I have no idea who to credit for this photo, as it’s been shared everywhere without a watermark, with newer photos and videos surfacing as I type this.
It’s like a spare tire, a defibrillator, or a fire extinguisher, there with the hopes you never have to rely on it. It’s there to provide peace of mind, a place to put small, regular payments to secure yourself from having to make a big payment in the event of a catastrophe. Recently, Hurricane Ian hammered the east coast, causing unbelievable damage to property, possessions, and the environment around it. Boats stacked up like Matchbox cars in a box, trees stripped of their leaves, power lines toppled, buildings slid off their foundations in the mud, it’s crazy.
The picture of these two wing cars has gone viral in recent days, and it’s a sad display. Of course, every know-it-all has their “they should have gotten them out of there” opinion, or my favourite, “who keeps cars like that outside, especially in a hurricane”?
Well, the story that’s coming out that feels the most correct is that there were actually four cars, but only two were able to be taken out of harm’s way in time. If that’s the case, why were the other two left outside, especially with four garage bays on the house? Well, they weren’t. The storm was so strong, and the water was so high that they were both washed out of the garage that they were stored in. On top of that, both of the cars were sitting on drive-on hoists in case the water got in, one obviously rolling over when it was washed off. You can see in the picture just how out-of-square the garage door panels are, and I’m guessing the driveway isn’t normally covered in yards of beach sand. Horsepower is one thing, but a hurricane, nothing pushes harder than that.
You’ve got to wonder what the other two cars would be if they were taken to safety and two winged Mopars were left behind. I’ve heard they were possibly also wing cars, Hemi cars perhaps? The next question: what now? I know water damage is usually excluded on building insurance, especially flood water damage, but I haven’t a clue about cars. I know I looked into a collector car insurance policy once because I drove my old truck daily, and one of the exclusions was, in fact, driving it daily. Whether there’s insurance or not, I can guarantee you these two cars are both valuable enough to be restored again. Sure, there will be electrical issues to overcome, the drive train of both will have to be gone through, and everything will have to be cleansed of the filthy salt water, but they’re still both solid cars. Not only that, they might be worth more once they’re restored. A car is always more valuable when it comes with a story, just wait until the viral Hurricane Ian Mopars roll across the block fully restored at the Barrett-Jackson auction someday in the future.
Have a question or comment for Kelly? Post it at lmtimes.ca/kirk
