Another popular popemobile

It appears that pope’s cars are very popular amongst collectors. As I had blogged before, Pope Benedict’s former VW Golf sold on German eBay for nearly $250,000. However, this time the auction (not through eBay) was of Pope John Paul II’s old 1975 Ford Escort GL, which sold for $690,000 to a Houston multimillionaire and car collector. It was sold by an impoverished restaurant owner who had bought it previously for $102,000, but finally sold it because of his financial hardship. As the buyer said about his purchase:

“To me, it’s a piece of history,” said John O’Quinn, 62, a Baptist who said he has a collection of about 600 vehicles. “What a great human being Pope John Paul was…The car will never be driven,” said O’Quinn, who said that at least temporarily it will be warehoused with his other cars. “But hopefully, in my life, I’ll be able to go back and touch this car and feel the pope’s spirit.”