Ford Sunday Aution Followup

June 18, 2002 REUTERS in a follow up story to the charity auction in Detroit submited this feature.

A 10-year-oldA Ford, deemed unfit for driving on public roads, has sold for more than $1 million in a deal even the pushiest used-car salesman might call too good to be true.

It happened Sunday when Ford Motor Co. put 51 "concept" or prototype vehicles up for auction as part of a charity fund-raiser.

The sale marked the first time any of Detroit's Big Three automakers has sold a collection of the mock-up cars they build to demonstrate their design prowess at auto shows around the globe. It also marked the kickoff of a year of festivities at the world's second-largest automaker, which celebrates its centennial on June 16 next year.

Ford said it raised a total of $4.4 million at the auction.

The biggest money-maker was a sleek 1992 Ford Ghia Focus roadster that company officials had expected would fetch no more than about $120,000.

An anonymous telephone bidder offered $1.1 million for the fiberglass body car, which Ford design chief J Mays described as "a concept that is as close to a piece of art as you'll ever find."

The second highest price was fetched by the 1997 Mercury MC4 concept, which sold for $645,500.

None of the concept vehicles have any practical use, however. They are not legally certified for driving on U.S. roads and some are simply bodies on frames without engines, known in the auto industry as "platform vehicles."

Built for automotive enthusiasts, like the estimated 100 bidders who participated in Sunday's auction, the prototypes often wind up collecting dust in warehouses.