GM Selling Cars from Heritage Collection

[CSpec]

General Motors cleans out the garage
Troubled automaker is selling vehicles from its 'Heritage Collection'

General Motors is cleaning out the attic to sell some stuff at the auction house to raise some much needed cash.

Around 250 vehicles from GM's "Heritage Collection" will be auctioned by Barrett-Jackson, with the first lots going on Jan. 13 in Scottsdale, Ariz., and the second hitting the block in April in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Don't think that GM is parting with the family jewels to pay the mortgage. Though insiders can't recall such a big chunk of the collection being sold at once, 25 percent of the total, most of the vehicles are special show cars and one-offs that GM snapped together for the Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Assn. (SEMA) shows over the years, as well as some classic production cars that were duplicates of models GM still has.

Of interest to some bargain-hunting curiosity seekers, too, are some examples of GM design failures. As one GM executive told me off the record, "These are mostly cars that current management [probably product boss Bob Lutz and design chief Ed Welburn] don't much care for."

The real family jewels aren't going anywhere, even if one, like the first off-the-line 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado or 1938 Buick Y-Job, might bring as much cash as 10 or 20 of the cars being sold off.

GM Heritage Collection spokesman Greg Wallace says it's more a "thinning of the warehouse." He says it costs the company roughly $2,000 a year per car to maintain, store and transport each vehicle. And with GM designs getting better and better under Lutz and Welburn, the company wants to make room for some of the new family gems, like the 2008 Chevy Mailbu and 2010 Chevy Camaro.

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Here is a list of some of the cars being sold:

• 1955 Buick Century Bolero
• 1918 Cadillac
• 1986 Presidential Limo
• 1998 Popemobile
• 1960 Chevrolet Impala
• 1985 Chevy Silverado Tonka (SEMA)
• 2003 Aveo Xtreme (SEMA)
• Solstice Jazz (Transformers movie)
• 1970 Cutlass SX
• 1996 Buick Blackhawk Concept ()
• 2004 Saturn Ion Red Line ()
• 2001 Aztek ( again)
• 1989 Geo Metro Zonker

Here is the link to the original story with descriptions of each car:

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/01/01...ction/index.htm

[Camino LS6]

We should have pics of the cars at B-J Auctions very soon.

[ZL-1]

A Swedish website had a picture of a yellow 1970 Olds Cutlass from GM's collection. Must be the SX in that list.

[cletus8269]

i'll have the 1960 impala, with a side of cutlass sx please. if that sx only pulls 30 grand, well, someone might as well have stolen it. those fetch decent money these days.

[XP715]

Good old GM. They could have kept everything AND paid for its upkeep if they, y'know, LET THE GENERAL PUBLIC COME IN AND LOOK AT IT. What a novel idea. Imagine that, charging a nominal fee per person to view a collection of artifacts. I think it's called a "museum." I dunno. I've read about them in magazines before, though.

[Camino LS6]

Good old GM. They could have kept everything AND paid for its upkeep if they, y'know, LET THE GENERAL PUBLIC COME IN AND LOOK AT IT. What a novel idea. Imagine that, charging a nominal fee per person to view a collection of artifacts. I think it's called a "museum." I dunno. I've read about them in magazines before, though.

Amen!

I have never understood why they don't do exactly that.

[CSpec]

Sorry here is the correct link to the pictures:

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/01/01...ction/index.htm

[pow]

Apparently five years ago, a wealthy sheik offered GM $10 million for the Cadillac Sixteen concept..

[ZL-1]

Will reg bid for the Aztek?

[Camino LS6]

I still lust after the Blackhawk.

[daves87rs]

I still lust after the Blackhawk.

Me too....and the Impy....

[01zr2rockman]

Heres a link to barret-jacksons website for the cars they are auctioning on tuesday.If any one is intterested

clicky

Dale jr's big red silverado is in there and the country version of a Silverado HD And also the buick centieme concept

Edit: actully on barrett-jaksons home page they have a slide show of What GM is selling. Theres 237 cars and trucks

Edited January 11, 2009 by 01zr2rockman

[Robert Hall]

Heres a link to barret-jacksons website for the cars they are auctioning on tuesday.If any one is intterested

clicky

Dale jr's big red silverado is in there and the country version of a Silverado HD And also the buick centieme concept

Edit: actully on barrett-jaksons home page they have a slide show of What GM is selling

Cool..hopefully, the cars will still be around on display later in week...I'm probably going Friday night or Saturday.