Spring is coming!!! Believe me! But, in the meantime maybe we can turn the clock back a few months to one of those beautifully clear and warm October weekends that New England is famous for. That's when I took the Speedster to the second annual
Drive for Wishes car show.
Exotics Line Up
Drive for Wishes has quickly become one of the largest and best-attended car shows in the Boston area. And it's all for a good cause, raising in its first two years $100,000 for the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Massachusetts, and fulfilling the wishes of many children who are experiencing serious illnesses.
Last fall nearly 200 collector cars of all types - sports cars from the 50s, modern exotics, pre-war beauties and even a few contemporary hot rods - were on display. As I wandered the grounds I couldn't help but notice that in nearly all cases the most desirable models, in the most striking condition, were owned by "A. Gutierrez."
Turns out "A. Gutierrez" is Arturo Gutierrez, chairman of the Gutierrez Company, a real estate development and construction firm whose building in Burlington is where "Drives for Wishes" takes place. He is a civil engineering graduate of MIT, and founded the Gutierrez Company in 1978. Drive for Wishes is actually a project begun by his daughter Gloria, who is General Counsel for the company. He generously offered his time to talk about how he got started in collecting, some of his favorite cars, and growing up in Cuba!
Classic Cars and Byways: How did you get started in car collecting?
Arturo Gutierrez: Well, I've always liked cars. My first collector car was a 1955 Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing that I bought about 25 years ago. I still have it. But I didn't really do any more extensive collecting until about three years ago. I was in Phoenix on business and I stopped by one of the big car auctions - Barrett-Jackson. I saw some cars I liked and I went ahead and bid on a couple. At that time, as I recall, I bought a '57 T-Bird, a '53 Cadillac Eldorado, and a '64 E-type Jaguar. The Jag was for my wife - she liked the color!
CCB: It seems that your collection is quite varied. Do you specialize, or is it just whatever you like?
AG: Maybe a combination of both. I do have several Corvettes - a '54, a '57, a '59, a split-window '63, a '66 and, actually, three '67s. I also have several T-Birds; they've always been one of my favorites. I've also liked unusual cars. For example I have a '53 Buick Skylark that spent most of its life in a museum. It has only about 800 original miles! I've always wanted to be sure the cars are in the best possible condition.
CCB: You have European cars as well.
AG: Oh, yes. Of course, my first car, the Gullwing. But another of the first cars I bought when I started collecting a few years ago is an Austin-Healey. I also have an Aston-Martin DB4 that I like a lot, and my wife's favorite, a 1964 Lamborghini 350 GT. But probably, from Europe I like Mercedes. I have four or five altogether, old and new.
CCB: We have a Speedster replica in our fleet for rent. I noticed you had two original Speedsters at Drive for Wishes.
AG: Yes, well, one is mine and one belongs to my son-in-law. They are very nice cars - sporty and sophisticated both. I enjoy them a lot.
CCB: Your favorite car?
AG: Probably the Gullwing because it was my first car of this type. As a boy I wanted a T-Bird to be my first car. I was born and raised in Cuba. I left in 1957 to go to school in the states. So, I wanted very much to have a T-Bird when I was a boy, but there was a problem. In Cuba in those days you couldn't go on a date without a chaperone. A two-seater wouldn't work! So, my very first car as a young man was a Ford Fairlane hardtop. I've been looking around for one - if I could find just the right model, in the right color, I'd buy it!
CCB: Mr. Gutierrez, thanks so much for your time.
AG: I enjoyed speaking with you - please come back next year to Drive for Wishes!
Our Speedster at Drive for Wishes
Inside the classic car hire business
Last August as I left a meeting for my "day job" my cell phone rang. Just a few minutes later I was flying high - on the phone was Carla Davidson, a writer for
Forbes Traveler who was developing an article about classic car rental businesses. "Prepare to be inundated" she warned! Well, it didn't quite work out that way - the specifics about Classic Cars and Byways were left on the cutting room floor -- but now Carla's article has reached the web. It's a great story that features my mentor, Tony Merrygold, and his worldwide source for rentals - Classic Car Hire World. In New England we are the place for classic rentals. But if you're traveling elsewhere around the world you can also add some spice to your trip by renting a fine classic. Check it out!
