Life's all about the journey, and the trip's more fun in a really sweet ride. Eight real estate execs shared photos and stories of the classic cars they love to work on and cruise around in.
1. Bill Wolff
Fritsche Anderson’s Bill Wolff has been involved in sports car racing for over 40 years (and competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1984). He says he keeps his cars around until he destroys them on the race track! Here he’s pictured in a 1965 Zink C-4 Formula Vee.
2. Scott LaTulipe
Meet Melodie, a 1976 Citroen 2CV “Deux Chaveaux” Club. She was built in France and brought stateside in 1983 by a US serviceman. Milestone Project Management founder Scott LaTulipe bought her in 2014 when she was in bad shape (she’d been stored outside for over a decade) and restored her. The Citroen 2CV was created with infamous specifications:
• Able to carry four adults and tall enough for them to wear hats
• Able to carry 50 kg of potatoes or other produce
• Able to carry a basket of eggs across a ploughed field without breaking one of them
• Able to carry small livestock (such as sheep) with the rear seat removed
• Able to achieve a speed of 60 km/h (about 38 mph), while consuming just three liters of fuel per 100 km (about 90 mpg)
• Drivable by a woman or learner-driver
• Reliable & simple to repair
• Inexpensive & simple to produce
• And “don’t worry about how it looks”
Melodie and Scott are pictured here at her christening on Bastille Day (July 14) 2015.
3. Jim Waschow
KeyBank SVP Jim Waschow has been working on his 1968 Camaro for almost 20 years. There’s always something to tinker with, change or try to make better, he says; plus, you end up with an awesome collection of tools. All it takes is a wheelbarrow full of money and an understanding wife who lets you keep your “babies” in the garage while the rest of the family uses the driveway. Here’s Jim and his daughter Alexa with the Camaro.
4. Steven Keffeler
Balfour Beatty project exec Steven Keffeler has two classic cars (they’re pictured here), and both have backstories. The Corvette was his father-in-law’s, who had wrecked it and left it in his garage for 30 years, then moved to Florida and it went through Hurricane Ivan. Steven’s wife had an emotional attachment to it (when she was little, she’d play in the car and tell it “someday I’m going to fix you up and drive you”) so she convinced her dad to give them the car and convinced Steven to restore it. It wasn’t the best financial move they ever made, so they dubbed it $umday. $umday’s been on TV, shown all over the country and has won countless awards. She’s retired now and just gets pulled out for a spin when the weather permits.
Steven bought the Chevelle at a car show in Columbus, OH. He thought he would be able to drive it around, but three days later, the engine blew up. It’s now been completely rebuilt and customized. Steven does most of the work himself (except specialties like upholstery and paint), and he’s named this one “Problem Child” for all the stress it’s put him through.
5. Hal Sharp
Here’s Gensler Houston principal Hal Sharp with his lovely 1976 Triumph TR6. The car is a labor of love for him; he's done most of the work on it in his own garage. He completely restored the car with a new interior, new transmission and a competition grade suspension upgrade. He enters the car in auto shows for fun and in Autocross events for competitive driving.
6. Dave Jacobs
TechKnowledge principal Dave Jacobs has a fully restored 1966 Mustang convertible. His beauty won the Houston Construction Industry Automobile Show’s best Mustang in 2012. Many of these vehicles—including Scott’s Melodie and Hal’s Triumph—can be found at that annual Guitars n Cars event, which raises money for the US Vets program. It mainly focuses on the Houston Midtown Terrace Facility; Houston Construction Industry Charities has raised over $1M to construct a state-of-the-art commercial kitchen there.
7. Larry Indermuehle
ICO Commercial CEO Larry Indermuehle has two 1957 Nash Metropolitan vehicles. One is named Sweetie Pie and the other is Miss Minnie.
8. Bob Inaba
Kirksey director of design Bob Inaba and his wife have had this 1974 BMW since it was new. A few years ago, they completely restored it back to its original glory.
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