In the year 1946, Ray Lambrecht made a humble beginning as a car dealer with the Lambrecht Chevrolet Company in northeast Nebraska. Together with his wife Mildred, they successfully ran the family business for five decades.
Unlike the other dealers of their era, they avoided compromising on the prices of the cars to sell them. While other dealers lowered prices to move outdated cars, the duo held on to their assets.
The Lambrecht Auction
The couple currently owns about 500 classic cars and trucks. This September, 17 years since Ray retired from the business, these vintage cars are scheduled to be showcased in a one-of-a-kind collector car auction.
Rumors of the secret treasure nurtured by this small town Nebraskan dealer have intrigued circles of vintage car collectors across the globe for sometime. When VanDerBrink, the Lambrecht's auctioneer, came across these assets preserved in the family warehouse, he knew they deserved more attention.
What can classic car enthusiasts look forward to at the auction?
This September, classic car lovers in the US are flocking to the sparsely populated town of Nebraska. The auction would mostly showcase Chevrolet assets that hit the market in 1950s and 60s.
According to Jay Quail, the executive director of the Classic Car Club of America, the maximum curiosity will be generated by the low mileage vehicles and pickup trucks. Quail has ample experience in predicting the "current favorites' among vintage car enthusiasts. Classic car collectors would love the opportunity to own an original Chevrolet preserved in its unblemished, inventive design. Several of these classic cars are preserved with their odometers logged at single digit miles.
Special cars expected to be featured at Lambrecht
- 1958 Chevy Cameo Pickup – This rarest of cameo vintages, is one of the best collectible lightweight trucks produced in the1950s. Made with the signature grille, quad headlamps and hood emblems, only 1405 of these hit the market. The sky blue model has only one mile recorded on its odometer.
- 1963 Impala – This red and white model is preserved with the plastic installed by the manufacturers. This untitled model which was worth $3300 in the 1960s can fetch a sum up to $50,000 today. The odometer of the model is halted at 18 kilometers.
- 1978 Corvette Stingray – Despite being off the market for more than 25 years, this model possessed by the Lambrechts has its odometer halted at four miles.
- 1959 Bel Air – This is one of the other assets which has its odometer frozen at 1.6 kilometers.
- 1980 Monza – The youngest of the collection is the 1980 Monza with 14 kilometers.
Every vintage vehicle has its prerequisites for care and maintenance. One such prerequisite is vintage car insurance. Classic Auto provides classic car insurance suiting the asset you own. From vintage Chevrolet muscle cars to current exotic collector cars, Classic Auto has customizable policies to fit your lifestyle and your budget.
Sources:
http://news.sky.com/story/1130947/vintage-chevy-sale-at-time-capsule-showroom
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2013/08/20/nebraska-vintage-car-chevrolet.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1958-chevrolet-cameo-carrier.htm
About the Author
Drew Yagodnik is Vice President of Classic Automobile Insurance Agency, Inc. Classic Automobile Insurance Agency has been protecting collector, classic and exotics since 1992.
