By Sam Barer

Sound Classics

Sports Car Market sent our a report this week detailing an unfortunate issue with the high bidder of the 2008 Bugatti Veyron at the Barrett-Jackson Las Vegas Auction. After the gavel fell on live television, this winning bidder backed out of the $770,000 purchase (including premium), which was the top seller at the event.

Back in 2007, a minor firestorm resulted from an issue between B-J and a seller of a ‘Cuda at its flagship Arizona auction. After finger pointing, many media reports, tons of comments on blogs and chat boards, a lawsuit, a settlement, and too much time and headaches, the issue was solved. But lessons were learned on all sides about how similar disputes might be played out in the future.

Evidently, Barrett-Jackson was on the ball for the latest round of auction snafu. While an entirely different type of issue, B-J did exactly what they should have done: immediately announce the problem, get ahead of the story, and find a quick solution: offer the car for sale again. Even as the deadbeat bidder was leaving the event, Craig Jackson announced he would buy the car to maintain the sale. Later a B-J customer inquired about buying the car from Mr. Jackson, although it is not clear if the deal for the car has been finalized.

Kudos to Barrett-Jackson for doing what many large businesses often fail to do: learn and evolve to deal with the next crisis. They played this one perfectly.

Continue reading "Barrett-Jackson’s Bugatti Veyron Snafu Spotlights Lessons Learned" »

By Sam Barer

Sound Classics

Throw out the notion that Concours d’Elegance events are just sedate wine and cheese affairs where the only sounds are crystal glasses clanging and the rubbing of hundred-dollar-bills on each other within thick wallets. At this weekend’s 2010 Kirkland Concours attendees were given unique visual and aural thrills when the class of nine vintage Ford GT-40s all fired-up their engines and revved.

The class included five MK I models, a ’66 MK II and a ’66 MK III, as well as a ’67 427-ci MK IV. And if these weren’t impressive enough, the unique ’65 Prototype Spyder was also there singing.

Watch the video and enjoy.

Nine GT40s Revving

By Sam Barer

Sound Classics

In my experience around classics, there hasn’t been much I haven’t done to myself. I’ve had fingers pinched by a Packard Patrician, knuckles annihilated by a Triumph TR-250, and knee incised during Healey Hundred ingress. If I were to rate the injuries, though, my best has been nearly knocking myself out cold from hitting my head on the corner of a Ferrari 308 GT4 engine lid water runoff tray.

That was until yesterday, when I managed to hurt myself in a way most auto fanatics could only dream of: I ran over my big toe with a 105-year-old car! Continue reading after the jump.

Continue reading "What’s Your Best Car Injury Story?" »

By Sam Barer

Sound Classics

Our Craigslist posting of the day comes courtesy of a Seattle-area car owner:

The TRIUMPH TR-6 is a powerful, sophisticated sports car, with very advanced engineering. It is factory equipped with:
-2.5 Liter 6 Cylinder engine
- makes 104 Horsepower
-4 speed fully synchronized transmission
-Independent suspension front AND rear
-Dual Carburetors, Rack & Pinion steering for precise cornering, Front Disc Brakes, Full instrumentation – Tachometer, Speedometer, and all engine gauges. This particular TR-6 has been a well cared for Washington rust free car since new! Major services have been completed in the last 24 months, receipts available. Resprayed 5 years ago, otherwise as original, sporting the British Everflex soft-top with 80,xxx miles. Vehicle has insured value @ $10,000. Motivated to sell because of a business opportunity. $8950.

Okay, this is nowhere near the worst CL posting I’ve seen. Heck, from a pure marketing point of view it’s actually a great ad. From an “accurate automotive history” perspective, however, the first line oversells the TR-6′s qualifications so drastically that I was expecting the next sentence to describe Jessica Simpson as the smartest human being on the face of the planet.

Continue reading "Craigslist Posting Of The Day: Hyperbole Edition" »

By Sam Barer

Sound Classics

In an attempt to make it easier for non-car people to properly offer their vehicles for sale, two years ago I wrote an article called “Sammy’s Unofficial Template For Listing A Car Or Truck For Sale On Craigslist”. Judging by the sheer number of horribly-written ads I still see, obviously the topic needs to be covered yet again.

So today I’m trying something a little different. I’ll call it “Sammy’s Vehicle For Sale On Craigslist (or eBay, For That Matter) _ad Lib”.

Offered for sale is a (YEAR) (MAKE) (MODEL) (OFFICIAL BODY STYLE– that means SEDAN/COUPE/CONVERTIBLE/HARDTOP COUPE/WAGON/TOWN SEDAN, etc…) (OFFICIAL TRIM LEVEL DESIGNATION) with (NUMBER OF MILES). The vehicle is optioned with (OPTIONS AND OPTION PACKAGES).

(TYPE OF ENGINE — and NUMBER OF CYLINDERS/HORSEPOWER/OPTION CODE if multiple engines or multiple states of tune were offered) is (CHOOSE “ORIGINAL” OR “NOT ORIGINAL”) and runs (ADVERB). The (TYPE OF TRANSMISSION) shifts (ADVERB). Vehicle was last serviced (DATE), at which time the (LIST MAJOR SERVICES PERFORMED). Vehicle will need (TYPE OF MAINTENANCE) within the next (TIME PERIOD).

The (COLOR) paint is (ADJECTIVE). There are (ADJECTIVE RELATED TO QUANTITY) areas of (RUST/DAMAGE/DENTS/SCRATCHES) the size of (OBJECT) around the following areas: (LIST AREAS). The (FABRIC TYPE) interior is (COLOR) and is in (ADJECTIVE) condition, as exemplified by the (THING) on the (OBJECT).

Vehicle is offered at (PRICE) and is located at (LOCATION — CITY, STATE). Please feel free to ask questions by emailing (EMAIL ADDRESS) or calling (NAME) at (TELEPHONE NUMBER) between (HOURS).

The following pictures were taken (MONTH/YEAR): (INSERT FOUR PICTURES: FRONT 1/4, REAR 1/4, ENGINE, INTERIOR)

And just one last thing: at the very least, please spell check. If I see another “Camero Convertable” for sale today, I’m going to blow a gasket.

By Sam Barer

Sound Classics

One of the most frustrating things about do-it-yourself auto repair is dealing with vanishing parts. The only thing worse than turning a twenty-minute job into a two-day event by dropping that special nut, bolt or spring is to break the part outright due to sheer frustration or stupidity.

I’m well experienced with all forms of parts losing, but I seem to specialize in fumbling nuts and bolts into the depths of the most inaccessible places. With this in mind, I wasn’t surprised when during the process of replacing the eight too-lean jets on the four Weber carburetors on the Infamous Craigslist 1976 Ferrari Dino 308 GT4, I bumped one of the tops of the carburetors sitting on the edge of the air cleaner housing. I heard it go falling down into the engine bay with a succession of clanks and pings.

I figured it was no problem. After all, an air horn of a Weber DCNF is too big to lose, right? Read on…

Continue reading "How Is It Possible To Lose A Part This Big?" »

By Sam Barer

Sound Classics

I’m not good at taking vacations. I don’t take them very often and I’m bad at them when I do. “Vacation” implies getting away from work, and I have always had a strong sense of duty to my deadlines. Hell, I even once spent a day of my honeymoon writing and uploading new content to the software company’s web site for which I was product line director in sync with a major launch. This was after the CEO told me to not to worry about it until I got back.

And it’s happened again. Here I am today with my wife and kids in Honolulu on the 35th floor of a hotel overlooking Waikiki Beach… and I’m writing about cars while they swim in the pool. Indeed, two days ago my vow to avoid automotive-related stuff died like a college freshman’s virginity pledge when I noticed the Ferrari Store wedged in with other high-end retailers on the main drag here. Read on…

Continue reading "My “No-Cars Vacation” Pledge Failed. How Did You Do?" »

By Sam Barer

Sound Classics

Here’s one of the best cars from the Mason County Forest Festival Car Show — a 1955 Chevy Two-Door Post straight axle gasser. Only Lady Godiva herself could have turned more heads rolling down the streets of uptown Shelton.

Continue reading "A Case Of Bad Gassers" »

By Sam Barer

Sound Classics

Despite its claim as the “Christmas Tree Capital Of The World,” Shelton, Washington is not the epicenter of anything. Considering that the town closes its streets at least twice in June for car shows, though, it can at least be identified as the most octane-friendly place west of Puget Sound.

Shelton again hosted the annual Mason County Forest Festival (curious isn’t it that there’s a forest-themed fair in a place that lives and dies by the timber industry?) Car Show this past weekend. The show draws people from all over Mason, Thurston and Grays Harbor counties, which means that if a bomb dropped on the show, pretty much everyone who used to read my weekly “Sound Classics” newspaper column would be wiped off the map. That also meant that despite the pouring rain, I had an obligation to be there to support my car friends.

In the past I’ve taken my 1960 Triumph TR-3, 1986 Ferrari 328 GTS and a long-since-sold 1969 big block Corvette Convertible up there, but I decided this year to introduce the townspeople to the Infamous Craigslist 1976 Ferrari Dino 308 GT4. I suppose that I could have also taken the ’79 Chevy K10, but I still can’t excited about showing what I consider a work truck.

Continue reading "Mason County Forest Festival Car Show Summary" »

By Sam Barer

Sound Classics

There are two types of people in this world: those who fear the lower half of the fuel gauge, and those (like me) who think low-fuel idiot lights are no more than a friendly reminder to hit a gas station sometime in the next week or two. And let’s just say that it drives my wife nucking futz, because she’s one of those “you never know when you’re going to have an emergency and need a full tank of fuel” thinkers.

Maybe that’s why she’s the doctor and I’m the automotive writer, but I digress…

The fact of the matter is that I’ve never run out of gas on the road. (I’ll admit that I’ve have learned the hard way that a couple vehicles I’ve owned have less than smartly-engineered fuel tanks, leading to no-start conditions even with four or five gallons remaining when parked at various angles on steep driveways…but to quote the legendary Del Griffith: “I won’t be held responsible for faulty engineering.”) The reason I never run out of gas is that no matter how close to “E” the needle is or how many miles it’s been since the idiot light came on, I still inherently know that I’m playing with way more go-juice than the car would have me believe.

Continue reading after the jump!

Continue reading "Is Your Car’s Fuel Gauge Idiot Light Programmed By Idiots?" »