[mrriggsohara]

Although the auction may bid up to the reserve price, they will only bid against real bidders to keep it going. The auction house will not bid alone, or against itself. Their purpose is to sell cars, not make up historical numbers.
Regarding rarity versus value: You are absolutely correct when you say, "there's rare and there's valuable. They dont always equate to the same thing, that being $$$$." Remember that each person out there possesses their own reasons for purchasing certain cars. There can be no dispute that a 1966 Dodge Coronet Deluxe 4-Door sedan is not at all sexy looking compared to Gullwing Mercedes, GT40, Shelby Cobra, Challenger R/T, or Ferrari, but remember, there is an ass for every seat, and beauty is in the eye of the beholder (so they say). Let's look at Picasso paintings. I think they are mostly ugly. But many people pay millions of dollars for them. Why? Because they can. Why would someone pay $5,000,000 for a 1971 Hemi Cuda convertible? Because it is the last hemi convertible ever produced. To some people that means something. The plain jane grampa 4-door hemi car is 1 of only 4 out of 11,000 hemi cars. That, too, means something to some people. Consider this: If you or I owned one of these cars, the last hemi cuda convertible or the 4-door hemi car, one thing we would definitely have is "bragging rights." Like, "I own the Empire State Building." Not too many people can say that. And, again, to some, that means something. Honestly, if I had the millions to spend without denting my bank account, I would want both cars and probably 100 more. The pleasure and enjoyment that comes from merely looking at other people's cars can only be increased by actually being able to own and admire them in our own garages or, in the case of 100 cars, our own warehouses. But like an earlier writer stated: He likes strawberries, the other person likes cherries. He will never like cherries, and the other person will never like strawberries. Let's get used to it, in some extreme cases, the car hobby has become a high stakes game in which most of us cannot participate. When it comes to the hemi cars, both pretty and ugly, the market is completely unpredictable when we waunder around at the top. The more common hemi models are not so difficult to figure out pricing, i.e., Chargers and Roadrunners. But these two cars being discussed here are far from ordinary. Let's give the respect deserved and consider the historical significance of these cars. They may not be cars for us based on a number of reasons. Looks, money, whatever. However, some very wealthy and experienced collectors out there can have whatever they want. And from what I've seen, they want this stuff. Probably because they already have most of the other stuff we all have.

By the way, which original 1971 hemi cuda convertible did you own in 1986? Was it automatic or 4-speed? Regarding the 4-door Impala, that sounds nice, too. Do you think the Impala was a real 427/425 car or a made car? Or do you not know. Some crazy Chevy collector like Reggie Jackson might be interested in a car like that. I have no idea how many were built. Do you?