Ray Lambrecht, the Nebraska Chevrolet dealer who auctioned off more than 500 cars last year, died Sept. 22 at age 96, his family confirmed to The New York Times on Tuesday.
Lambrecht owned and operated Lambrecht Chevrolet in Pierce, Neb., from 1946 until his retirement in 1996. Pierce County Sheriff Rick Eberhardt called the dealership “a mom and pop’s operation in small town USA.”
Lambrecht made headlines in September 2013 when he auctioned off his collection of around 500 vintage Chevrolets. More than 400 of the unsold new cars were pulled from behind groves of trees, and many of the best vehicles were recovered from his old dealership building where they had been for 17 years.
About 25,000 car bidders and enthusiasts from around the country visited Pierce, which has a population of just 1,774 residents. The weekend auction produced about $2.8 million in sales.
One bidder called it the car-geek equivalent of Woodstock, Automotive News reported last year. The History Channel even made it to Pierce to cover the event.
Some attendees bunked as far as 145 miles away in Omaha. In Norfolk, Neb., 14 miles south of Pierce, workers in fast-food restaurants and convenience stores rented out rooms in their homes to shelter the rush of visitors.
Some auctioned-off cars dated to the early 1950s, but they seemed to be in almost new condition. Their odometers showed fewer than 5 miles, and their seats were still covered in factory plastic.
A car that sold at one of the highest price tags, a 1958 Chevrolet Cameo Pickup with 1.3 miles on it, went for $140,000.
When parts of the cars were being stolen, Lambrecht knew he had to decide what to do with his collection, Eberhardt said. The auction was emotional for Lambrecht, but he felt that it was the right thing.
“[He and his wife] were at peace. A burden was lifted,” he said.
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