A Marshall man is about to auction off his collection of cars.
Gene Ponder’s passion for cars began when he was a child.
Ponder said that his mother abandoned him when he was a baby. My grandpa never made more than $35 a week so we never had an automobile.
He had a dream for a long time.
“No matter how good of a football player or track star you were, the girls did not want to go on a date with you,” Ponder said. One day, I was going to have clothes and cars.
Ponder has a large collection of automobiles and motorcycles.
Ponder said that some people would like to collect Rembrandts or Van Goghs. These cars are masterpieces to me.
Ponder’s 1936 Bugatti is considered his pride and joy.
Ponder said that the car was built in the 70s by a man in Switzerland.
Ponder said that he used a real 1936 Bugatti engine, which was custom made by the company.
One of the original cars was paid over 40 million dollars for by Lauren.
Ponder says it’s time to stop having fun.
Ponder said that he would like to travel some now.
Even though the cars run well, Ponder says it can be difficult to maintain them.
His collection of cars is worth more than twenty million dollars.
There are over 1000 lots of automobilia in the Gene Ponder Collection, including mascots, neon signs, wall art, juke boxes, fuel pumps, authentic NASCAR trophies, and more.
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