Congratulations to Stogy, had the sale included the fees I would have been close, I guess just over 2 mil. I am happy to see the Hirohata Mercury which in my opinion is the holy grail of customs bring such a huge price, just proves a history custom can also be very desirable. Amyonr know who the new owner is? HRP
Someone on here knows, his buddy bought it, but he was asked to "keep it secret" for now. I saw it in another thread. Man, I would never want to own a car that needs glass around it! Lol... I'd be terrified I'd scratch the thing or something. Luckily, I'm poor!
Those photos from the HVA's "Cars at the Capitol" exhibit are so cool. I missed the Gypsy Rose when it was down there, but my wife and I took our son to see the Hirohata because I figured it might be his only shot to see it in person. It had huge crowds around it the whole time I was there—from kids to seniors, and from all walks of life, literally. I'd guess very few were actually car people (and for some of those kids the thing must have looked like a spaceship), but it was like moths to a flame. I imagine it wasn't too far off from what Bob Hirohata experienced driving it cross-country. I was glad I went.
Awesome! What a car. A few thoughts/questions come to mind; The McNiel Daughter's did well, grossing a Mil a piece on a car Dad paid $500 for... Any word on what Carini thought the car might hammer for? He always speculates on his show. Wonder what the new owner will insure the car for? 2 Mil or an agreed price much higher? In the interest of time, Mecum started rolling the Merc off the block at around 1.5 Mil, then the auctioneer spent almost another minute trying to squeeze another $50k to an even 2 Mil. I'd have been nervous as a whore in church trying to sleep at night if one of my cars sat 24/7 in that glass cube in D.C.
Man, I only missed it by right at half a million...so close. Congrats @Stogy !!! Honestly, even thought it is WAY beyond anything I could ever afford or even justify spending that kind of money on, glad to see that a kustom demanded that much. Hopefully, it will end up accessible to folks to continue to enjoy it.
Yes congrats Stogy. Some of us were only off by 1.5 million. Pretty stunned by the high prices across the board. 750K for a Glacier NP people mover? Damn.
when I hear those idiot auctioneers spewing their jibber jabber I want to throw rocks at them. lots of rocks.
My estimate was a boatload of money short, sort of like my builds... I always underestimate the build costs. Good for @Stogy
Let’s see if it’s going to surface any time soon. With that money spent, I doubt if it will be at anyone’s Cars&Coffee.
Thanks for the kind words all... I had fun being a multi millionaire for the moment. It felt good that a mere pittance to the value of a rare Marvel Comic book I could own and drive a show ready revered Custom which also highlights a continued trend toward recognition of vintage Hotrod/Custom as an incredibly valuable part of history... I extend congratulations to the others who missed the win by a bit one way or the other... I hope the new caretaker does show the Merc as part of it's new adventure at applicable events as it's truly part of evolving provenance and I extend congratulations to them as well... Thanks again @Jive-Bomber and @Ryan...PM is on the way...
Hello, Well, my estimate was only off by a million. But, the cost is negligible as it does not have 3 bedrooms plus 2 baths with a 180 degree view of the ocean and city lights on the So Cal coastline. The costs are equivalent to each other, as neither item cannot be driven on road trips or as a daily driver. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...e-take-a-guess-and-win-a-prize.1245254/page-6 Oct 25, 2021: “It is an iconic custom car and should be the all time high of $975k. The headline will be, "just under a million dollars..." Not bad for a 70 year old custom car.” As much accolades given to this auction, it could have sent at least 10-11 well deserving kids to college. (out of state fees +) It is a shame, but that is how most of us see the crazy world of “pedestal” living. Sitting in someone’s garage just does not have a good ring to it. History did not get the good end of the stick this time. Perhaps, as the photo shows, a glassed in enclosure, on a USA big city tour would be nice. It would make up for the fact that is is a nice build and hot rods/customs are/were a part of our whole historic culture. Jnaki “Lock in your best guess below, and whoever gets closest to the actual hammer price will get a HAMB t-shirt sent to you directly from the Jalopy Journal headquarters!” But, the prize of a HAMB T-Shirt was worth the effort to put out a crazy number. Those are quality shirts worth the effort of a simple guess. YRMV
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