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Rick Schmidt – Ask Rick:
It is the month of December and the biggest holiday of the year is right around the corner. It is also time for another Ask Rick segment where I ask him the tough questions! Rick loves the holidays but says they should be kept to their own time. It is confusing and distracts from the current holiday to pull ahead say Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving has happened. It is one thing to be prepared for an upcoming celebration but it is disrespectful to the current holiday to preempt it with the next one.
Rick’s Take On Car TV:
Christmas movies are always a big part of the holiday season and there are many that are a cornerstone of tradition in many a household. Classics like “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “A Christmas Story” dominate the list while other Hallmark style movies are fun but not on a must see TV list. Ricks list is interesting as it contains the original 1966 animated version of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and Miracle on 34th Street.
Other non traditional TV viewing over a long holiday break for some of us would be catching up on our favorite automotive TV shows such as Roadkill or My Classic Car with Dennis Gage. With the shut down of Motortrend Media recently this could be the last year to watch certain Hot Rod TV shows and I Asked Rick what he thought this would do to the landscape of automotive TV. Rick is very focused on work during the day and puts in long hours thinking about classic cars and restoration parts so that when he comes home at night he would like to disconnect from that industry and watching people working on classic cars and using restoration parts are not at the top of his list. He does however support Dennis Gage and his show which is fully owned privately by design. Every network or outlet that airs My Classic Car does so by licence and could be pulled by the producers and not a big corporation at any time. He controls the name, the content, and the production at all times and is not going to be blindsided like the recent group of shows that were cancelled at Time Warner. He could move his shows to other outlets and continue making great content year after year. This is a lot of work to do but the results have been great with constant production since 1997 and 26 episodes per season since 2005.
Rick’s Take On Cars Any Person Would Want From Santa:
Santa Claus has asked his favorite elf Rick Schmidt to pick the most popular two cars from the four on his list that he thinks would be the most popular. You can ask Santa to bring you TWO of these cars. The only stipulation is that he wants you to gift them to someone else next Christmas. Which TWO of these cars would have the most mass appeal at Christmas 2025?
Car #1:
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1969-ford-mustang-boss-429-26/
The Mustang Boss 429 is a car lovers dream and in recent years it has skyrocketed in price to supercar prices. This would be the car to get from an investment standpoint but that was not the question here. Rick was drawn to this one but does not think it has the appeal to a non car guy like it does to those inside of the hobby.
Car #2:
https://bringatrailer.com/
The Firebird Trans-Am Super Duty 455 is another car that is on a lot of car guys lists and Rick says is a great handling and easy driving car. The Super Duty option makes this car rare and very collectible. Rick thinks this is a great car and the final value should be up in the six digit range but it is also not what a non car person would relate to.
Car #3:
https://bringatrailer.com/
Rick has this an identical car to this in the NPD collection and he has repeatedly thought about selling it as it is not a great vehicle from a driving, maintenance, or performance stand points. Overall as a driving experience it is horrible. BUT.. when people visit the NPD museum they flock to this car and kids want to sit in it due to it’s odd shape, gull wing doors, and it does not hurt that a Delorean was in the movie Back To The Future. Rick keeps his around for the visitors and thinks that is why this would be the car that a non car person would want Santa to give them.
Car #4:
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1987-chevrolet-camaro-z28-iroc-z-21/
This bonus car to the list was definitely on MY list of vehicles I want from Santa and Rick agreed that the looks of an 80’s IROC-Z is very hard to beat. Many people that grew up then remember this car prowling the streets and could not wait until they could get their own. Now those kids are old enough to relive those years and these cars are being brought back and restored or sought out as survivor cars. They drive nice and handle well and would be a fun car to have under the tree during the holidays.
This interview sponsored by our pals at National Parts Depot – your premier source for muscle car restoration parts!
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