The private car collection of Lee Roy Hartung was auctioned off

1936 Lincoln Zephyr custom sedan has an unusual dual nose and shows 19,600 miles on the odometer.
Credit: Tudor Van Hampton for The New York Times
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/31/piece-by-piece-the-hartung-collection-is-dismantled/

The eclectic Lee Roy Hartung Collection of automobiles, motorcycles and memorabilia was gathered over the past 50 years by the Chicago collector.

Mr. Hartung dealt in scrap metal, sold used cars and maintained a hauling business that aided his hobby. After a garage fire destroyed an antique bicycle collection, Mr. Hartung in 1972 built a 10,000-square-foot barn on his four-acre property and spent the next several decades stuffing it with treasures

Mr. Hartung operated the space as a museum by appointment only. In it, he stored about 80 cars, 40 motorcycles, 100 bicycles and thousands of pieces of automobilia. He had what experts called one of the most complete collections of license plates in the United States

A 1912 Harley-Davidson Single-Cylinder Belt Drive, believed to be among the best 1912 examples in the world, brought $115,000.
original bicycles were highlighted by a like-new 1934 Iver Johnson, an Elgin Bluebird and a Schwinn Aerocycle, which individually sold for $5,175 each.

Lee Hartung Collection Auctions America by RM – Top 10 Auction Results

1. 1911 Flying Merkel Twin Belt Drive – $201,250
2. 1950 Veritas BMW – $195,500

 The 1949 Veritas was built by BMW and bodied by Spohn, the German coachworks company. It was believed to have been sent back to Spohn in the ’50s to receive tail fins and other retrofits to echo General Motors’ 1951 LeSabre concept car.
 3. 1950 Edwards R-26 Roadster – $143,750
4. 1912 Harley-Davidson Single-Cylinder Belt Drive – $115,000
5. 1911 Pope Model H – $83,375
6. 1909 Sears – $66,125
7. 1938 Indian Four-Cylinder Rigid Frame – $64,400
8. 1926 Henderson Deluxe Fire Department Motorcycle – $63,250
9. 1915 Harley-Davidson Single-Cylinder Two-Speed – $57,500
10. 1904 Fabrique-Nationale Four-Cylinder Shaft Drive – $55,200
http://www.sportscardigest.com/lee-hartung-auctions-america-by-rm-auction-results/

If you love Duesenburgs, and are in Southern California, you might want to run over to the Lyon Air Museum, as 10 of the 378 known are on a short time display

images are just 2 of a full gallery you can look at over at Bill's blog: http://wildbillphoto.blogspot.com/2011/07/rare-deusenbergs-at-lyons-air-museum.html 

If you can get over to the museum, the exhibit of ten Duesenburgs from now til July 24th
One is the 1st Model J, 1929 dual cowl body by LeBaron , another is a 1929 Murphy bodied dual cowl, a 1930 Murphy Model J speedster, a 1931 model J Weymann bodied speedster, a 1931 model SJ Murphy bodied conv coupe,  and the 1935 SJ Gurney Nutting Speedster that was built for an Indian Maharaja, who wasn't keen on risking losing everything due to Japan invading so many neighboring countries, so he instead took delivery at his Santa Ana mansion. It was thought lost until 1959

the museum website http://www.lyonairmuseum.org/news/duesenberg-exhibit and it is located in 19300 Ike Jones Rd, Santa Ana

Barney Pollard car collection, many were stacked on end..

excepted story from this thread http://forums.aaca.org/f169/barney-pollards-collection-271191-2.html about the Pollard collection:
I was going to school at GMI in Flint in 1955 and had met Mr. Pollard on the 1953 Glidden Tour. I called him and made an appointment to see his cars one Saturday, my room mate and I went down, I believe Pontiac, and he showed us through his collection. It was unbelievable. There were several buildings, one had only brass lamps in it. The cars that were stacked on end we couldn't see much, they were so tight you couldn't walk between them, but in a couple of buildings the cars were parked fender to fender and bumper to bumper. I was looking for a Peerless and he told us where it was and we had to slide down fenders and walk running boards to get back to it. He had several hundred cars and he knew where they were. He even showed us a garage that had a stack of brand new high wheel bikes, in the original crates, stacked to the ceiling. While we were walking back to his office I asked what was under the canvas covers, two American Underslunges, sitting out side. And inside his shop area were several Stutz, Mercer, etc.

Barney Pollard was my grandfather and the collection of around 1200 cars was my playground as a kid. Know most of the cars,as I personally titled 700 of them. As to the fire we lost around 110 cars in that fire which was started by a spark from a locomotive which started a grass fire and then the building went. Lost some pretty rare cars in the fire, such as the only two Olivers ever built

My grandfather did work hard at keeping the government from destroying all of the cars. My grandfather started collecting in 1938 and kept them parked about his property where he parked his trucks. In flying recon missions around Detroit the government saw what my grandfather had as a treasure trove for materials.

The government insisted he give up the cars for the war effort. My grandfather went to Washington in an attempt to make a deal with them. He bought tons of scrap (both steel and aluminum) that they had not discovered and the deal he made was to strip all of the tires and give them all of the scrap he had found and to give up one car a week that he had to deliver to the Ford Rouge plant.

My grandfather and Henry Ford were not the best of friends (due to a couple of incidents but one story as he related to the Ford writer David Lewis) as my grandfather laid miles of roadbed for the railroad tracks at the rouge and Ford sent his associate Bennett to intimidate my grandfather into taking less.

The problem is that my grandfather was the toughest man I have ever met and in some pretty colorful language I can only assume, he told Bennett to take a hike. Long story short my grandfather had many Fords in his collection and so he took over only Fords, one a week for a few weeks and then he stopped. Ford never turned him in as he figured my grandfather would only continue to bring Fords.

Then my grandfather decided he had better hide the cars from any more prying eyes so he sunk telephone poles into the ground and put 90 lb railroad rail from post to post and hung the cars from the rail with wire rope. Then he built walls around the buildings and so when you went in the buildings there were hundreds of cars hanging from their front bumpers. Crude but it saved a bunch of cars.

Did you know that Dick Clark had a tourist attraction?

Lots of classic cars from the year 1957, the cars on display represented every major American manufacturer from 1957, including Buick, Chevrolet, Ford, Cadillac, DeSoto, Hudson, Nash, Studebaker and Packard.

There was an entirely recreated drive-in movie, fire station, barbershop, gas station, Cadillac dealership and more.

it shut down and sold off the cars http://mecum.com/auctions/consignment_list.cfm?AUCTION_ID=HE1009 and memorabilia

Images snagged from the still running virtual tour (love this technology where you direct the camera and can spin 360 degrees, plus zoom in, or up) take a look, it's fun. Bottom of the page at http://www.dickclarksbranson.com/coolcars.cfm

Unusual, rare, and restored cars from the 1920's and 30's at the Nethercutt musuem

I hope you've been looking at my blog long enough to recognize these headlights as my favorite, they are the Woodlight type http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/search/label/woodlight%20headlights , and only came on two cars I know of, the DuPont occasionally, and this 1930 Ruxton in its factory paint, stripes of reds. Three other cars have had woodlights, a Stutz, Cord, and an Auburn but I suspect they were added by the owners. Most unusual for factory paint, but it was the midst of the great depression, and this was a luxury car that needed potential buyers attention. ( just like the glam rockers of the 70's and 80's and the big hair and makeup )

The above is movie star Fatty Arbuckle's 1923 McFarlan model 154 knickerbocker cabriolet

The above yellow is a 1934 Packard

Above and below, 1932 Mayback DS 8 / convertible cabriolet

the above is a 1925 Locomobile 48/ Victoria sedan

the above is a Toledo tiller steered, ever notice that a kids little red wagon has a handle that flips up or down, and is a very small example of a horse drawn wagon? Transpose that thought to the tiller steered early horse-less carriages and the way they had tiller steering that resembles a flipped up wagon tongue

On the left is the blue with a hood that looks like the Renault of the same era, but the Franklin was American and this example is a 1912 model G

This green with white baloon treadless tires is a 1906 Franklin, and particularly striking is the barrel shaped hood. The round hood was replaced by the slope hood like the 1912 Franklin above this

Beautiful brass accentuation pieces adorning this green and black Franklin

1910 Pierce Arrow 7 passenger touring

1912 White model GF

and the Lalique crystal hood ornament collection.

The Schlumpf Collection is on display in France at the National Museum in Mulhouse, the Cité de l’Automobile

The Schlumpf Collection may be the most prestigious car collection in the world. This is demonstrated by the two of the only 6 made Bugatti Royales, including the famous Coupé Napoléon, the 150 Bugatti, Hispano-Suiza, Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, Maserati, Maybach, Mercedes models, etc.

One of the Royales they acquired when they purchased the Shakespeare collection, in 1964, which was a total of 30 Bugattis and a gallery of those being loaded on a Illinois train is here: http://svammelsurium.blogg.se/2010/june/en-dag-i-illinois-1964.html

It was in a former Mulhouse woollen mill, with its typically 19th century architecture, that Fritz Schlumpf established his fabulous collection of 437 cars belonging to 97 different brands. With part of on display at the Cité de l’Automobile, it is certainly a must see if you get to France

www.collection-schlumpf.com/en/schlumpf/ learned about it from http://www.sportscardigest.com/schlumpf-collection-profile-and-photo-gallery

The collection was seized by the workers employed by the Schlumpf brothers, who had collected for years, and topped off their collection when Hispano Suiza needed to liquidate many of the Bugatti assets in 1963 after having purchased the Bugatti company. The Schlumpfs puchased Ettore Bugatti’s personal Bugatti Royale and many original spares and patterns—over the strong objections of the managing director and Roland Bugatti, Ettore Bugatti’s surviving son.

In 1971 the union of workers that had been restoring the cars, building restaurants, and a hotel that would have housed guests to the collection, went on strike, and years later the French government seized all of the Schlumpf assetts, including 437 vehicles. The strike was part of what forced the brothers to flee to Switzerland, echoing Bugatti's flight to Paris in the 1937 strike. Read all about it http://www.sportscardigest.com/schlumpf-collection-profile-and-photo-gallery

Ralph Lauren garage was just photographed by Vanity Fair

See the whole gallery at http://www.vanityfair.com/style/features/2011/01/ralph-lauren-garage-slide-show-201101#slide=1 or read about it http://www.vanityfair.com/style/features/2011/01/ralph-lauren-garage-201101 via: http://stipistop.com/

A tour of Ralph Lauren’s car collection is up for auction for charity, and the estimated tour is $150,000. That’s right, $150,000 to look at–not to own–the vintage Ferraris, Porsches and a 1936 Bugatti Atlantic, which is valued at north of $30 million. As the bidding description states, “You and a friend will receive a tour of this extraordinary private collection of classic cars given by Ralph Lauren himself.” The day ends with a ride in the 1936 Bugatti. The winner also get a signed copy of “Speed, Style, and Beauty: Cars from the Ralph Lauren Collection.”

Having some quality car-talk time with Ralph would be an experience to remember. But for $150,000? For that amount, I think I would rather buy my own Porsche or Ferrari. This is, however, for a cause, and someone may well hit the estimate. Even if they don’t, the tour is likely to raise a large chunk of change. So far there have been four bidders and the top bid is $42,500
For more about it http://ultimate-luxury-community.com/category/luxury-addict/luxury-cars
and http://justacargal-s.blogspot.com/2011/02/ralph-lauren-car-collection.html

LeMay museum finally had it's groundbreaking (2 years since I posted that it would happen)

http://hagertyblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/lemay-museum-groundbreaking-june-2010.html for the story and photo gallery. My first post didn't say much, just informative that it's supposed to become the largest in the world
http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2008/03/if-you-live-near-seattle-you-might-want.html

New photo coverage of Jay Leno's collection

his motorcycle collection: http://big-diesel.blogspot.com/2009/08/harem-of-leno.html

his car collection: http://www.mensjournal.com/jay-lenos-time-machines

a couple new cars in his garage, http://www.moparmagazine.com/2008/sept-oct/another_mopar_for_lenos_collection and http://fuel-efficient-vehicles.org/energy-news/?p=892

The Peter Mullin auto museum, not open yet, but soon

Celebrating the art deco movement, the French Curves Collection exemplifies the zenith of the French automobile, including beautifully styled and amazingly engineered French-built cars covering several decades: Bugattis, Delages, Delahayes, Hispano Suizas, Talbot-Lagos and Voisins, many have won awards at concours d'elegance, and a number of the race cars have been past winners of historic races, such as the Grand Prix de Pau and Le Mans.

1421 Emerson Avenue

Oxnard, CA 93033

Previously the Otis Chandler museum, The museum is reopening as the Vintage Museum of Transportation, displaying the Peter Mullin Collection, including 12 Bugattis from the former Schlumpf collection ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandler_Vintage_Museum_of_Transportation_and_Wildlife

For dates and hours: http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2011/02/mullins-museum-info-its-not-open-often.html

Photo galley of the Hendricks Museum (one of the great private collections)

1930 "Model J Duesenberg LWB, Hibbard & Darrin Transformable Cabriolet". There were two made. One for the King of Spain and the other for William Randolph Hearst.

To contrast the ridiculously rare and expensive.... the following truck, which to me is equally as cool and unusual.

http://www.teamshelby.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=36851 down the page about 1/3rd before the museum photos. All of the cars here are owned by John Hendricks. He is the founder of the Discovery channel.

The California car collectors, and collections

A long and well written article that gets interviews and details.

“My gut feeling is that there are more cars and collections squirreled away in California than in any other part of the country,” says Keith Martin, editor and publisher of the Portland, Ore.-based Sports Car Market magazine.
“You [California] have more people with money buying cars of the ’30s and ’40s they couldn’t afford at the time. And you have a new, younger generation starting collections of what they remember: ’50s cars and the early days of the Sports Car Club of America, belly-tank racers and hot rods.

“Some of the biggest and best car collections are out there” in Southern California, says Jeff Broadus, publisher of the 56,000-circulation Car Collector magazine, headquartered in Titusville, Fla.
“That will soon include the private collection of Glen Patch, who is moving his ‘57 Heaven to Palm Springs,” Broadus says, referring to his magazine’s former publisher and owner and his 70-car collection representing every American car built in 1957. “There used to be guys who collected only certain marques. Now there are multi-marque collectors.”
And some California collections, he points out, have grown into museums: the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, the Blackhawk Automotive Museum in the Bay Area town of Danville and the Nethercutt Collection, founded by J.D. Nethercutt of Merle Norman Cosmetics of Sylmar.
http://articles.latimes.com/1999/jul/29/news/hw-60846

Rick Treworgy’s all GM collection in Punta Gorda Florida

I'd be happy to have a Coke or Pesi machine in my place like either of these two. Wonderful vending machines they had in the 50's and 60's!

There isn't a lot on the internet about this collection, and the best link is http://69.89.25.185/~trexsoft/t-rexsoftware.com/buzzandjackie/collection.htm thanks to Tony!

http://corvettesofnaplesfl.com/photogallery/RickTreworgy/index.htm and http://www.fastcoolcars.com/car-collection-1.htm are two others