Weathering the Storm

If you don’t like the weather, wait 10 minutes. Or in the case of Southern California, perhaps several years.

As of this writing, we’re none too happy about the country’s economic weather, either. I saw a Web posting the other day discussing the state of the classic car collector market: increasing cloudiness and a strong chance of rain.

Reading between the lines, however, there were a few rays of hope for us Little British Car fanatics. In a listing of price trends (aka the tale of woe), heavy hitters like Ferrari and rare Porsches are feeling the heat.

At the top of the list, among those cars feeling the least negative affects, were the Triumph TR3 and MG TD. It was not a comprehensive list, but one can safely assume the entire class of cars we enjoy is doing as well as one could hope in these times.

While no one would ever claim you should hold a British collector car as hedge against a bad economy, it’s nice to know that your investment is keeping steady and maybe even improving. Over time, British cars have slowly but surely increased in value—unlike that pickup I bought six months ago.

One of the questions being frequently asked these days is: How is the Virginia move progressing? While the business environment of late has given us pause to rethink our strategies, the Virginia warehouse is on track and nearing completion. Although there have been some inevitable delays, we plan on being up and running in the second quarter. How—or if—the economy recovers this spring will not keep us from operating. The move was designed to save costs while improving overall service levels. In this respect, our goals have not changed.

As we’re all aware, the automotive business as a whole isn’t in the best of shape. Moss has been affected at levels never before seen in 60 years of business. We’re not going to wait and hope things get better in the spring.

We have implemented plans to weather the storm. We’re doing what we can to ensure none of these measures are visible above the surface. We’re justifiably proud of our staff and management team, and are confident we’ve taken every appropriate measure to prepare for the next strong economy.

In an age of quick news and short memories, it would be very easy to forget that times always do get better. Today’s gloom will be replaced by tomorrow’s sunshine.

Gosh, now I’m all inspired. Think I’ll hop in my fuel-efficient British classic and save some energy on the way to work. After all, it gets far better mileage than my pickup.

By Robert Goldman