Ray Lambrecht (January 31, 1918 – September 22, 2014) was an American car dealer in

Pierce, Nebraska Pierce is a city in and the county seat of Pierce County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,767 at the 2010 census. History Pierce was platted in 1871, and a courthouse was erected that same year. Like Pierce County, the name hono ...

Background

Lambrecht opened a

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

dealership in 1946 following his return from serving with the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Over several decades, a large number of new/leftover cars and trucks as well as various trade-ins were parked unsold on his properties and eventually became largely hidden by growing trees. After 50 years in business, the dealership closed in 1996.

Auction

In 2013, Lambrecht put more than 500 of his antique cars and memorabilia items up for

auction An auction is usually a process of Trade, buying and selling Good (economics), goods or Service (economics), services by offering them up for Bidding, bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from th ...

. Most vehicles were from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s with many having fewer than 15 miles on the

odometer An odometer or odograph is an instrument used for measuring the distance traveled by a vehicle, such as a bicycle or car. The device may be electronic, mechanical, or a combination of the two (electromechanical). The noun derives from ancient Gr ...

. The

no-reserve auction A no-reserve auction (NR), also known as an absolute auction, is an auction An auction is usually a process of Trade, buying and selling Good (economics), goods or Service (economics), services by offering them up for Bidding, bids, taking bid ...

was televised on the

History Channel History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television television broadcaster, network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney General Entertainme ...

and it drew 25,000 people to Pierce for the two-day event. Bidders from around the world were also able to participate on the auction site Proxibid. The auction brought in approximately $2,800,000 in bids.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lambrecht, Ray 1918 births 2014 deaths People from Pierce County, Nebraska