Month: November 2012

When you do something that’s not very smart, you can be sure nowadays there’s someone nearby with a camera in hand to capture the moment.

Witness the case of the two Corvette drivers who became a YouTube sensation about this time last year after they were caught on video allegedly drag racing from a traffic signal in The Woodlands, Texas and then crashing into each other.

Well, the wheels of justice may turn slowly, but they do eventually turn. The two drivers – Roy W. Bowden, 45 of The Woodlands and Brian A. Hebert, 24, of Spring, Texas – were indicted last Thursday by a Montgomery County, Texas grand jury. They’re both facing charges of third-degree felony racing on highway causing bodily injury.

That’s apparently a pretty serious crime in Texas, since it can carry a sentence of two to 10 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.

In the video, we see a C6 and a C5 Corvette sitting next to each other at a red light on Woodlands Parkway at the intersection of West Branch Crossing Drive on Thanksgiving Day, 2011. Suddenly, the two cars accelerate when the light turns green, with the C5 losing control shortly afterwards and then the two cars disappear behind a clump of trees.

Gerod Rush, the man who recorded the two cars and then uploaded it to YouTube, where it’s been viewed some 6+ million times, told The Conroe Courtier he believes the cars may have been traveling nearly 80mph when Bowden’s C5 swerved and hit the C6 driven by Hebert, who is accused of driving with a suspended license. Don’t you bet their insurance companies loved it?

A report from the Texas Department of Public Safety says that Hebert told a trooper at the scene that he felt pain in his leg and he was taken to the hospital for treatment, hence the bodily injury part of the charge.

If Hebert had not been hurt, the drivers would have faced Class B misdemeanors, but when someone is injured because of an illegal race, the charge is bumped up to a third-degree felony under Texas law.

Hebert’s lawyer, Jarrod Walker, says he’s working toward a deal and hopes to have the matter resolved soon. Bowden’s lawyer, Robert Kangun, could not be reached for comment.

Source:
Jalopnik

Related:
[ACCIDENT] Corvette and Tahoe Drivers Flee After Fiery Crash in Los Angeles
[VIDEO] C5 Z06 Crashes and Flips in San Diego Accident
[VIDEO] Corvettes Crash During Street Race; Warrants Issued

 

Vicari Auctions will offer more than 200 classic and muscle cars at their 3rd annual New Orleans Classic Auto Festival Saturday, December 1st in New Orleans, La. A red on red fuel injected 1963 Corvette convertible pilot car will lead the Corvette brigade. The early production C2 wears serial #16 and is one of just 2 numbers matching pilot cars known to exist.

According to Vicari President Pete Vicari, “After testing, these Corvettes were supposed to have been crushed, but a few survived. It is believed there are four or five restored Corvette Pilot Cars left in the world, and only two known original matching numbers cars: Serial #3 and #16. The unique characteristics of these hand-built cars are clearly noticeable by the quality of workmanship in this Corvette, which doesn’t feature the traditional smooth fiberglass of production cars.”

1963 Corvette VIN 16 still sports its original 327ci/360hp fuelie engine and 4-speed transmission. The exterior wears Riverside Red and is complemented by the matching red vinyl interior. The odometer reads 106,000 miles and the car has been with its current owner since 2001.

Interesting early C2 characteristics on this car include the sand cast fuel injection unit, smooth-surface console sans grid lines, an early burnished face clock, and the early rectangular welded upper ball studs.

So what’s it worth? Pricing rare cars like these can be very difficult. According to the American Car Collector auction database (ACC record 165689), a twin to this car – VIN 15 – sold at RM Monterey in August of 2010 for $104,500. Given that VIN 16 is matching number car and that the market has had a couple of years to recover, we think it’s safe to assume that this car could command a sum healthily in excess of that $104.5k mark seen in 2010.

1963 Corvette VIN 16 will cross the block at the New Orleans Classic Auto Festival Saturday, December. 1 at Mardi Gras World in New Orleans, La. Admission to the event is $10 per day and children 10 and under are free. Registration will start at 9am, and sales begin 1 hour later 10am. Checkout Vicari’s website www.vicariauction.com or give them a call at 504.875.3563.

Source:
Vicari

Related:
[VIDEO] Split Personality: 1963 Corvette Convertible has a Split Window Hard Top
[PICS] Eyeson Design Show Celebrates 25 Years with a Collection of 25 Silver Corvettes
[PICS] 1962 Shop Order Styling Corvette at Amelia Island

 

Looking to pick up some great Corvette gear at fantastic prices on Cyber Monday? Check out our friends at Mid America Motorworks who have put together this mailer featuring free shipping on Corvette watches plus substantial discounts on selected t-shirts, polos and women’s clothing.

Click here to see the savings at Mid America Motorworks but be quick as these prices are only going to be this low today!

 

Article contributed by Rick Tavel

As many of you probably realize, preparations for Barrett-Jackson’s world famous January collector car auction are already underway in Scottsdale, Arizona. This year’s auction is January 13 through 20. The magnitude of this auction requires Craig Jackson and his team to begin preparing for their flagship Scottsdale auction almost a year in advance.

This event is a must for any car enthusiast and for those of you who have never attended a Barrett-Jackson Auction you have to put it on your Bucket List. It is one of the top ten auto based events in the world and you need to know that you don’t have to spend a fortune bidding on a car. You don’t need to bid at all because the greatest enjoyment of Barrett-Jackson for those of us who do not have a couple million dollars to drop on a car is to enjoy inspecting, arguably, the largest great collection of diverse collector cars in the west. Guaranteed you won’t see a larger assemblage of cars west of the Mississippi the entire year. Of course there is a side benefit of spending days inspecting the myriad of cars displayed in several tents, some larger than a football field, that benefit is you could become the owner of any one of them, if your bank account is large enough. Sure all cars are not “showcars” but most would qualify.

This year in addition to their usual offerings of outstanding sports and muscle cars they will also be offering their Salon Collection. This is a special exclusive offering of very rare, award-winning collector cars with great historical provenance, many of which have not been up for sale in quite some time. In their tradition of bringing top grade collectables to the collector market and devoting a portion of the prime time auction to this segment of the car collector hobby illustrates Barrett-Jackson’s commitment to excellence and diversity within the collector car community. As most of you know their focus over the past years has primarily been top grade American muscle and sports cars, but what you may not know is that years ago the cars typical to the Salon collection are the type and era of car that Craig Jackson’s father focused on as he was building the business.

But there is another side of Barrett-Jackson aside from auctioning some of the finest collector cars in the world. That part is giving back to the community – helping raise money for charities. Partnering with General Motors, other automotive manufacturers and dealers, Barrett Jackson has raised millions of dollars for charity. Who could forget last January when Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports teamed up to offer the first 2013 Corvette 427 Convertible offered to the public. That car sold for $600,000! The proceeds were donated to the AARP Foundation’s Drive to End Hunger initiative. Just imagine, $600,000 for a C6 427! Granted it was the first “427 Convertible” sold to the public with a VIN of 001. Forget that the seven liter, LS7 engine produced a mere 505 horsepower. And even forget that it’s a car that can do 0 to 60 in under four seconds, it’s still a bunch of cash to come up with! Pardon me, but even for a Corvette!

So by now you probably have figured out where I’m going with this. As all Corvette enthusiasts know , 1-13-13 is a very special day, the day Chevrolet will formally introduce the 2014, completely new C7 Corvette to the media and public at the Detroit Auto Show. Coincidentally 1-13-13 is also the first day of the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction. What marketing executive worth his weight in platitudes would not jump at the chance to utilize the biggest automobile event of the first half of the year to market his product to hungry enthusiasts with pockets full of cash, all in the name of charity! Absolutely the best idea since someone put bikini-clad girls on new car model’s turntables back in the fifties.

So on one hand we have Barrett-Jackson with a track record of creating unbridled excitement, setting world-record auction prices, with a 120,000 square foot tent packed full of cash-laden, hungry buyers and almost non-stop national cable TV coverage throughout the entire auction from Speedvision. This may sound politically incorrect, but even the “Helen Keller” of marketing whizzes could see the obvious opportunity before their eyes. It is what is known as “low hanging fruit” in the industry. There for the taking. The only problem for Barrett-Jackson’s and Chevrolet’s marketing people was it could keep them awake at night wondering just how much someone would be willing to pay for the number one C7 ever offered for sale to the public. That would most likely be serial number 2, assuming that number 1 would go to the National Corvette Museum.

Now we are talking about the number one car offered for sale of an entire generation of Corvettes, not “just” a special model! Imagine it! Understand I am not minimizing the importance of or undervaluing the “427 Convertible”, I’d love to own one and am envious of those that do, but I am speaking “relatively”. Would the first C7 available for sale to the public bring $750,000, a $1,000,000, $1,500,000 or even more? I am not sure anymore where this could shake out. If it were 2007 I might be able to see two million dollars, but with the volatility of the collector car market since 2008 I am not sure. The market has made a comeback but it, hasn’t made it all the way back to the market where an Oldsmobile prototype topped four million dollars at Barrett-Jackson during the peak. But when you consider the fact that the one hundred and fifty tickets the National Corvette Museum offered sold out almost overnight at $995 a pop, just to be at the C7′s introduction in Detroit on 1-13-13. A thousand bucks to be a part of the media introduction gives rise to all kinds of price possibilities. Whatever, the prospects are more than enticing for both Barrett-Jackson and Chevrolet .

So I am asking you, “How much would you pay for the first C7 ever offered for sale to the public?” And if you’re a little short this month and can’t quite swing it then, ” How much do you think someone else would be willing to pay?” With all the hype and enthusiasm around the new Corvette’s introduction it is an interesting point to ponder. Even Vegas could get in on the act and offer odds. Maybe it’s not worth laying awake at night over, unless you have just checked your investment position, clipped a few coupons, liquidated a few stocks and transferred some money between accounts. But my guess is something is being put together right now between Chevrolet and Barrett-Jackson, something that will top last year’s “427 Convertible”. Something BIG – Barrett-Jackson only does things BIG in the collector world – and it doesn’t get any bigger than auctioning off a low production number C7 to be built. I may be wrong on this, not likely, and you will have the opportunity to find out this coming January 19th, in the iconic quarter mile tent located in Scottsdale, Arizona. I can’t be in Detroit on the 13th, but you can bet I’m going to be at Barrett-Jackson on Saturday, January 19, 2013, to find out.

Rick Tavel writes about automobiles with an emphasis on Corvettes and the hobby in general. You can email him at ricktavel1@gmail.com

Related:
[VIDEO] 2013 Corvette 427 Convertible Sells for $700,000 at Barrett-Jackson
Barrett-Jackson to Auction First 2013 Corvette 427 Convertible
GM to Offer Another Mystery Corvette at Barrett-Jackson?