1931 Oakland Sedan

Posted on April 5, 2017 by classiccarweekly

1931 Oakland Model 301 Custom Sedan

Offered by Mecum | Houston, Texas | April 6-8, 2017

Photo – Mecum

Edward Murphy and Alanson Brush got together in 1906 after one of Brush’s designs was rejected by Cadillac. They started building their own car in Pontiac, Michigan, in 1907. But before production really gained any steam, Brush left to found his own company and Murphy died. Enter William Durant who scooped up Oakland and added it to GM’s growing stable of brands.

Some early Oaklands were rather large, but the company was a mid-range GM brand, slotting in between Chevrolet and Buick. In 1926, Pontiac was introduced and it outsold the Oakland it was marketed alongside. 1931 was the final year for Oakland and the Model 301 was the only model produced that year. Six body styles were offered, with the Custom Sedan being the largest and most expensive. It’s powered by a 4.1-liter V-8 making 85 horsepower, so it’s no slouch. The car is also much larger than the picture above does justice as its 117″ wheelbase is five inches longer than that of a new Ford Explorer.

This car is in beautiful shape with two-tone green paint and gray interior. Pontiacs outsold Oaklands by a wide margin, making this car extremely rare – as are most Oaklands built in the final years of the marque. Click here for more info and here for more from Mecum.

Update: Sold $30,000.

Oakland Touring

Posted on October 3, 2016 by classiccarweekly

1912 Oakland Model 30 Touring

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 6-7, 2016

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Oakland Motor Car Company was founded 1907 by Alanson Brush (founder of Brush and inventor of the planetary transmission and the Cadillac one-cylinder car) and Edward Murphy (owner of the Pontiac Buggy Company). Oakland was based in Pontiac, Michigan – foreshadowing of its future. In 1909, after only a single model year’s worth of cars, Murphy sold half the company to General Motors.

In the 1920s General Motors introduced its Companion Make program to fill price gaps between its existing brands. In 1926, Oakland got its partner brand: Pontiac. In 1931, GM announced that it would be discontinuing Oakland – and continuing with Pontiac, giving Oakland the dubious distinction to be the only GM brand to be swallowed and outlived by its companion make.

This early GM-era Oakland is powered by a 30 horsepower 3.3-liter straight-four engine. The Model 30 was Oakland’s entry-level model for 1912 and the five-passenger Touring was one of two body styles offered. It carried an as-new price of $1,250 and 104 years later, well restored, it should sell for between $40,000-$50,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $44,000.

Early October 2013 Auction Roundup

Posted on October 13, 2013 by classiccarweekly

I didn’t forget about Russo & Steele’s Las Vegas sale back in September. I just didn’t have time to squeeze their results into the last post (I write these as far in advance as possible). The top sale there was this 1974 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS for $321,750.

Interesting cars were topped by this 1969 Ford Ranchero Rio Grande Special Edition which went for $18,700.

Finally, there was this cool 1926 Cadillac Model 314 V-8 Four-Passenger Phaeton. It sold for $58,300. Our featured Ginetta failed to sell. Check out full sale results here.

Next up: Bonhams Zoute sale, held in Belgium. The top sale here was this nice 1957 Maserati A6C/54GT coupe by Allemano that sold for $686,439.

Our featured Austin Sheerline sold for $32,761. For interesting cars, I’m going to highlight two rare Porsches. First, a 1980 924 Carrera GT (one of 406 built). It sold for $49,922.

And this 1994 Porsche 911 Carrera RS. It is one of only 55 built and is a pretty serious machine. It sold for an impressive $366,621. Our featured Cottin-Desgouttes sold for $70,204. Check out full results here.

And finally (for this post, there will be at least one more October post), RM’s annual Hershey sale. I love this event because RM finds some really old cars and not necessarily the biggest money cars. Just interesting stuff. The top sale was this 1933 Chrysler CL Imperial Convertible Roadster by LeBaron. It sold for $704,000.

The second-highest selling car was also one of the most interesting. It was this 1910 Pierce-Arrow 48-SS Seven-Passenger Touring from the golden era of Pierce-Arrows – when they were the greatest cars in the world. It brought $687,500. The picture does not do the size of this grand thing justice.

I featured some of the most interesting cars of the sale. The Firestone-Columbus was apparently scratched from the catalog, as it didn’t even appear in the results. Both of the Schachts sold. The Model R went for a cheaper $19,800 while the earlier Model K sold for $41,250. The 1903 Stevens-Duryea brought $15,400. These two early GM cars were pretty cool: first a 1905 Cadillac Model E Runabout, which went for $71,500.

And second, this 1909 Buick Model G Roadster sold for $52,250.

Here’s a later Caddy. It’s one of two built and was originally owned by Bette Davis. It’s a 1940 Series 60 Special Town Car by Derham. It sold for $165,000.

While we’re on the coachbuilt theme, this 1933 Rolls-Royce 20/25 Enclosed Limousine Sedanca by Thrupp & Maberly is absolutely stunning. It sold for $159,500.

The two “trucks” we featured both sold. The all-original Schmidt Prototype brought $18,700 and the International Harvester was hammered away right at the upper end of its estimate and sold for $44,000. This 1933 American Austin Station Wagon isn’t quite a truck, but it’s still cool for $30,800.

Our featured 1922 Liberty sold for $19,250. The Gardner Roadster brought $49,500. And finally, this 1912 Oakland Model 30 Touring. I love the look of this car from the big white wheels to the big whitewalls and low, folded-down windshield. It’s one I would absolutely love to own. It sold for $49,500. Check out full results here.

I lied. One more. This is from Mecum’s Chicago sale. The top sale (and far and away most interesting sale) was this 1963 Chevrolet Corvette. It was Harley Earl’s personal Corvette that was custom built for him. It is one of four Corvettes ever built with side exhaust like this. It’s one of a kind and sold for $1,500,000. Check out full results here.