Quote:
Originally Posted by passwordisnt123
Holy crap, that La Presse article is absolutely devastating. People here really need to read that article. If you can't read French, you should throw it into Google Translate.
The chutzpah of Demers to keep pushing these lies is really quite breathtaking. These aren't even falsehoods, these are something entirely different. Words fail me.
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Direct Google translation:
The real story of the Demers collection
Denis Arcand, La Presse
Published April 14, 2014 at 11:37 | Updated April 14, 2014 at 11:37
Roger Demers Thetford Mines owns 584 cars with a value between one and two billion dollars, according to his calculations. The collector car trying for several months to convince a city to fund a museum to install his collection. This treasure would include cars that belonged to Elton John, Michael Jackson and Jean Harlow, among others. But what is the true value of this collection? And above all, what is the real origin of these rare items? Press investigated to discover the true story of Demers Collection.
Since mid-December, the Roger Demers collector car running a campaign to convince a city to fund a museum to house the best pieces among the 584 cars composing Demers Collection.
The efforts of the promoter to obtain public funds have attracted interest from several cities, including Drummondville, Shawinigan, Sherbrooke, Victoriaville and Thetford Mines. "Beyond cars, there is history, said Mr. Demers in La Presse. This is not the car itself that fascinates me is really the story of the people who owned them, people that have enriched the history of the world. [...] Each car belonged to a great of this world, "he said.
The Collection Demers Thetford Mines certainly includes some beautiful cars. But several claims of Roger Demers on their value, their origin and their former owners are inaccurate, fanciful, or simply unverifiable. And at least four gems of the collection are copies, found La Presse.
Mr. Demers, who campaigned tirelessly to finance an automotive history museum also offers a collection of stories that do not hold water. During a four-hour tour of the Collection, showed Mr. Demers La Presse rare cars, which many believed to have exceptional provenance.
Among them include: former Jaguar XJ220 Elton John; an M-12 gained Vector Michael Jackson; the Cord L-29 actress Jean Harlow 30 years; and the Ferrari Dino 246GT driven by the actor Tony Curtis during the filming of the TV series The Persuaders. Mr. Demers said the Dino worth 75 million US dollars.
Press traced the former owners of several cars shown by Mr. Demers: the Jaguar was bought to Yves Luc Perreault, Laval, not Elton John. The Vector M-12 belonged to Californian Edward Halimi, then to his son David, said the latter; but never to the King of Pop, he said. The L-29 Cord Jean Harlow is not the original, but a reconstruction built recently, 60 years after the death of the actress of Hollywood, said the former owner of the replica, the Floridian Al Wiseman. As for the Ferrari Dino 246GT Tony Curtis no one has ever come close. The car shown by Mr. Demers is a North American version that has almost always rolled Quebec, told La Presse its former owner, Richard Couillard of Lac-Delage.
One of the more extravagant claims of Mr. Demers concerns two Jaguar race he has shown in La Presse. According to Mr. Demers, they are original and rare C-Type and D-Type 50s He added that together took no less than five victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, he said. However, both cars are replicas rather, as manufacturers offer various replicas in several countries. Another incredible statement, Mr. Demers also have said the first car powered by an internal combustion engine, the Benz Patent Motorwagen 1886. The only copy is in a German museum, maintained, however, the archivist of Daimler.
Press told Mr. Demers have good reasons to doubt his claims and has faced specifically on the origin of the Jaguar XJ-220 believed to have belonged to Elton John. When asked if the car had not just been purchased by the previous owner of Laval, Mr. Demers said he had bought only one Jaguar XJ220 and it was beautiful and well that of Elton John. When he was told that the Cord L-29 believed to have belonged to Jean Harlow appeared to be a reply, he said that there are several replicas of this car, but he possesses the original. When he was told that his two Jaguar races supposed to have won the 24 Hours of Le Mans seemed fiberglass (the original is aluminum), he denied that their use of this material.
Last week, after its investigations, the press has again contacted Mr. Demers for comment or documentation showing the origin of its cars. Mr. Demers has not responded to our request.
What is the value of the collection?
Several Quebec media after visiting the collection with Mr. Demers, reported that it would be between 1 and 2 billion. Mr. Demers says the collection is insured for a value between these two figures.
For the 584 cars worth 1.5 billion, they would have had an average of nearly 2.6 million each. Mr. Demers told La Presse that another of his cars (a Ferrari Dino 246GT) worth 75 million US dollars. Now a beautiful Dino 246GT is 120 times less than that. Mr. Demers is also attributed to a Panhard Levassor-Touring 1906 worth $ 10 million. Or, a car similar in all respects to Mr. Demers was auctioned for $ 96,250 US in October 2009 at the RM Auctions auction Hershey, Pennsylvania. Among the other historic cars that Mr. Demers promises the eventual museum he wants to see built with public funds, there would be "the Rolls Royce of the best pianist in the world, Liberace," the Aston Martin James Bond Volvo's Simon Templar, the Rolls-Royce of the Shah of Iran and many other wonders yet.
The Queen of England ... or his sister
The promoter of the museum project has also shown to the Press a Hispano-Suiza in 1936 that belonged, he said, the Queen of England. Or sister. Or the Duchess of Westminster, in reliance upon one or another variant told by Mr. Demers during our visit. It also has the Cord L-29 actor Clark Gable, he said. Its cars are very beautiful, but Mr. Demers refused to show in La Presse documentation showing the links between its cars and celebrities who have owned the past. "The documentation will be made public later if the collection becomes public," said Mr. Demers. Unfortunately Mr. Demers did not want to show the rare Ferrari 250 GTO which, he says, has been added to the collection by his father there twenty years.
If true, the Demers family is sitting on a gold mine, because this beautiful sports car is now coveted by the wealthy collectors of the world. There are only 36 copies. One of them was acquired for 52 million US dollars last fall by an anonymous American collector. This is the highest known price ever paid for a vintage car.
By selling its 250 GTO or other treasures that he says hold, Mr. Demers could build his own museum and ensure its sustainability without the help of taxpayers. Instead, Mr. Demers offers to lend the collection for 35 years the municipality will build a museum. Conditions are still unclear. In past attempts, the collector proposed a revenue sharing formula. Roger Demers says that time is because he received serious offers of Canadians outside Quebec and abroad. "Even the Sultan of Brunei is interested, he sent a representative," said Mr. Demers, who also says that the Ferrari F40 of his collection was bought by the legendary Sultan, collector, who possess rare cars in its 5000 Eastern Caliphate.
According to the importer of exotic cars Steve Mama, of Montreal, said it sold many cars to Demers Collection, the F40 was in fact a Saudi owner. Demers Collection is interesting, but after three collectors who visited Mr. Demers does not help his cause by touting it as if its warehouses in Thetford Mines were the garage of Ali Baba: "To say that it ' is one of the finest collections in the world is very exaggerated. But there are easily 50 exceptional cars among its cars, "says a collector. "Having Ferrari, Delage, Delahaye of, Talbot, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin and Jaguar, it is already very good. I do not understand why he tells all these stories without common sense about its cars, "he added. These undocumented stories undermine its credibility, said another collector. And they are wondering if the museum project deserves trust and taxpayers' money.
Editor's note: This article has been modified May 9, 2014 to clarify the 7th paragraph, that La Presse has spoken about the origin of the M-12 Vector.
http://auto.lapresse.ca/dossiers/dos...ion-demers.php
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