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Amerigo Vespucci

(30,885 posts)
Sun Jan 29, 2012, 08:28 PM Jan 2012

Colorado car collector buys JFK's hearse for $176K

Colorado car collector buys JFK's hearse for $176K



http://www.hlntv.com/article/2012/01/27/man-buys-john-f-kennedys-hearse-176000?hpt=hp_bn13

A car collector is adding another item to his impressive 400-auto arsenal: JFK’s hearse.

Colorado real estate developer Stephen Tebo bought the 1964 white Cadillac Miller-Meteor for $176,000, according to HLN affiliate KCNC.

Tebo told the station he’s honored to own the car that carried President John F. Kennedy’s body after he was assassinated. He says he remembers seeing the images of the hearse on TV, carrying the president’s casket -- as well as First Lady Jackie Kennedy -- from the hospital to Air Force One in Dallas.

The Cadillac joins Tebo’s already massive car collection, which includes numerous other classic Cadillacs, as well as several famous vehicles you may have seen in movies and TV series. According to HLN affiliate KMGH, the hearse will be displayed in Tebo’s showroom, which he hopes to make into a museum one day.
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Colorado car collector buys JFK's hearse for $176K (Original Post) Amerigo Vespucci Jan 2012 OP
Sells at a diminishing price JohnnyRingo Jan 2012 #1
Getting the replacement white walls will be a bitch. And it probably leaks oil. HopeHoops Jan 2012 #2
Actually, there is a company that specializes in classic car tires... rfranklin Jan 2012 #4
There's a decent-sized cottage industry for car collectors. backscatter712 Jan 2012 #6
Cool! The prices aren't bad either (but I'd hate to see the shipping charges). HopeHoops Jan 2012 #11
Yeah, I know that new models come out early. madamesilverspurs Jan 2012 #3
The model year usually started in September of the preceding year... rfranklin Jan 2012 #5
I wouldn't want JFK's hearse... OhioChick Jan 2012 #7
I wouldn't want anyone's hearse Amerigo Vespucci Jan 2012 #8
Wow....I never heard that before OhioChick Jan 2012 #9
I rode to a concert in one once. JohnnyRingo Jan 2012 #10

JohnnyRingo

(18,581 posts)
1. Sells at a diminishing price
Sun Jan 29, 2012, 09:02 PM
Jan 2012

Until this auction the car was for sale on Ebay for a buy-it-now price of $1.5 million.

Lack of interest and a controversy involving the JFK Bonneville ambulance a couple years ago may have hurt the value of this car. The ambulance was about to cross the block when witnesses came forth with affidavits stating that they saw the car destroyed. Pictures eventually surfaced after the auction making the ambulance worthless. It's now on display at a Texas museum as a replica.

Though the authenticity of this hearse is not disputed, that kind of thing can shy away investors on a car that has no practical value. One has to realize, the JFK hearse has no future other than as a static display in hope that an aging public will want to pay to see it.

I believe the owners were wise to let it go at this price. There's no guarantee it'll ever reach this kind of money again.

backscatter712

(26,355 posts)
6. There's a decent-sized cottage industry for car collectors.
Sun Jan 29, 2012, 10:27 PM
Jan 2012

Everything from authentic white-wall tires to replacement upholstery to authentic-looking batteries (as opposed to modern batteries shoehorned in...) are available if you look around.

Granted, replica parts aren't quite as authentic as the original parts - my dad and other collectors have spent countless hours in junkyards looking for parts for their cars, but the replica stuff is decent.

 

HopeHoops

(47,675 posts)
11. Cool! The prices aren't bad either (but I'd hate to see the shipping charges).
Mon Jan 30, 2012, 10:27 AM
Jan 2012

They've got a huge selection! I always kept white walls on my '68 Galaxie until they became difficult to find (at tire shops). I think I'm going to need a new rim for one of the wheels. It just won't hold air and the tire is still in decent shape.

madamesilverspurs

(15,784 posts)
3. Yeah, I know that new models come out early.
Sun Jan 29, 2012, 10:16 PM
Jan 2012

But it's still weird that a 1964 hearse was used on that day in 1963 . . .

 

rfranklin

(13,200 posts)
5. The model year usually started in September of the preceding year...
Sun Jan 29, 2012, 10:23 PM
Jan 2012

In the United States, automobile model year sales traditionally begin with the fourth quarter of the preceding year. So model year refers to the "sales" model year; for example, vehicles sold during the period from October 1 to the next December 30 is considered one model year.[1] In addition, the launch of the new model year has long been coordinated to the launch of the traditional new television season (as defined by A.C. Nielsen) in late September, because of the heavy dependence between television to offer products from automakers to advertise, and the car companies to launch their new models at a high-profile time of year.[

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_year

Amerigo Vespucci

(30,885 posts)
8. I wouldn't want anyone's hearse
Sun Jan 29, 2012, 10:35 PM
Jan 2012

TRUE STORY about Stephen Stills and Neil Young, pre-Buffalo Springfield...they knew of each other, and when Stills was interested in forming the band (and wanted Young to be a part of it), he had no way to contact him. But he knew that Young owned a hearse and was driving it all over L.A., so he just kept an eye out for the hearse, and eventually spotted it. TRUE STORY!

JohnnyRingo

(18,581 posts)
10. I rode to a concert in one once.
Mon Jan 30, 2012, 12:14 AM
Jan 2012

And I'll never forget it.

It was 1970, and Ted Nugent was in town, so I hung out my thumb to hitch a ride. The first car that stopped was an old Cadillac hearse with a hippie couple in it. The young girl was a bit spooky looking and her husband at the wheel had poker straight blonde hair and wore a black top hat.

As it turned out, they were from nearby Youngstown and headed to the same concert, so I shared my Blue Owsley acid and spent the evening sitting in GA with them. I caught another ride home and can only hope now that they found a more content life than Ted Nugent.

Fond memory of days past though.

On edit:
I think the macabre background of this Kennedy hearse nulled the value. It's like owning Jackie's blood stained jacket. Sure, it has historical value, but what will someone do with it? I wouldn't pay $5 to see the car now, and I imagine younger generations will care even less. Well sold.

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