OT food for thought

[blacksheep]

I know the cost of fielding a race team made the message board more once. Well being the motorhead I am ( I love any gofast machine) I just watched the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auto auction . Would you believe the highest bid for ONE Car was $5,000,000. Total sales going across the auction for the 5 day event was over $100,000,000

Would be nice if the air racers could get some of that money coming their way

[wolfee]

Re: OT food for thought

Is the orignal "super Cobra" REALLY worth the 5 mil it whent for? I think not. But to a collector I guess it is.

I guess the feelings are the same towards air frames. esp the old WW2 iron.

Are they REALLY worth the millions they are fetching now? to a car junky, probibly not. But to one of us P-51 junkies, yes.

Aww shucks; Then there is Cobra he is both a car, and a plane junky!...

[On Site Grafix]

Re: OT food for thought

I know the cost of fielding a race team made the message board more once. Well being the motorhead I am ( I love any gofast machine) I just watched the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auto auction . Would you believe the highest bid for ONE Car was $5,000,000. Total sales going across the auction for the 5 day event was over $100,000,000

Would be nice if the air racers could get some of that money coming their way

Yep, that would be nice and I think over time, it's possible. Confessing a limited understanding and involvement, I read with interest, a recent series of posts about growing the sport and I believe the biggest issue is organization and marketing. With TOR's eventual release there may be a tremendous marketing opportunity. I wonder if the players will take full advantage of it.

That car was Shelby's personal Cobra with the 427 and it sold for $5.5M. Another of his personal Cobras is secreted away in a personal collection in Reno. Who knows where?

[Bill Marsh]

Re: OT food for thought

Here is the skiiny on the cobra

if it is Carol's personal cobra.... Blue?.... the history on this ride is that it had been wrecked real bad..... scrapped..... bought for small change once or twice

someone finally figured out its intriscik (sp?) and had it redone by the best coachbuilders ...... and wall-ah .... (its the one with the twin turbos?)

saw it in some car auction magazines i believe in the recent past.... i guess that it is the "U LA LA" cobra of all time.

God.... i feel like a POS ..... drooling cause the toys i like is just a wet dream for me.


BMarsh

[Pick]

Re: OT food for thought

And then there's the "2 Million Dollar Hemi Cuda convertible".....or the 3 million dollar one? According to Hot Rod magazine, Bill Wiemann bought one and sold the other..........he also owned, or owns (?) a P-51 Millie G?

[Race5]

Re: OT food for thought

Barrett Jackson is not about the cars, and any realistic value. It is a place for rich guys to show off.

[wyhdah]

Re: OT food for thought

Yeah it's too bad they are not showing off properly, by racing expensive airplanes

[On Site Grafix]

Re: OT food for thought

Yeah it's too bad they are not showing off properly, by racing expensive airplanes

[QUOTE Barrett Jackson is not about the cars, and any realistic value. It is a place for rich guys to show off. [/QUOTE]

Connect these two dots and you begin to see some real marketing opportunity. Now throw in the Concours crowd from Pebble Beach and the mix starts looking pretty strong. Then add the Antique and Custom Gun Crowd and the mix is huge. Money is plentiful and all these guys have the same thing in common. They like very cool stuff made out of Metal. The question then becomes how to reach this market. The hard work is already done; they're already consolidated in events and locations that are easy to access. What's next?

So if Air Racing and Warbird Restoration is to grow and prosper, the guys who do it are going to have to get together and make it happen! Look at what these guys are doing and make a business plan. Of course if that succeeds, the SPORT will change so the decision becomes ; Is that what is really wanted?

[Leo]

Re: OT food for thought

From what I've read it was Shelby's personal ride, twin turbo's.
I understood that the sister car, built for Bill Cosby, was wrecked, but maybe both were at some time.
A friend of mine who has several fast cars (3 vettes, a Viper and street legal Datsun 240Z with a blown 350 in it) has a tamer Cobra with the 427 dual quad setup. He's drooling now hoping all the Cobra prices will follow.
I still think a lot of the difficulty in getting that crowd into aircraft is the Walterr Mitty factor. They can picture themselves handling the cars, but the aircraft unless they are pilots.

[On Site Grafix]

Re: OT food for thought

I still think a lot of the difficulty in getting that crowd into aircraft is the Walterr Mitty factor. They can picture themselves handling the cars, but the aircraft unless they are pilots.

You're probably right, it may be hard for them to relate to. But if Air Racing and Warbird Restoration really want to grow and prosper, the way to generate interest, and subsequent financial interest, is to overcome that. Think about NASCAR for a minute. We can all relate to driving and racing but less than 1% of the fan base that spends millions on it every year (and the sponsor base), will ever even touch one of the cars let alone drive it. One of the key factors in NASCAR success has been making the sports stars, teams and sponsors 'touchable'.

From my experience the Air Race pilots and teams overwhelming receive interest and interact with the fans but don't exploit that. Want a corporate sponsor? Figure out how to show them ways you can benefit their marketing goals and bottom line. It's not that hard. Can they bring major client to your events? Can they bring that client to your pit and can that client sit in your trailer and have a beer with you after the days activities are over? Can they arrange a T6 or B-24 flight? Can they envision their name on your plane? Can you fly to their local airport during the year to do more of this stuff? Can you speak at their annual meetings?

All any of this takes is a well written, finely tuned business plan and the execution of it. It's serious business that demands the organization and full comittment of the principals involved and it will chang the way the sport looks. But if thats what the racers and restorers want!

[AKA HITMAN]

Re: OT food for thought

And the sad fact of the matter is that the Cobra will probably be stashed away just to look at by the owner and perhaps a few of his cronies. I too am a gearhead (picked it up from Dad) who believed that if you build it, use it. When I did go to Reno, I was amazed at the age of the planes and that they were actually being flown and flown in competition to boot.
I own and race dirtbikes here in Texas and picked up what is considered an exotic hand build bike made in Italy. Sure its pretty and I've not seen another like it so far, but she gets raced and trashed on a regular basis, thats what she's for. When I do watch Barrett-Jackson I wonder what will become of some of the cars sold for obscene prices. Myself it would get used and used on a regular basis.
I can't really respect a guy that buys a car for eye candy, but I do have the utmost respect for a pilot/owner of a rare plane that gets out and runs it hard knowing that its almost irreplacable(sp).....Doc Hisey comes to mind.
Oh well time to go on my honeydoo mission, maybe later I'll fire up the bike and charge the battery. Homeowner association will like it I'm sure.
HITMAN out!!!!

[Leo]

Re: OT food for thought

The person to talk to would be Steve Seghetti. It seems he's done all right marketing Sparky to Jelly Belly. I've talked to him about it in the past and they do O.K. by him.

On the Cobra, I used to keep my Vette driving to a minimum to save the miles on it. They spent a lot of time parked in the garage, covered, waiting for the next show. One day I realized I was not enjoying them and the cars were suffering, starting to leak, etc. So I let one go to a person that is taking much better care of it and driving it regularly, and I'm driving the mine every day. Your right, that's what ANY macine is for.

[blacksheep]

Re: OT food for thought

I think the one that got to me was the guy selling a Plymouth Superbird and a Charger Daytona as a pair!!