With the financial crisis started in the US, you wouldn't have expected generous amounts of money for the auctioned cars but once again history is teaching us obsessive car collectors do not take into account economic conditions when deciding to add another jewel to their existing collection. That being said, collector Ron Pratt paid no less than $600,000 for the black 1955 Ford Thunderbird to take it into his garage, Wheels24.co.za reported.
As for Mr Pratt, all we can say is that he seems to be a property developer who hasn't been (yet) hit by the financial crisis as, at a previous action, he wrote a check of $5 million for Carroll Shelby’s Supersnake Cobra. The strange fact about the generous collector is that he apparently refuses to display the cars to the public after purchase which is very selfish, we would say.
As for other auctioned cars, the amounts paid are not so spicy but still satisfactory high for the owners. For instance, GM managed to sell its ownership rights to its first 2010 Camaro off the production line for $350,000 but the Detroit automaker won't enjoy the profit as the proceeds will go to the American Heart Association.
Moreover, Ford sold its F-150 SVT Raptor for only $130,000 while a Mustang FR500 Cobra Jet factory drag racing car fetched $375,000 (most of the sum going to charity though). One of the last three Eleanor Mustangs used in the movie Gone in 60 Seconds found a new owner for $197,000.
We are delighted to see the Detroit automakers playing the good Samaritan during such hard times and are looking froward to hearing good news from them in the future.
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