Do you have a collection of cool cars? Perhaps you do. Maybe you are even pretty darn proud of that rolling stock. The thing of it is, there’s almost always going to be somebody with more money who’s able to put your collection to shame. It’s true, I know that fact from personal experience.
I didn’t make a fortune selling jeans to hipsters, or by hosting the Tonight Show – Twice! I could have, but I didn’t. That doesn’t mean I begrudge those who have done so, as the likes of Magnus Walker and Jay Leno are very open to sharing the spoils of their labors – just don’t touch, m’kay?
There have always been obscenely rich people who have addressed the issue of wallet overflow with the purchase of classic iron. These days the Internet brings those collections closer to the masses, and by masses, I mean people like you and me. Today, I’d like know which one of those fancy car collectors turns you BRG with envy. Who is the car guy with the collection you most covet?
Image: TheCarConnection
Hooniverse Asks: Who’s the Car Guy You Presently Envy the Most?
About
26 responses to “Hooniverse Asks: Who’s the Car Guy You Presently Envy the Most?”
-
Any who actually has the time to enjoy the cars without feeling guilty.
-
It’s hard to think of my w126 as a collector car, even though it will qualify for antique plates next year (KS requires 35 years). But with only 248k on the ticker, it is my DD.
-
One elderly car demands so many resources already! Time, space, money. Money is not really an issue once you are in a certain stage of your life, hopefully (I am talking one malaise era project car for me, the equivalent of Leno’s “European Hall” for him). Time is a different scheme : those more affluent people I know are really busy earning more, whereas others are busy earning enough.
Those two poster guys up there have probably understood that they hhave enough money to stop running after more, and do exclusively that what they like, which is not treading the mill, but being a good chat about cars. Consequently, I envy them, a little bit.
-
-
-
The most interesting collection might be in the hands of Myron Vernis. He also seems to be a very down-to-earth guy with a hands-on attitude and a will to share without bragging.
Apart from that, I consider a collection of 1 enough.-
He used to comment occasionally over at [Redacted], and every so often at Hemmings.com too. I wonder if he ever hangs around the ‘verse?
Definitely seems like a good guy, with an eccentric (read: excellent) collection.-
He comments occasionally at Hemmings and BaT – and he always has something to contribute.
-
-
Aww shucks… Definitely not a fancy car collector but I’m honored that anyone would think highly enough of my cars to mention them in this post. I just buy what I like and what I can afford (OK, sometimes more than I can afford) and have fun.
I’ve been hanging around Hooniverse (mostly lurking) since the very beginning and I love it. Feel free to visit if you ever have the misfortune of being in Northeast Ohio; I always need help pushing around derelict, umm, I mean interesting cars.-
Hehe, wow! 🙂 I will remember the invitation, for now I’m a continent away.
-
Wow, I just watched the video on your collection from a couple of years ago on [redacted]. What a cool bunch of cars. We’ll, except for maybe that 91 Buick art car. 😀 NE Ohio isn’t far from Columbus…
-
-
-
Regarding car collections other than Jay Leno’s, I absolutely adore the collection of Jay Kay from Jamiroquai. Apparently your calling name must be Jay for you to amass an awesome pile of cars.
However I don’t think that’s what carguyism is about, and envy is the wrong word here. I simply admire every wholeheartedly dedicated car guy because they all have their own treasures and their own stories to share.-
Werd.
-
You may know this, Krautwursten.
The intro of Travelling Without Moving, the song, not the album, do you know if that’s one of Jay Kay’s cars they used? I’m trying to place the transmission ‘snick’, but it’s not happening.
-
-
Petter Solberg, champion rally driver, married to a champion rally driver, with a collection of championship winning rally cars!
-
Allen Millyard. Not just because he has a collection of bonkers-crazy one-off bikes, but because he has the skill and talent and resources to build them all. Can you imagine having the ability to turn nearly any vehicle design you can imagine into a running, functional machine?
http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/aa/35/0e/aa350e5b61e7639853aa1ee901ef49d9.jpg-
And don’t forget his son’s downhill racing pushbike which Allen, himself, designed and made. Inexplicably, no-one has taken up a license to manufacture it. After all these seasons of racing it’s still winning on it’s original (enclosed) chain, routed through it’s single sided swingarm with the quick-change rear wheel.
I would love one but I think I’ll have to settle for a Zerode. Or make my own.
http://ep3.pinkbike.org/p3pb1712393/p3pb1712393.jpg
http://www.zerodeusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Zerode-G2-Zee-Build-1.jpg
-
-
Honestly just anyone who has the means to buy a few really nice cars, store them and enjoy them. I don’t aspire to have a Leno-sized garage filled with cars, but the ability to have two or three interesting cars would be nice. Maybe I’m just sour about not being able to afford keeping a car in NYC, though.
-
I have had the good fortune to occasionally be around the owners of zillion dollar car collections. It’s always neat seeing the ones like Leno who would still be there as a spectator if his net worth dropped into blue collar range.
Still, I admire Ralph Lauren for being a car guy AND a trendsetter. If I could switch places with him for a day, I would buy a $500 E30, cage it, decorate it like a pirate ship, and watch to see how many rich douchebags try to imitate me. -
Donald S. Gilmore (And his museum namely)
http://www.gilmorecarmuseum.org/
It’s an honest collection of some really interesting cars, but it’s mostly survivors and drivers. There are some pretty boys in the collection, but the purpose of the whole museum is to tell the automotive history of America.
I mean just look at the collection of “Mascot” hood ornaments:
http://www.gilmorecarmuseum.org/images/explore-mascots-01.jpg
It’s just cool. If you have never been, I would tell you to go. And stop at the Kalamazoo Beer Exchange and the Air Zoo while you are at it! -
THE ROADKILL GUYS AND THE DIRT EVERYDAY GUY!
-
I envy the camera guy who got the Gremlin.
-
I have wanted a Gremmy ever since.
-
-
Freiburger has probably misplaced more amazing cars than I’ll ever own.
-
-
Sometimes I’m envious of my boss…
-
i’m envious of all those people who can, like, take on large projects in a reasonable amount of time, you know? the people who talk about dropping engines like it’s no big deal and who fabricate awesome shit in their garage, etc. for me, if i have to go past the spark plug cover or the transmission seals, i start really questioning if i want to keep the car, but there are people who’ll just hack away at something for a week and get major repairs done.
so to narrow it down to a specific person, i’m envious of Speedycop. i have pretty much zero interest in engaging in motorsport, but i want to Build Things, and instead i can barely stay on top of maintenance. meanwhile this guy seems to be building five cars a week, each crazier than the last. i know he’s not doing it alone, but it’s really what Speedycop symbolizes that i envy, rather than him as an individual. it’s the creativity to come up with something worth building and the drive to actually see it through.
i also think i envy anyone who has friends who are into cars and will come help them out with their projects, but i’m not actually sure on that one. for some reason i don’t really resonate with most “car people” i meet in “real life”. -
First, I have to clarify; I don’t ‘envy’ anyone. Admire, yes. Respect, yes. But I think that’s pretty much a given; you only use the term ‘envy’ playfully here. I love Hooniverse and admire the contributors.
All that said, the answer is Jacques Littlefield.
Before his untimely passing in 2009, that man had the time and money to do whatever the heck he wanted, he did it and he shared it with the rest of us.
May he rest in peace and maybe someday his collection will be on public view – somewhere in Maine I think.
For anyone who hasn’t heard of this man, he was the ultimate car guy, but his tastes ran toward a particular kind of automobile.
He was into tanks.
Anyone who is interested in armored vehicles probably knows who Mr. Littlefield was.
Alas, there are not as many tank guys as, say, Corvette guys, but I like to think there’s more than a little crossover. . . granted, you have to be an oil sheikh to really be able to afford to collect tanks, much less modify one or drive it, but still. . . all the more reason to hold in high esteem a regular guy like Littlefield who did it for the sheer joy of it, and generously shared it with the rest of us. -
Were I to come into ugly amounts of money, I’d build a house over a large garage…by large, I mean 80′ deep by probably 80′ wide.
That’d hold, comfortably, everything I want, including the 40′ motorcoach we have now, plus whatever’s on the lift and over the pit at any particular moment.
As it stands, I’m content to own four motorized wheeled vehicles, all at least ten years old, and with the lowest mileage one having about 130K on the clock.
Leave a Reply