Collectible Cars

A Dream Weaver Threads Together the Best of 3 Classic ChevysHis first trip to the show, in 1958, was the pilgrimage of “a car-struck 13-year-old” from New Jersey, Mr. Kanter recalled in a recent interview.

“Shortly after a friend and I arrived by train from Morris Plains, I was transfixed by the Dual-Ghia 400 concept on display,” he said. “It was absolutely breathtaking, very imaginative and the most stunning car I’d ever seen.”

The car had been created as a design study by Ghia, the Italian coachbuilder, for Dual Motors, a limited-edition car builder in Detroit. Dual-Ghias gained visibility with celebrity owners like Frank Sinatra and his Rat Pack pals.

Alex Freeman, a New Jersey machine shop owner who had come to the auto show in search of a family car, was also moved by the Dual-Ghia 400. All thoughts of shopping for a new Ford or Chevy were swept aside by Mr. Freeman’s realization that he “must have that car.” Hearing that, his wife shuffled the couple’s eight-year-old daughter to another display, explaining that daddy needed time by himself.

By the time Mrs. Freeman returned, her husband had convinced Gene Casaroll, president of Dual Motors, to sell the car on display for $15,000, at least twice the price of a new Cadillac. Delivery was postponed to let the car finish its tour of auto shows.

Nearly 20 years later, Mr. Kanter heard that the concept car was for sale. A deal was struck the same day and by that evening, the dream machine was parked in the Kanter garage.

Never intending to hide his prize, Mr. Kanter has often displayed the car in the classics section at the New York show. Gregg D. Merksamer, the show’s historian and author of “A History of the New York International Auto Show” (Lionheart Books, 2000) said he thought no other car had topped the Dual-Ghia’s number of appearances at the show.