NOT MODEL A "Barn Find"

[CarlG]

Saw this tonight:
http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoram...160911547.html

50+ Brand New Chevy's that are 50 or so years old. (along with a used 1925 Durrant)

[Barry B./ Ma.]

Beautiful! Thanks for posting.

[TinCup]

One of my favorite pickups! What a treasure.

[Dave Mellor NJ]

This video was posted on AACA Forums. Hard to believe cars can go unsold and not returned to the factory. http://forums.aaca.org/f169/11-minut...nt-354176.html

[MBI Houston]

It is even harder to believe that all that stuff was in there for all those years undisturbed. Must not be any bad guys in that town.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

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We discussed this a week or so ago here at the shop. My shop foreman's Dad owned the Chevrolet store here in our town during the mid 60s through the early 80's. It has been a great topic for us to discuss.

What does have us all puzzled is how did Mr. Lambrecht afford to do that. For example, that 1978 L48 'vette probably wholesaled for around $10k when it was new. In a small town like Pierce, to me it is feasible that if the dealership averaged selling one new car a month, that would be pretty good sales for them. Maybe selling a used one or two each month would have been the cream. Therefore how did a small-town dealer afford to do that?

I have attached a PDF file of all the vehicles. Notice there is a new 1978 Malibu will 11 miles and a '78 Impala with 5 miles all left over from that time. Heck I would think just having to pay for 3 of those alone would have taken more than the dealership could have made for that year. Anyone have any theories? Especially when there is nearly 500 cars that he hoarded like that.

.

[1942deluxe]

Brent,I owned a small Ford dealership in Iowa up until 2004 and I never could do that! Even if they scrapped all of those vehicles they would have close to 200k.
I do remember a Ford dealer in Nebraska saving one new vehicle from 62-70 and
that was his retirement fund when he quit.Guy I bought my store from started in
1954 and had close to 250 junk vehicles east of town.He would not take a loss on
a used car.I think alot of it was a tax write off.You could make really good money
with a Ford or Chevy sign even in a small town from about 1950 to 79.Today the stores that size better have everything paid for or it's very tough to keep the doors
open.

[1942deluxe]

The article said they had been there 50 years so they would have seen the good times.The fellow I bought my store from had two stores in towns of 850 and 1300
population.He made $76000 in 1972.They made $19000 in 1954 with one store. I
was struggling to make that above my wages 45 years later.Declining population
and just wicked increase in your cost of doing business.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by 1942deluxe

Brent,I owned a small Ford dealership in Iowa up until 2004 and I never could do that! Even if they scrapped all of those vehicles they would have close to 200k.
I do remember a Ford dealer in Nebraska saving one new vehicle from 62-70 and
that was his retirement fund when he quit.Guy I bought my store from started in
1954 and had close to 250 junk vehicles east of town.He would not take a loss on
a used car.I think alot of it was a tax write off.You could make really good money
with a Ford or Chevy sign even in a small town from about 1950 to 79.Today the stores that size better have everything paid for or it's very tough to keep the doors
open.

Interesting testimony on your part. I appreciate your perspective. If I am reading the story correctly from his daughter, for all those years it was just Mr. Lambrecht was the sole salesman, the parts guy, Mrs. Lambrecht handled chasing parts and doing office work, and they had one mechanic in back. Granted low overhead makes for a profitable biz but think this one through!

In 1965 alone he had 13 Chevy pick-ups left over from 1964 model year. THIRTEEN vehicle left over!! Go look at them (Lot #: 245, 257, 258, 259, 260, 261, 262, 267, 279, 303, 308, 309, 315). That is an insane amount of inventory. Does that mean he ordered one new P/U each week planning to sell that many and had 25% left over? Some of that applies to his 1963 carry over. Surely he would have learned a lesson in 1963 if he had 3 or 4 new vehicles left over that he couldn't sell. Therefore he must have been pushing a ton of inventory and was just overwhelmed.

.

[1942deluxe]

Brent,you couldn't be that sloppy in my era of it.There wasn't ever that kind of cushion.If a new vehicle gets over 400 days Ford credit wants 10% per month
payed down until fully paid. I've always tried to have the last carryover burning
gas by November 1st. The fellow that I bought my store from sold 492 vehicles
between both stores in 1972. I was hitting about 150 new and used.As you lost
the small farmers each time that was one less pickup and car you sold.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

That just confirm what I was asking. Was he sloppy or did he work off the premise that you can't sell 'em if you don't have 'em? Maybe he didn't need a floorplan? He evidently sold way more vehicles than I initially thought. If he sold 3 a week like you but didn't have any overhead, it probably works out.

[joe plumber]

I plan on going there ,just to look around .