According to WANE, in June 1983, Gary Dodane, 75, spent $500 — or a little over $1,500 today accounting for inflation — to buy a 13-year-old used car, which he considered a little overpriced. “I thought [at the time], ‘this is a lot of money for a used car,’” Dodane told WANE, which, sure, the value of money is relative. The car he bought was a 1970 Plymouth Barracuda with a Hemi V8 and a four-speed manual, one of just 284 such examples. It is also apparently the first Hemi ‘Cuda sold, bearing serial number BS23ROB100003 — the first two having been disassembled. It’s on sale now for $2.2 million.
Dodane seems aware that that is a lot of money for a car that is more than half a century old but, you know, he knows what he’s got. From WANE:
“I decided after 40 years now, it’s time to maybe put this in another collection someplace,” Dodane said.
[…]
“This is the first one, and that’s why I’ve got my price up there,” Dodane said. “This is the very first ‘Hemi Cuda,’ and these are the holy grail of muscle cars.”
Dodane said he attempted to sell the car in auction once before with a $3.2 million reserve attached to it.
Although the auction failed to reach Dodane’s asking price, he said the bidding did reach $2 million.
“I put down $3.2 million and I said ‘if I get that fine, and if not, we’re going to take it back to the museum,” Dodane said. “I had a (expletive) attack.”
Whether Dodane had a “shit” attack or a “fucking” attack or some sort of other attack is unclear, but he has come down on the $3.2 million number to the current $2.2 million. The car has most recently been on the market for months, which suggests that the appetite for the car is perhaps not $2.2 million, though tell that to someone who thinks their car is worth $2.2 million.
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