A certified résumé is far from necessary to validate the bona fides of Saline when it comes to perpetuating the legacy of great vehicles from the past.
Simply check out the Brewed Awakenings parking lot any Saturday morning. Take a peak in the window of either local Bill Crispin Chevrolet showroom. Watch the traffic on Michigan Avenue now that the salt trucks have been finally warehoused for the season. Or hold your breath for a few more months until the next Saline Street Machines car show downtown. [1,2,3,4,5,6]
At the same time it’s impossible to miss headlines reporting an increasingly powerful march toward a near future of transportation run by autonomous vehicles — with no place for any vehicle currently in a Washtenaw County home driveway or garage today. [7]
Is there any room for compromise? any middle ground for co-existence?
For a better understanding of this rapidly changing landscape, Saline Journal put these questions to CR (Chuck) Patton II last week. As head of Patton Equity Group, Mr Patton makes a living professionally as an automobile appraiser, serving client demands throughout the United States as well as internationally in countries that include Cuba, South Africa, and Sweden. Among other affiliations, he serves on the boards of the Cadillac & LaSalle Club and Cadillac & LaSalle Club Museum and Research Center (the latter of which is located right here in Michigan). [8,9,10]
He broadly refers to the subject at hand as “our hobby.” He went on to caution that this is “an expensive habit. A lot of collectors go under water because they hold onto cars they shouldn’t. Enjoy the people in this hobby,” he advised Saline Journal, “don’t get emotionally involved with the cars. If my car declines, I’m going to sell it.
“Restoration is a $70,000 to $100,000 investment,” he continued. “When I judge at events, how many five thousand dollar cars do I see with $75,000 in restorations? You’re not going to get that back when you sell it.”
At this point it might be helpful to take a step back to inventory the cars that are currently part of the collection that Chuck Patton himself owns. These include a 1939 LaSalle coupe, a 1959 Sedan deVille, a 1959 Cadillac Biarritz, a 1960 Biarritz (with 18,761 original miles on the odometer), a 1960 Eldorado Seville, and “a very unusual” Eldorado with factory bucket seats and headrests.
Those who attended WCX 18: SAE World Congress Experience last month could have seen one of Mr Patton’s cars on display there, which he happily provided in response to a request from the organizer for its front-and-center pavilion. [11]
When he visited the show himself, he took time to ride in the NAVYA shuttle that was making continuous circuits inside a specially fenced area within Cobo Center each day of the expo. “That is the future,” he reported to Saline Journal.
If “our hobby” is to survive, then, he advised, “we are going to have to be open-minded.” This means being open to embracing customized and modified restorations, in addition to more rigid thinking about taking a car back to its off-the-line look and function. “We also have to attract more women, Gen X’ers, and Millenials.”
It also means taking note of the shift toward newer cars at center here.
“The 1941 used to be most popular,” Chuck Patton said of the center for Cadillac. “Now, 1959 has become the most popular, as demographics have changed. Then just like the ’41, someday the ’59 will be replaced.”
He also noted global implications. “Cars being sold out of Hemmings are leaving America. Most are going to Australia, Europe, Japan, and China. They love American four-door cars; they’re grateful to have a four-door car. They see the benefit of older cars.” [12]
The clubs, events, and streets of Saline are already an important part of helping assure a future place for keeping traditional cars around. But the tent has to be made bigger, the stories told — with passion, yes, but also accessibility — to much bigger audiences. It’s critically important to attract the next generation of evangelists here, Mr Patton said.
“Otherwise, the only place you’ll find these cars will be in garages and museums.”
References
- “Saline Michigan Is a Place That Gets ‘Car People’ (Year Round, as It Turns Out)” Dell Deaton (April 23, 2018) Saline Journal.
- Bill Crispin Chevrolet (home page).
- Saline Street Machines (Facebook Page).
- “Saline Street Machines Car Show Marks 35th Year (with Local Videos)” Dell Deaton (August 15, 2017) Saline Journal.
- Saline’s Summerfest (home page).
- “Get Down and Dirty to Find the Right Balance of Elements for Your Photograph” Dell Deaton (August 14, 2017) Saline Journal.
- “What Cities Need to Know about Consumer Acceptance of Autonomous Vehicles” Dell Deaton (March 30, 2018) Saline Journal.
- Cadillac & LaSalle Club (home page).
- Cadillac & LaSalle Club Museum and Research Center (home page).
- “Newly Constructed Cadillac and LaSalle Motor Car Museum to Open Here in Michigan” Dell Deaton (September 22, 2014) Saline Journal.
- WCX18: SAE World Congress Experience (home page).
- Hemmings (home page).
