Some sad news today as we’ve learned of the passing of Ray Lambrecht, the man who spent most of his 96 years operating a small Nebraska Chevrolet dealership that had his name hanging above the door. Lambrecht closed the dealership in 1996 and did so by locking the door and just walking away. Away was not that far because his house was directly across the street but Ray Lambrecht did not know that by leaving everything in his dealership exactly how it was in 1996 he would become one of the most famous names in the automotive world nearly two decades later when the contents of the business came up for auction. Of course we all remember why. Lambrecht had kept dozens and dozens of low and no mile cars that were trade ins or stuff that he never sold when it was new. The sale became a frenzy and while there was little muscle to be sold, classic American cars that had never been titled before or driven more than around the lot garnered a ton of attention. The Discovery channel live broadcasted the sale and in no time at all, everyone knew the story of Lambrecht Chevrolet.

According to his family, Lambrecht held on to the myriad of trade-ins because he was always concerned for the safety of families coming into the dealership and worked hard to put them in quality new cars rather than tired trade-ins that may not have been maintained properly and could pose issues for people down the road. While most of the “new cars” were kept in covered storage, most of the trade-ins were kept outside for half a century and were worse for the wear because of it. The whole thing was amazing at the time and it of course turned into some sort of a psychological study of the guy. People were asking lots of whys and hows and inquiring as to whether or not the guy was a hoarder or simply someone who had the room to keep lots of stuff and did.

At the end of the day, none of it matters. The great things about Ray Lambrecht have nothing to do with the old iron and chrome that were sold at the auction. They have nothing to do with the quantity of stuff  he had squirreled away. It has everything to do with the fact that he was a good dad, a good man in his community, and someone who local people knew they could trust for decades to sell them a good car at a fair price. If Ray Lambrecht had not kept all that stuff we certainly would not have known his name, but outlets like us that swoop in on stories and then disappear just as fast don’t define men or their lives. The people that have been with or around those men for the duration do and by all accounts, Mr. Lambrecht was the type of guy we’d all like to be someday. Respected, surrounded by a loving family, and fondly remembered for what he was…not what he had.

Godspeed Ray Lambrecht –

Thanks to John Eken for the tip!

Click here to see the NY Times obituary for Mr. Lambrecht