STUTTGART (dpa) – For valued customers nothing is too much trouble.
When American millionaire Arturo Keller celebrated his birthday recently, two DaimlerChrysler managers set off to congratulate him personally.That’s because the car buff has 40 Mercedes-Benz rarities parked in air-conditioned garages in Nappa Valley, California and is one of “around 1,000 car collectors for who will pay almost anything for rare items,” as classic car writer Juergen Lewandowski put it.Malcolm Barber of the British auction house Bonham & Brooks describes the global classic trade as a “billion-dollar market” and car companies are increasingly discovering its financial possibilities. Now German manufacturer Mercedes-Benz is poised to open a centre for these expensive pre-loved automobiles, the first in the U.S. by a European manufacturer.Classic car events – legendary rallies like the Mille Miglia, the Goodwood event in England or concours d’elegance car shows at Pebble Beach golf course in California – are a must for today’s top managers.The word “heritage” has become a touchstone for prestige and customer loyalty, say industry experts. Not for nothing have Volkswagen and BMW bought hallowed names like Bentley, Bugatti and Rolls Royce. “Marques and how they are marketed is becoming much more important,” said DaimlerChrysler board member Juergen Hubbert.“The United States is the most important market for classic cars,” explained Max Gerrit van Pein, in charge of Mercedes-Benz’s heritage division. Peter Spieth, his man in the U.S., estimates that there are 450,000 Mercedes “classics” in the country.The definition is not an exact one but most agree that any car that has been out of production for 20 years can qualify. That’s more than there are in Europe and that’s why DaimlerChrysler is trying to create a caring climate for the more than 100-year-old marque. After all, people who drive an old Mercedes tend to be interested in new ones too.Spieth is currently putting together the Mercedes Benz Classic Center USA and nine people on the payroll are already there to cater specifically for the needs of an illustrious customer index. Staff is due to be increased to 22 in all. A suitably impressive building will be inaugurated next spring.The concept has been imported from Fellbach in Germany, a town near Stuttgart where Mercedes-Benz concentrates its classic car activities, including the supply of spare parts. The restoration and supply of components for classic cars produced a turnover of 70 million euros (64 million dollars) in 2001, said director Stefan Roehrig.Business with old cars has been a little shaky in recent years. The 1980s were a boom time with enthusiasts frantically outbidding each other at the world’s auction houses.Christie’s, together with Bonham & Brooks, one of the leading classic car auction houses, sold a Bugatti 41 Royale Kellner Coupé in 1987 for more than 8 million euros (7.2 million dollars). Shortly afterwards the car was sold to off to a buyer in Japan – at a profit.The Bugatti is back on the market again and Bonham & Brooks is asking 10 million dollars for it. Experts regard it as unlikely that anyone is prepared to lay out such a handsome sum for the car.Along with Bugatti and Mercedes, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Bentley and Rolls Royce are among the most sought- after models. Thoroughbred sportscars often got to enthusiasts for a million dollars a piece.Now that DaimlerChrysler is reviving the name, elderly Maybachs are set to rise in price, the magazine “artinvestor” observes. At this summer’s event in Pebble Beach, the heavyweight prewar limousines are set to play a starring role. One of the best examples, of course, belongs to Arturo Keller.
