Jul 5, 2008 -
Ask Dub Schwartz!
Time for a sit down (and some boat drinks) with one of your CarSpace forums hosts!
Mr. Shiftright is the host of the Classic Car and Maintenance & Repair forums. You'll also find him near the top of the Top 30 Days Experts list in the Edmunds Answers section, helping those in dire need of automotive repair advice.
He's a writer for the comic strip Elderberries, and is the author of two books on automobiles, as well as many articles on classic cars and automotive history. His work has appeared in such national automotive magazines as Autoweek and Road & Track, as well as the San Francisco Chronicle, Communication Arts, American Way, and Newsday. He is a member of the Society of Automotive Historians, the MG-TC Roughriders, the Arcane Car Society, and the Automotive Hall of Fame. He has also served for many years as concours judge for the Silverado Concours D'Elegance and St. Mary's Concours D'Elegance. Mr. Troise also appears on WPIX radio, where he answers listeners' questions on collectible car history and values.
If you find yourself in need of a car appraisal, classic or contemporary, Mr. Shiftright is your guy and you can find him at oldcarpricing.com
On top of all that he's a really cool guy! So it was great that I got to sit down with him at the Tropical Paradise Sushi Bar and Karaoke Club for a bit...
Dub: So Mr. Shiftright, did I leave anything out?
Mr.S: Well let's see. I'm still writing cartoons for Road & Track every month. I also helped to completely revamp and improve (if I do say so myself) the Kelley Blue Book Early Car Edition of their price guide line. Working for the competition was, of course, before I started my hosting duties here at Edmunds.
Dub: What cars do you own and/or drive right now?
Mr.S: I'm a bit light on cars at the moment, mostly due to no place to store them. Presently I have a Subaru Outback, a Miata that I'm trying to turn into a bit more...ahem..."manly" automobile, and a Norton motorcycle in pieces. I just sold my Scion xA and my Porsche 928.
Dub: I suppose you've run into some unusual automobiles over the years. What are some of your more arcane favorites?
Mr.S: I have seen and driven (and owned)some real weirdos, including a Simca Aronde, a Bond Equipe GT, a Berkeley (motorcycle engine), a Honda S600 (also motorcycle engine) a Fiat Jolly (a Fiat 650 with a surrey top) a Peugeot 204 convertible (quite rare in the USA), a Morris Minor Traveler, a Darl'Mat roadster (1938 Peugeot made into a convertible by the coachbuilder. I found that one in a warehouse in Reno Nevada. That's a wild art deco car and very valuable when restored)---but the list goes on and on.
Dub: How about giving us a top ten list of the worst pieces of iron to ever hit the road?
Mr.S: The usual suspects of course...the Pinto, the Vega, the GM diesel cars, the early Series Jaguar XJs, the first VW Rabbit, the first Honda Civic, the 4 cylinder Pontiac Fiero, the first C4 Corvette, the first Mazda rotary engines (RX2 through RX4), and (my own prejudice) any car made in 1958.
Dub: I understand you just took a long trip in a Prius. What did you think? Are Prius-type hybrids the final answer or a good first step?
Mr.S. Very comfortable car. It reminded me of the old Citroen DS cars---soft, leisurely, a bit weird. I'd say it's a good first step but for drivers like me, it is way too boring to operate on a daily basis. It's a great car for a first driver of 16 or an elderly driver about age 85. There used to be a joke in the 1970s that Volvos were built for people who basically don't like cars, and I think the Prius could be the candidate to take over that role. It's all about "feel good" marketing rather than actual provable benefits. I did get around 45 mpg though. Trying to pass anyone in the mountains took some planning, though.
Dub: What's the biggest mistake people make when buying a "collectible car"?
Mr.S: They often have more dollars than sense. They don't do their homework on what's ahead of them in terms of restoration. Or they make the tragic mistake of thinking that rarity equates with value. It often doesn't.
Dub: Have you ever done any car appraisals for anyone we'd know? Or done one under unusual circumstances?
Mr.S: Probably you wouldn't know them by name, but some of them own cars worth a million dollars---EACH!
Dub: With gas prices the way they are, I figure that pickups and SUVs are future collectible cars. The other night was Hillbilly Night at the local minor league ballpark and I won a 1992 Ford Expedition with 119,000 miles on it. If I put the work into it, what do you think it will be worth in say 20 years?
Mr.S: About what you paid for the raffle ticket
