The Last Stingray on SpeedTV

[Chuck S.]

Probably Not...

If there's a buck in these "Last Corvette" infomercials, it's probably not even the last one you'll hear from BJ...

[Chuck S.]

Probably Not...

If there's a buck in these "Last Corvette" infomercials, it's probably not even the last one you'll hear from BJ...

[Joe C.]

We Are The Dopes

Money Talks.......Integrity Walks.

[Joe C.]

We Are The Dopes

Money Talks.......Integrity Walks.

[Bill Stephenson]

Re: Quite frankly, I hope BJ is the "Last Time"...

------So all of you think the Nabors are the only ones using steel-wool for the jambs??? Heck,,, You guys have mentioned how to do it on here several times. Maybe they got the idea from the NCRS website???
------I liked the show in general, but what was up with that very weak 1963 silver roadster??? That thing was really mediocre. Had a bunch of 65 stuff, like the seats in and om it and the nose appeared to have been severly whacked. Amazing that they couldnt find a better representative of a Corvette driver than that. The red 68 wasnt a whole lot better.........Bill S

[Bill Stephenson]

Re: Quite frankly, I hope BJ is the "Last Time"...

------So all of you think the Nabors are the only ones using steel-wool for the jambs??? Heck,,, You guys have mentioned how to do it on here several times. Maybe they got the idea from the NCRS website???
------I liked the show in general, but what was up with that very weak 1963 silver roadster??? That thing was really mediocre. Had a bunch of 65 stuff, like the seats in and om it and the nose appeared to have been severly whacked. Amazing that they couldnt find a better representative of a Corvette driver than that. The red 68 wasnt a whole lot better.........Bill S

[Michael S.]

Re: The Last Stingray on SpeedTV

I know most of the guys on this site do not like or have little use for Terry Michaelis. However I think each of you should sit back and reflect on what he has done for our Corvette hobby? Is you Corvette worth more today than 5 years ago? 10 years ago? 15 years ago? Terry is one of the reasons why! If it was left to all us hobbyists, many old cars would be that, just old cars! PROMOTERS are a BIG component and a BIG reason the collector car market is what it is today. Yes that includes everyone's favorite Barrett Jackson and Terry Michaelis in the Corvette hobby. If your car is worth more today than it was yesterday you ought to go up and kiss both them!

Yes, I know that everyone seems to have their "own" personal Terry story and most of them are just that, STORIES! Terry has a long and "storied" history in our hobby. Some good and some bad. I personally think he has been good for our hobby. Is there any other dealer in total collector car business world that specializes in one specific marque that has anywhere near the inventory or operation like Pro-Team? NO! Nothing or nobody anywhere is close. Late model Corvettes do not count!

Sure, the promotion of the "Last Stingray" is getting old. Thank the marketing arm of the Speed Channel for that. The hype, marketing and money that has been put behind this promotion is HUGE. The market for a car like this is created through major network promotors and marketing, not just one collector car dealer. Fortunately Terry had the forsight and the $$$'s to start the ball rolling with a marketing plan, a presentation and the resources to back it up!

Bill Mock, the good Corvette man and NCRS member he is sat on this car for years and didn't do squat with this car other than fish for a million bucks! Fortunately for Bill all those Hemmings ads finally paid off.

As far as Terry being a "Master Illisionist", there is no illusion here. The car, the restoration and the marketing hype are real, not an illusion. The illusion, if any, is whether this car is worth any more than any other similiarly restored and equipped 1967 Coupe. Apparently a lot of people besides Mock and Michaelis must also think it is!

I have known Terry as an acquaintance for many years. Nothing more than a hello and short casual conversation and many meets across the country. I have never bought a car from Terry however I have sold him several mid-year Corvettes. He always paid market price or better for those cars based upon where I live. I guess if I spent the dollars advertising and promoting Corvettes that he spends monthly, I might also be able to set the market either up or down as I have seen him do.

Sure, all of the "hype" of this car is to make the car bring BIG MONEY! Why support the hype? If this car brings big money is sure as heck is not going to de-value the Corvette you own. So what if Terry makes a little money on the car. I assume each of you works for free at the business you own or your place of employment. And I am sure each of you will match the SIZEABLE contribution the sale of this car will make to Chip's foundation.

The next time you see this car hyped or any other Corvette get this much attention, smile and sound enthusiastic. This type of promotion should make all us of Corvette owners happy and much better off financially! Look at the participants at your next Corvette meet. Fat and 50+ year of age. Not a good recipe for continued prosperity of the Corvette hobby. Each year we lose more and more good NCRS members to DEATH! Why? Life and old age! I do not see any great abundance of young people rushing to the Corvette market. At $50K+ for a new Corvette, this is certainly not a young mans dream. Let's not mention a "collectbile Corvette". To own an old Corvette is not an aspiration to many "young people" as it was in our youth.

Anyway, I hope you all are sitting back fat, happy and full of turkey instead of the usual car BS. Since Thanksgiving is past, I wish each of you a MERRY CHRISTMAS! Not politically correct but who cares!

Drive Fast, Turn Heads, Break Hearts!!!

[Michael S.]

Re: The Last Stingray on SpeedTV

I know most of the guys on this site do not like or have little use for Terry Michaelis. However I think each of you should sit back and reflect on what he has done for our Corvette hobby? Is you Corvette worth more today than 5 years ago? 10 years ago? 15 years ago? Terry is one of the reasons why! If it was left to all us hobbyists, many old cars would be that, just old cars! PROMOTERS are a BIG component and a BIG reason the collector car market is what it is today. Yes that includes everyone's favorite Barrett Jackson and Terry Michaelis in the Corvette hobby. If your car is worth more today than it was yesterday you ought to go up and kiss both them!

Yes, I know that everyone seems to have their "own" personal Terry story and most of them are just that, STORIES! Terry has a long and "storied" history in our hobby. Some good and some bad. I personally think he has been good for our hobby. Is there any other dealer in total collector car business world that specializes in one specific marque that has anywhere near the inventory or operation like Pro-Team? NO! Nothing or nobody anywhere is close. Late model Corvettes do not count!

Sure, the promotion of the "Last Stingray" is getting old. Thank the marketing arm of the Speed Channel for that. The hype, marketing and money that has been put behind this promotion is HUGE. The market for a car like this is created through major network promotors and marketing, not just one collector car dealer. Fortunately Terry had the forsight and the $$$'s to start the ball rolling with a marketing plan, a presentation and the resources to back it up!

Bill Mock, the good Corvette man and NCRS member he is sat on this car for years and didn't do squat with this car other than fish for a million bucks! Fortunately for Bill all those Hemmings ads finally paid off.

As far as Terry being a "Master Illisionist", there is no illusion here. The car, the restoration and the marketing hype are real, not an illusion. The illusion, if any, is whether this car is worth any more than any other similiarly restored and equipped 1967 Coupe. Apparently a lot of people besides Mock and Michaelis must also think it is!

I have known Terry as an acquaintance for many years. Nothing more than a hello and short casual conversation and many meets across the country. I have never bought a car from Terry however I have sold him several mid-year Corvettes. He always paid market price or better for those cars based upon where I live. I guess if I spent the dollars advertising and promoting Corvettes that he spends monthly, I might also be able to set the market either up or down as I have seen him do.

Sure, all of the "hype" of this car is to make the car bring BIG MONEY! Why support the hype? If this car brings big money is sure as heck is not going to de-value the Corvette you own. So what if Terry makes a little money on the car. I assume each of you works for free at the business you own or your place of employment. And I am sure each of you will match the SIZEABLE contribution the sale of this car will make to Chip's foundation.

The next time you see this car hyped or any other Corvette get this much attention, smile and sound enthusiastic. This type of promotion should make all us of Corvette owners happy and much better off financially! Look at the participants at your next Corvette meet. Fat and 50+ year of age. Not a good recipe for continued prosperity of the Corvette hobby. Each year we lose more and more good NCRS members to DEATH! Why? Life and old age! I do not see any great abundance of young people rushing to the Corvette market. At $50K+ for a new Corvette, this is certainly not a young mans dream. Let's not mention a "collectbile Corvette". To own an old Corvette is not an aspiration to many "young people" as it was in our youth.

Anyway, I hope you all are sitting back fat, happy and full of turkey instead of the usual car BS. Since Thanksgiving is past, I wish each of you a MERRY CHRISTMAS! Not politically correct but who cares!

Drive Fast, Turn Heads, Break Hearts!!!

[Rick S.]

Re: The Last Stingray on SpeedTV

Mike,
Well stated and I am sure many on this board might not agree with you or Terry but overall I agree with your assesment of the future of older Corvettes. My 30 yr old son loves my 67 Corvette but I'm fairly sure he is only looking at the dollar value when he inherits the car. My car is not necessarily the car he covets and he if he sells the car, so be it. Merry Christmas to you!!
Rick

[Rick S.]

Re: The Last Stingray on SpeedTV

Mike,
Well stated and I am sure many on this board might not agree with you or Terry but overall I agree with your assesment of the future of older Corvettes. My 30 yr old son loves my 67 Corvette but I'm fairly sure he is only looking at the dollar value when he inherits the car. My car is not necessarily the car he covets and he if he sells the car, so be it. Merry Christmas to you!!
Rick

[Donald M.]

Re: Quite frankly, I hope BJ is the "Last Time"...

Yep, the "Last '67" will end up in a climate-controlled garage at some estate in Westchester County never to be seen again or at least until the next B-J auction that promises a "killing". Too bad it will never be driven.

[Donald M.]

Re: Quite frankly, I hope BJ is the "Last Time"...

Yep, the "Last '67" will end up in a climate-controlled garage at some estate in Westchester County never to be seen again or at least until the next B-J auction that promises a "killing". Too bad it will never be driven.

[Mark K.]

Dilemmas

The dichotomy for the Corvette hobby (especially as it pertains to the older Corvettes) is that if prices are kept low, the incentive to restore these cars will be minimal, the parts to restore them will be non-existent, and ultimately the few remaining cars will be junkers. The opposite end of the scale is the rapidly escalating value of the cars price themselves out of the market precisely at the time when the younger generation could take an interest in them. However, parts will be plentiful and many cars will be restored.

My view is that as the generation that grew up with these cars dies off, the cars that were primarily cruisers will be slowly used up never to be restored again. The cars that will retain most of their value will be the high horsepower Corvettes and the cars that started the whole thing that are collectively most evocative of their age. The fuelies, the solid lifter big blocks, the 53s will continue to do well. This is because the next generation will always want to compare the best of the breed from the various years.

If you want confirmation of this, look at the warbirds from WW2. Few are interested in the trainers of the period. Yet everybody wants the P-51 Mustangs, P-47 Thunderbolts, and F4U Corsairs or is willing to pay to see them fly. The same will be true with Corvettes. A 300HP w/AC 65 when used up will not generate the interest of the 375HP or 425HP cars of the same year.

[Mark K.]

Dilemmas

The dichotomy for the Corvette hobby (especially as it pertains to the older Corvettes) is that if prices are kept low, the incentive to restore these cars will be minimal, the parts to restore them will be non-existent, and ultimately the few remaining cars will be junkers. The opposite end of the scale is the rapidly escalating value of the cars price themselves out of the market precisely at the time when the younger generation could take an interest in them. However, parts will be plentiful and many cars will be restored.

My view is that as the generation that grew up with these cars dies off, the cars that were primarily cruisers will be slowly used up never to be restored again. The cars that will retain most of their value will be the high horsepower Corvettes and the cars that started the whole thing that are collectively most evocative of their age. The fuelies, the solid lifter big blocks, the 53s will continue to do well. This is because the next generation will always want to compare the best of the breed from the various years.

If you want confirmation of this, look at the warbirds from WW2. Few are interested in the trainers of the period. Yet everybody wants the P-51 Mustangs, P-47 Thunderbolts, and F4U Corsairs or is willing to pay to see them fly. The same will be true with Corvettes. A 300HP w/AC 65 when used up will not generate the interest of the 375HP or 425HP cars of the same year.

[mike cobine]

Re: The Last Stingray on SpeedTV

Like Rick said, well stated, Mike. It is funny how people are not so pure about their sport that they don't try to make money, but when someone else comes along and actually makes a lot, they suddenly become really "pure" about the money-makers again.

Actually, I won't kiss Terry or anyone for making our Corvettes worth more. While many are thrilled they now have a $50,000 or $100,000 car, I preferred them when they were $2000 to $3000 used sports cars. We drove them everywhere. We weren't afraid to drive them. People from 20 to 60 could own them and did.

Insurance was high, but it didn't stop anyone from driving and driving anywhere and everywhere they wanted. At that price, while it was nice to have insurance on them, they were priced such that many could handle the loss if they didn't insure them. So if insurance became prohibitive, they simply didn't insure the car.

Doesn't work today. Not very many 20 year olds can afford a $50,000 used Corvette, or even a $30,000 one. And the insurance makes owning one even harder to live with, either by collecter car insurance restrictions or the high cost of regular insurance.

These two things are having an effect on the graying of the Corvette memberships. And that graying is going to change the market for these cars as surely as the Model T and A markets did.

However, I won't blame Terry or anyone for that. The list of those to blame would be too long, and probably have almost every one of us on it.