Cash for non-clunkers: Pebble Beach’s annual Concours d’Elegance week set several sales records for classic automobiles and OC car buffs joined in the fun. Homebuilder General William Lyon auctioned off three 1930’s Mercedes-Benzes and a 1958 BMW roadster for a total of $12.5 million (including the 10% buyers’ premium.) Resources Global Professionals CEO Don Murray bought a 1953 Cunningham C3—“a piece of American motor history. Briggs Cunningham lived in Newport and had a great car museum for almost 30 years near John Wayne. Won the America’s Cup and tried to win Le Mans with an American-built race car.” Rick Rawlins of Balboa Island picked up a Rolls Royce. Irvine Congressman John Campbell was out-bid in an attempt to add to his collection. Campbell said the sour economy had an impact: Typical hobbyists had less to spend, depressing sales of most cars, but wealthy investors seeking hard assets to replace stocks and bonds in their portfolios bid up the most exotic vehicles …
There was an OC connection to the biggest news at this year’s Concours, too: The original 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa prototype sold for $16.4 million, most ever for a car at auction. OC Ferrari experts Charles Betz and Fred Peters owned it for three decades before selling it in 2002 …
Mike Ellzey has not only marked his third anniversary as Great Park CEO but received a three-year contract extension without a dissenting vote from the park board or Irvine City Council. Quite a feat, given all of the acrimony surrounding the project. Ellzey is an ex-Marine who worked as a public administrator in the rough-and-tumble of Willie Brown’s San Francisco. Is politics harder or easier in Irvine? “It’s different” …
The Insider attributes 75% of the grins in the Angels’ front office last week to Jered Weaver signing a five-year, $85 million contract extension, and 25% to the apparent end-around on Newport Beach super agent Scott Boras, who seemed less than thrilled that his client passed up free agency …
Danny Danon, deputy speaker of the Israeli Knesset and Likud Party official, addresses the World Affairs Council Sept. 14 at the Irvine Marriott …
Former First Lady Rosalyn Carter will be at UCI’s Beckman Center Sept. 17 to keynote an autism summit sponsored by OC tech entrepreneur Fariborz Maseeh, the father of an autistic child …
Aptly named: Law firm Payne & Fears, Western Digital CFO Wolfgang Nickl and Coldwell Banker luxury-home agent Steve High …
“From Madison liberals to Wisconsin conservatives,” writes Tim Cooley. He left OC for his hometown of Madison, Wis., two and a half years ago to become then-Democrat Mayor Dave Cieslewicz’ economic development director. Now he’s director of capital development for Wisconsin’s combative GOP governor Scott Walker. “Commute went from two blocks to across the street, but it could still take a half an hour to get to work during a driving blizzard.”
