard the Hershey horror
stories of mud, rain and generally unpredictable
fall weather.
This year was the exception, as the weather
gods strung together four beautiful days without a
drop of rain for us “car guys and gals” to meet
without fighting the elements.
We had a new vendor spot (CY45-46) on the
Chocolate Field this year. Many old friends and
some new ones stopped by for a visit. We even
helped one of our clients find a new home for his
Series III Jaguar Roadster.
On Friday evening, I attended the cocktail
party hosted by Hagerty
Insurance, just before the RM
Auction at the Hershey Lodge. The
party was held in part to celebrate the end of a
long journey by a recent graduate of McPherson
College.
Starting October 13, 2010, Jonathan Klinger
set off driving a 1930 Model A everywhere he went;
he drove no other modern daily driver for a
year.
Why did he do it? "Because not everything a
person owns should contain a computer,” he
said.
A graduate of the Automotive Restoration
Program at McPherson, Jonathan chronicled his
experience in a daily
diary. He finished his epic journey
at Hershey where it all began a year ago.
Much to his surprise, McKeel Hagerty
presented him with the “keys to the car” at the
party. Rumor has it he booked a flight home
and had the car shipped.
The RM auction started off with some of the
early cars not quite not reaching their expected
marks. More cars from the John O'Quinn
estate went across the block and brought some good
results.
RM Auction predicted that this car would sell
for between $2 million and $2.5 million. The
excitement grew as the bidding increased. Finally
the 127-year-old "LeMarquise" brought $4.2
million, $1 million more than it sold for just
four years ago!
The auction offered 115 lots, 97 which sold
for an average of $103,000. Obviously, with the
LaMarquise selling for $4.2 million, that number
is somewhat distorted. However, there were some
good buys to be had.
One that stood out was an ex-Harrah 1921
Hudson Super Six Speedster that was estimated by
RM auctions to sell between $40,000 and $45,000;
the hammer fell at $27,500!
Overall, sales were $10,062,450, up by 15.6
percent over last year.
Steve went on to say that more than 9,500
vendor spaces were filled, with only a handful of
empty single spots here and there. This year set a
record with more than 900 Car Corral spaces. Some
thought attendance was lighter, possibly due to
Tropical Storm Lee that flooded
Hershey a couple of weeks before the
Fall Meet.
However, AACA booth vendor sales were up from
last year and a hotel room was hard to find.
Many vendors come to swap and, hopefully,
break even on their stay. We were pleased to find
a pair of rare original tail lamp lenses for the
Hudson
Terraplane we had on display!
On Saturday, some 1,250 cars lined up to be
judged in more than 40 classes.
I have to commend the volunteers who manage
the vendors and show, and the incredible amount of
traffic around the convention center. Their
professionalism is what makes the event run
well.
If you have never been to a Fall Meet I
suggest that you put next year’s dates (October
9-12) on your calendar now. As I have said before,
be prepared for any kind of weather and wear a
good pair of walking shoes.
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