Despite global tales of financial woe, some car collectors seem to be sitting pretty. At a Florida auction last weekend, the Milhous brothers' toybox - a private museum packed with everything from rare cars to musical instruments, antique firearms and a giant custom merry go-round - was sold off for a total of $45.9 million (US$38.3m) - only a shade below the $47.8m it expected to raise.
But the real stars were the cars, as RM Auctions sold a collection that included the only known surviving five-seater 1912 Oldsmobile Limited, which was tipped to sell for up to $1.9m (US$1.1m), but raised a massive $3.9m instead.
Most of the cars in the collection sold at or above estimates.
Paul and Bob Milhous, who made their fortune in the printing industry, housed the collection in a 11,880-square metre museum which was never open to the public.
Aside from the cars, a Mercedes-Benz pedal car sold for $34,542 and a neon sign from a Chevy dealership for $98,419.
