Sold, all 37 of them. Sad to say, they're just a drop in the bucket, as The Auto Collections (current steward of the Imperial Palace/Quad/Linq showroom) has sold 865 cars in its lifetime. As VitalVegas.com author – and former Caesars Entertainment blogger-in-residence – Scott Roeben tells us, "that auto collection is always in flux because they actively buy and sell vehicles. I think people believe it's a museum of some sort, but it's much more fluid than that." Among the vehicles gone with the wind is a 1930 Dusenberg J Murphy Town Car that was used in the movie It's a Wonderful Life.
Actually, the founder of the collection, controversial Imperial Palace owner Ralph Engelstad once owned as many as 52 Dusenbergs, housed in a dedicated room, but we're not sure what happened to the other 15. Engelstad's collection was "the largest concentration of Dusenbergs anywhere," according to the Las Vegas Sun. The only holdover from his fleet is a 1939 Chrysler Royal Sedan, still on display.
At present, you can stop by the collection and see a permanent array of 250 cars (20 of which are not for sale), including two Lincoln Continentals used by President John F. Kennedy as well as a Cadillac Series 60 Fleetwood limousine once graced by Marilyn Monroe and Bing Crosby (not at the same time). The grand old man of the collection is a 1923 Ahrens Fox fire truck that "is still totally original and still runs good [sic] enough to chase fires."
The showroom has another 76 cars for sale, according to its Web site. If you have a spare $375,000 under your sofa cushions, you can become the proud owner of a Horch 930 V Phaeton from 1939, one of only two in existence. If you're thrift-minded, $19,500 nets you a Panhard Dyna Z, a 1957 French car constructed with an aluminum body, making it one of the lightest automobiles of its time – lighter even than a Volkswagen. And if you have to inquire about the price (and you do) of a Chrysler CL Imperial dual-windshield Sport Phaeton, you probably can't afford it.
Speaking of affordability, the Auto Collection is one of the great bargain plays on the Las Vegas Strip, with admission costing only $12.95 for adults, $8.95 for seniors and children. And if you nose around the Web site a bit, you can find a coupon good for one free admission.
Auto Collection General Manager Don Williams also owns and operates "a virtual Fort Knox of classic Cars" in a gated community, 30 miles east of San Francisco. The Blackhawk Collection is a display and dealership, viewable by appointment only, with as many as 150 cars available for purchase at a time. Bring your platinum American Express card, though: One of Williams' signature deals was the 1984 sale of a 1931 Figoni-bodied, boattail Dusenberg for $1 million. Williams, who told the Sun his ambition was to touch every car ever made just once, also has owned all three of the 1933 Pierce Arrow Silver Arrows still in existence.
If that's the going rate for a Dusenberg, we're sure the Auto Collection made a mint when it liquidated its Dusenberg room. If you were able to see it while it lasted, consider yourself very fortunate.
