Classic Showcase - Spring 2016 Newsletter

Classic cars have been a popular target of car thieves for decades. Classics are popular with thieves because:

- They’re (usually) easier to break into and steal than new cars
- They’re harder to track down/identify by licensing authorities when they are stolen
- Their parts are valuable
- There’s a strong international market for classic US cars

What’s a classic car enthusiast to do? While you can certainly install a modern security system and/or a vehicle location system (like LoJack), there are some simple things every classic owner can do to protect their ride.

Here are the top 10 simple things you can do to keep your classic where it belongs.

Keep It Garaged: A car in a closed and locked garage is hard to steal. First, it’s hard for thieves to steal a car that they can’t see driving down the road. Second, even if they get into the garage, they’ve got to get it open and get the car out without being caught. That’s a lot of “stuff” that has to go just right in order to be successful.

For most thieves, stealing a car out of a garage is just too hard to justify. It’s much easier to poach a car that’s parked in someone’s driveway or parked out on the street.

Lock the Doors and Take the Keys: The number of vehicles stolen because their owners decided to leave them unlocked with the keys “hidden” under the mat or in the visor (as if no thief would look in these places) is nothing short of astonishing. According to the National Highway Safety and Transportation Administration, 40-50% of car thefts occur because drivers forget to lock up and leave the keys in the car!

Often times, classic owners decide to leave their vehicle unlocked, the thinking being that they don’t want thieves to damage the vehicle trying to enter it. While there are some positives to this approach, there’s no getting around the fact that your door locks are a theft prevention mechanism. If you leave the doors open, your vehicle is a little easier to take.

Get an Alarm Sticker: A sticker indicating that your vehicle is equipped with some sort of anti theft device or tracking device is a simple, low-cost security precaution. A car thief may think twice about boosting a car that sports a simple little understated sticker. The more “official” looking the sticker, the better. Of course, if you actually have an alarm system, that’s even better. But this is easy, cheap, and simple, so it’s on our list of tips.

Join The Bureau of Justice “Watch Your Car” Program: Believe it or not, there’s a federally sponsored anti-theft program in the United States that’s available in most states called “Watch Your Car.” The concept is simple – you put a slightly conspicuous sticker in the front and rear windows of your car, and that sticker tells any law enforcement officer that your car doesn’t usually travel late at night and/or across national borders. Most states have “Watch My Car” programs, and both local officers and border patrol officers are trained to look for this sticker. If they see this sticker on a car crossing a border or driving in the wee hours of the morning, they can pull the car over and verify vehicle ownership. To enroll your car, just contact your local police department or state patrol and ask about a “Watch Your Car” sticker program. Enrollment is usually free or very very cheap.

Don’t Leave Valuables Out: So called ‘smash and grab’ thefts are common but easily prevented. These days, we carry a lot of valuable electronics with us everywhere we go (iPods, tablets, phones, laptops, GPS units, etc.) An iPad that’s plainly visible resting in the backseat – or a plainly visible laptop bag behind the front seat – are tempting to petty criminals who feel confident they can break into an older vehicle. Stolen electronics are easy to sell on eBay or Craigslist, and some older cars are very easy to break into. The solution? Lock everything out of sight or in the trunk when you leave your car in a parking lot. Even if you’re just running into the coffee shop or gas station real quick, put your gear out of site. Petty thieves generally won’t mess with your car if they don’t see any obvious benefits to doing so.

Maintain a Tidy and Clean Ride: This tip might sound weird, but there’s logic to it. Essentially, thieves are looking for cars that aren’t likely to have alarms, that aren’t likely to have fancy GPS trackers, etc. If your vehicle looks clean, tidy, and well cared for, thieves are more likely to believe the car has some sort of protection.

While most classic car owners strive to keep their vehicles tidy and clean, it’s an important point to remember if you’re driving a rat rod and/or if you’re parking your mid-project vehicle in a public place. A thief could easily mistake a car waiting on some paint and body work for a poorly maintained car no one will miss.

Park in a Good Place: Avoid alleyways, questionable-looking parking areas, areas with little or no traffic (driving or foot traffic), and areas that are poorly lit. If you’re going somewhere and unsure about parking, for example, it might be a good idea to leave your classic at home. Generally speaking, you should try to park in a garage with security, a private garage, or in a well-lit public place with lots of traffic. If you need to leave your classic somewhere and you’re in a bind, grocery store and WalMart parking lots are generally pretty safe. Grocery stores are busy just about 24 hours a day (at least in larger cities) and WalMart parking lots feature security.

Crank Your Wheels and Remove the Steering Wheel: It might sound extreme, but it’s fairly easy to remove a steering wheel on older vehicles, and it’s an excellent theft prevention tool, as it means a potential thief is going to have to tow your vehicle if they want it. Of course, if you crank your wheels before you remove the steering wheel, towing your vehicle becomes that much more difficult. It’s the little things, right?

Put in a Hidden “Kill Switch” That Disables Your Car: Guess what? If your vehicle won’t start, it’s a lot harder to steal. A simple little master disconnect switch like this one makes car theft significantly more complicated. Even if the potential thief figures out you have a kill switch, it will take time and effort to find and bypass. Of course, it’s easy for the vehicle owner to enable and disable as needed.

Drive a Manual: It’s a sad state of affairs when many self-respecting car thieves don’t know how to drive a vehicle with a manual transmission, but here we are. Survey after survey shows that many US drivers don’t know how to drive a stick shift. Somewhere between 40% and 50% of all drivers have no idea how to drive a stick, and a good percentage more don’t feel comfortable driving a stick. Odds are good that many thieves don’t know how to drive stick shifts as well. If you drive a classic car with a manual transmission, you’re cutting the number of crooks who could even drive it way down. No one is going to try to drive a manual transmission in a getaway vehicle! (tips courtesy of hotrodwires.com)

Upcoming Events


April 1-3, 2016	Auctions America Sale - Fort Lauderdale, FL Auctions America kicks off its 2016 calendar, April 1-3, with its 14th annual Fort Lauderdale collector car auction held at the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center. Led by local South Florida classic car veteran, Donnie Gould, the 2016 event follows Auctions Americas most successful performance at the venue to date in 2015, an event that generated more than $21.3 million in sales. Regarded as South Floridas premier collector car auction, the April sale will see nearly 500 quality vehicles cross the auction stage. The offering spans all segments of the market, from American classics to European sports cars, Detroit muscle, hot rods and customs, offering something for all automotive tastes and budgets. More Info

April 8-10, 2016	Concours d'Elegance, La Jolla, CA View 300+ spectacular, exemplary vehicles situated along the Pacific Ocean, peruse the offerings of our fabulous vendors, and check out the exciting offers from our top-notch sponsors. General admission tickets include two tastings from our wine and craft beer garden and a commemorative program. Children under 14 years of age are free. VIP tickets include the above general admission benefits plus complimentary lunch from incredible restaurants as well as Hosted Wines, Craft Beers, and Cocktails from 11 AM to 2 PM, and a signed poster from the La Jolla Concours d’Elegance official artist Scott Jacobs More Info

April 8-10, 2016	Barrett-Jackson Auctions - South Florida Fairgrounds, Palm Beach, FL More Info

April 14-16, 2016	Mecum Auctions - NRG Center, One NRG Park, Houston, Texas More Info

April 16-17, 2016	Mexico City Concours - “GRAN CONCURSO INTERNACIONAL DE ELEGANCIA" The 600 most beautiful collection cars from Mexico competed to be the "Best Of Show". More than 25,000 people gather in the restaurant Las Caballerizas, Huixquilucan, Edo. MEX to see the presentation of new models and technological advances in the automotive industry. Special events and tributes to legendary personalities in the history of the automobile in Mexico and in the world. Jaguar Club México hosts its annual Concours, hosting many of Mexico´s premier car collector clubs with over 500 cars in attendance. If you have not attended, any and all J.C.N.A. Members are welcome. You will be treated like a VIP. More Info

April 23-24, 2016	Keels and Wheels Concours D'Elegance, Seabrook, Texas Keels & Wheels established itself among the nations top concours events while in pursuit of multiple goals. The goals include raising significant funds for the charities the show supports, $1.4 million so far, while producing the best possible event that would draw participants and spectators from every corner of the country and even Europe. Side benefits have included an economic impact of over $3.5 million each year on the local community while simultaneously raising national awareness of Seabrook. More Info

April 23, 2016	Worldwide Auctions Houston Classic Auction 100+ world-class motorcars will line up to go under the hammer, at Worldwide's 15th annual The Houston Classic Auction. More Info

May 1, 2016	Greystone Mansion Concours d'Elegance, Beverly Hills, CA The Concours d’Elegance is sponsored by the City of Beverly Hills, and supports The Friends of Greystone, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the continuing restoration and preservation of Greystone which was built in 1927. More Info

May 5-7, 2016	Auctions America - Auburn, Indiana Auctions America presents the first of its two annual Auburn sales, the Auburn Spring Collector Car Weekend, May 5-7 at Indiana’s historic Auburn Auction Park. A spring tradition and must-attend weekend on the national collector car calendar, the multi-day event will lift the gavel on nearly 500 American classics, muscle cars, exotic sports cars, hot rods and motorcycles, along with a diverse selection of automobilia. More Info

May 13-14, 2016	RM/Sotheby's Auctions - Le Sporting, Monaco Held at the glamorous Le Sporting, a venue synonymous with the principality’s most prestigious events, RM Sotheby’s biennial Monaco auction takes place alongside the legendary Grand Prix de Monaco Historique, making for a weekend ripe with automotive excitement. The 2014 sale saw an electric energy that carried through until the final lot, resulting in an incredible €41 million in sales, the company’s strongest European result to date. The highly anticipated 2016 sale is set to continue the tradition, featuring another magnificent roster of blue-chip collector cars with an emphasis on important and historic competition greats. More Info

May 15, 2016	JOCLA 2016 Concours at The Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton, CA. More Info
June 4-5, 2016	Bonham's Greenwich Concours d'Elegance Auction, Greenwich, CT Bonhams returns to Greenwich, CT for its ninth annual Greenwich Concours d'Elegance Auction on June 5th. The most prestigious and established collector motorcar auction in the Northeast, the Greenwich Auction has proven to be an exceptional venue at which to offer premier motorcars. Less than an hour from New York City, the venue offers global representation at a local venue. Last year's auction proved to be another smashing success with nearly $8 million in motorcars changing hands and virtually all of the offered vehicles finding new homes. Numerous world records were set with many of the top lots, including the top selling 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Stelvio Cabriolet, which sold for a world record breaking $1,595,000. More Info

June 4-5, 2016	Greenwich Concours d'Elegance, Greenwich, CT More Info

June 10-12, 2016	The Elegance at Hershey, Hershey, PA A weekend celebration of a bygone era when the automobile stirred our imaginations and quickened our hearts. The festivities commence with The Grand Ascent, a vintage hill climb exhibition in the European tradition, where drivers pilot some of the finest historic race cars up the historic back road to The Hotel Hershey®. Modeled on similar events such as England’s Goodwood, and paying homage to ongoing events such as Mount Equinox and Pikes Peak, The Grand Ascent appeals to enthusiasts and curious spectators alike. Sanctioned by the Vintage Sports Car Club of America (VSCCA), the two-day hill climb event includes a sponsor /vendor area for marketing to participants and the general public. More Info

June 23-25, 2016	Barrett-Jackson Northeast Inaugural Auction, Uncasville, CT More Info

June 25, 2016	JCNA Judges Training at Classic Showcase, Oceanside, CA Classic Showcase will host the annual JCNA judges training session in Oceanside, California. The annual training session is for judges to learn about new rules adopted by the AGM, refresh their memories of common JCNA judging rules, and to prepare themselves for the upcoming San Diego Concours.

June 25-26, 2016	Auctions America - Santa Monica Auction, Barker Hangar, Santa Monica, CA Auctions America returns to Southern California’s historic Barker Hangar for its fourth annual California sale, June 25-26. In 2015, the company replicated its success in the market with an impressive $15.4 million in sales, and will continue to put its stamp on the important SoCal market in 2016, lifting the gavel on a diverse mix of approximately 300 vehicles handpicked for Southern California’s unique automotive culture. More Info

July 18, 2016	San Diego Jaguar Club - SDJC Concours, Spanish Landing Park, San Diego, CA The San Diego Jaguar Club will hold its 52nd Annual Concours at beautiful Spanish Landing Park overlooking San Diego Harbor. More Info

July 29-30, 2016	RM/Sotheby's Auctions Motor City Sale, The Inn at St. John's, Plymouth, Michigan A longstanding summer tradition for collectors, RM Sotheby’s Motor City sale has carved out a reputation over the past two decades for being one of the leading events to honor the American automobile. Attracting an incredible roster of important American classics, sports, and muscle cars there is no better sale to celebrate Detroit’s rich automotive history than one held in the heart of America’s ‘Motor City’. More Info