Wherever I go with my car, it strikes me how few people have ever heard about the AC Greyhound, let alone seen one.
This means also that any aspiring classic car collector would never think about looking for one - what comes to mind to the average enthusiast are better known brands like Austin Healey etc...
Demand for our dearest AC's is therefore very low - hence why the prices are stagnating and frankly a bargain for the build quality and rarity. In comparison, I find it outrageous to see a VW camper van going for £90k (RM Auctions in Battersea), not to mention silly prices for 911T's.
So I've embarked on a mission to get the car better known - a few of my activities in the past few months include:
- Contribute to an article on Petrolicious: see
http://www.petrolicious.com/rare-and-italian-bodied-language-was-no-barrier-to-purchase - Be featured in Stirling Moss' selection on the Goodwood revival parking lot in a special enclosure, next to a DB2/4 MkIII (see
http://www.stewartmillerinsurance.co.uk/goodwoodrevival/shortlists/friday-selection.html)
- Lend my car to Ralph Lauren for their latest luxury catalogue:
http://www.ralphlauren.co.uk/category/index.jsp?categoryId=3980411&ab=global_men_black%20label . They wanted a DB4, but Aston Martin wouldn't let them associate their brand with Ralph Lauren - so my Greyhound came in handy as most people won't see the difference. For the next few months, the whole world will see various ads in print etc... with a Greyhound.
- Participate to the Octane Tour, where 50 cars were selected for a fun run from Cliveden House to the Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court Palace (see
http://concoursofelegance.co.uk/2014-event/octane-tour/ )
- Participate to various tours like the Halsemere Tour, London to Brighton, Knokke le Zoute in Belgium etc... - not to mention my weekly usage of my car in SW London.
Apart from that, I'm pleased to see an AC Greyhound featured for sale since a little while on Car and Classic:
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C511524 Could we collectively ensure that there's always one car for sale on carandclassic - to tease out the market and to ensure continuous exposure (and please put the asking price more than a VW Camper van to start setting the expectations closer to what we believe it's worth). It's worth answering a few calls and turning down some eager buyers for the sake of gaining exposure.
Any other ideas to increase exposure/demand are welcome - but I'll keep going to events around London in the coming year as I enjoy it quite a lot.
