Ford sold at auction for $800,000

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Ford sold at auction for $800,000From correspondents in Phoenix
January 20, 2007 12:08pm
Article from: ReutersFont size: + -


A 1903 Model A, considered to be the oldest surviving Ford, has sold for $US630,000 ($800,000) at a collector car auction in Phoenix, Arizona.

Following a flurry of bidding at a Phoenix resort today, lawyer John O'Quinn took home the brick-red, black-upholstered car that was one of the first three sold by newly incorporated Ford Motor Co.

Pre-auction estimates had pegged the sale price at between $US400,000 ($507,840) and $US800,000 ($1.02 million).

"History, history, history,'' Mr O'Quinn said, when asked why he bought the vehicle. "There are a lot of great cars in the world, but Ford is the basic car of America.''

The rare vehicle has had only four owners since it rolled out of the shop on Mack Avenue in Detroit along with two other cars.

It was originally sold to butter-maker Herbert McNary of Britt, who paid a $US170 ($216) deposit on the $US880 ($1117) vehicle. It was last owned by an undisclosed individual who bought it in 2001.

Mr O'Quinn, well known in Houston for winning several major plaintiff verdicts, said the Ford will be displayed in an automotive history museum he plans to open in three years in the city.

The avid collector owns more than 800 vehicles, including a 1938 Duesenberg SJ Rollson Limousine he also bought today for $US2.55 million ($3.24 million).

The sale, conducted by RM Auctions of Ontario, Canada, is one of five held by different auction houses in January in the Phoenix area. Last year, collectors