Paul Walker’s Personal Car Collection Brings in Over $2.3M at Auction - Hollywood Reporter | Canada News Media
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Paul Walker’s Personal Car Collection Brings in Over $2.3M at Auction – Hollywood Reporter

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5 years ago

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Car experts weigh in on the star power of the late actor, as 21 cars, trucks and motorcycles he owned were auctioned for over $2.3 million by Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Star of the Fast and Furious franchise, Paul Walker was an avid automobile aficionado and racer himself — a passion shared with his father and grandfather, who once raced factory cars for Ford. The actor co-owned the now-shuttered race car shop Always Evolving in Valencia and inspired a new generation of gearheads, before his untimely death at age 40 in a car accident in 2013.

From Wednesday, Jan. 14 through Saturday Jan. 18, the actor’s personal collection of 21 cars, trucks and motorcycles hit the auction block as part of a Barrett-Jackson sale in Scottsdale, Arizona. And the final sales added up to $2,333,450, according to Craig Jackson, chairman and CEO of Barrett-Jackson.

“Paul Walker has been compared to a modern-day Steve McQueen, who lived his passion for racing in every aspect of his life,” Jackson told The Hollywood Reporter. “[He] has inspired entire generations of car lovers. We worked closely with a close friend of Paul’s who helped care for Paul’s collection following his death; he was responsible for consigning and prepping the vehicles for the auction. Paul’s daughter, Meadow, kept a few vehicles she had a connection with.”

The big draw came on Saturday, Jan. 18, when a series of five white BMW M3 Lightweight Editions hit the block, a rarity as they were produced in a limited quantity of 126. The 1995 E36, with just 4,600 miles, brought in the highest dollar amount of the lot: $385,000. The other four drew prices from $220,000 to $258,500.

“Even without Walker’s name on them, these are incredibly valuable cars that serious collectors would bid on,” says Tom Stahler, managing editor of ClassicCars.com Journal. “They’re basically factory-built race cars. Why Walker had five of them? Perhaps he was planning on putting together a racing team.”

“Paul was a racer at heart,” says Jackson, who added as a point of “star power” comparison that he auctioned a BMW M3 Lightweight in 2018 for $121,000. “We’re told he spent countless hours on the track perfecting his racing skills. The question of whether he intended to build a racing team is something we may never know. When Paul purchased the five BMW M3 Lightweights, he envisioned them as his own investment vehicle.”

Also on Saturday, a 1991 BMW M3 E30 (with 7,644 miles) went for $220,000, while a 1988 version of the car (with 32,269 miles) got $165,000.  Only 5,115 M3s were sold in the United States between 1988 and 1991, and even those with high mileage have gone for upwards of $60,000. 

While Walker never drove the zero-mileage 2013 Ford Mustang Boss 302S, gifted to him by a fellow car enthusiast before being placed into storage, according to auction notes, the car still brought in $95,700.

Prior to Saturday, the car that brought in the highest dollar amount, on Jan. 16, was a 2009 Nissan 370Z  used as an “extra” in Fast Five that Walker did not drive in the film, with 3,092 miles on the odometer—sold for $105,600. Also on Thursday, a 1989 Nissan Skyline R32 (with a stripped interior, racing seat, full roll cage, and fire extinguisher) went for $100,100 and a custom 1967 Chevy Nova with an engine upgrade went for $60,500. 

Stahler translated the value of Walker’s star power. “A 370Z would probably get an average of $30,000 to $50,000 tops,” he tells THR. “And there was a lot of patina and a lot of scratches on the R32, where they pulled the rear wing off; that was a very basic car that would have brought in $30,000 tops and it got [$100,100]. In comparison, there was another really nice R32 Skyline [not owned by Walker] that went across the block an hour before and got $40,000. To be honest, if I was going to get a car to drive, I would have bought the one that sold for $40,000.”

Stahler continued: “Paul Walker is completely identified with the tuner-drifter part of car culture; Gen Xers and Millennials identified with him. It’s such a shame that he was killed, because he would have been this generation’s Jay Leno; unfortunately, he became this generation’s James Dean.”

All proceeds from the auction will go to a trust for Walker’s 21-year-old daughter, Meadow Rain Walker, who manages the Paul Walker Foundation, dedicated to providing grants and scholarships that benefit marine science.

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Slack researcher discusses the fear, loathing and excitement surrounding AI in the workplace

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18 hours ago

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October 21, 2024

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Artificial intelligence‘s recent rise to the forefront of business has left most office workers wondering how often they should use the technology and whether a computer will eventually replace them.

Those were among the highlights of a recent study conducted by the workplace communications platform Slack. After conducting in-depth interviews with 5,000 desktop workers, Slack concluded there are five types of AI personalities in the workplace: “The Maximalist” who regularly uses AI on their jobs; “The Underground” who covertly uses AI; “The Rebel,” who abhors AI; “The Superfan” who is excited about AI but still hasn’t used it; and “The Observer” who is taking a wait-and-see approach.

Only 50% of the respondents fell under the Maximalist or Underground categories, posing a challenge for businesses that want their workers to embrace AI technology. The Associated Press recently discussed the excitement and tension surrounding AI at work with Christina Janzer, Slack’s senior vice president of research and analytics.

Q: What do you make about the wide range of perceptions about AI at work?

A: It shows people are experiencing AI in very different ways, so they have very different emotions about it. Understanding those emotions will help understand what is going to drive usage of AI. If people are feeling guilty or nervous about it, they are not going to use it. So we have to understand where people are, then point them toward learning to value this new technology.

Q: The Maximalist and The Underground both seem to be early adopters of AI at work, but what is different about their attitudes?

A: Maximalists are all in on AI. They are getting value out of it, they are excited about it, and they are actively sharing that they are using it, which is a really big driver for usage among others.

The Underground is the one that is really interesting to me because they are using it, but they are hiding it. There are different reasons for that. They are worried they are going to be seen as incompetent. They are worried that AI is going to be seen as cheating. And so with them, we have an opportunity to provide clear guidelines to help them know that AI usage is celebrated and encouraged. But right now they don’t have guidelines from their companies and they don’t feel particularly encouraged to use it.

Overall, there is more excitement about AI than not, so I think that’s great We just need to figure out how to harness that.

Q: What about the 19% of workers who fell under the Rebel description in Slack’s study?

A: Rebels tend to be women, which is really interesting. Three out of five rebels are women, which I obviously don’t like to see. Also, rebels tend to be older. At a high level, men are adopting the technology at higher rates than women.

Q: Why do you think more women than men are resisting AI?

A: Women are more likely to see AI as a threat, more likely to worry that AI is going to take over their jobs. To me, that points to women not feeling as trusted in the workplace as men do. If you feel trusted by your manager, you are more likely to experiment with AI. Women are reluctant to adopt a technology that might be seen as a replacement for them whereas men may have more confidence that isn’t going to happen because they feel more trusted.

Q: What are some of the things employers should be doing if they want their workers to embrace AI on the job?

A: We are seeing three out of five desk workers don’t even have clear guidelines with AI, because their companies just aren’t telling them anything, so that’s a huge opportunity.

Another opportunity to encourage AI usage in the open. If we can create a culture where it’s celebrated, where people can see the way people are using it, then they can know that it’s accepted and celebrated. Then they can be inspired.

The third thing is we have to create a culture of experimentation where people feel comfortable trying it out, testing it, getting comfortable with it because a lot of people just don’t know where to start. The reality is you can start small, you don’t have to completely change your job. Having AI write an email or summarize content is a great place to start so you can start to understand what this technology can do.

Q: Do you think the fears about people losing their jobs because of AI are warranted?

A: People with AI are going to replace people without AI.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Biden administration to provide $325 million for new Michigan semiconductor factory

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18 hours ago

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October 21, 2024

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration said Tuesday that it would provide up to $325 million to Hemlock Semiconductor for a new factory, a move that could help give Democrats a political edge in the swing state of Michigan ahead of election day.

The funding would support 180 manufacturing jobs in Saginaw County, where Republicans and Democrats were neck-in-neck for the past two presidential elections. There would also be construction jobs tied to the factory that would produce hyper-pure polysilicon, a building block for electronics and solar panels, among other technologies.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on a call with reporters that the funding came from the CHIPS and Science Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law in 2022. It’s part of a broader industrial strategy that the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, supports, while Republican nominee Donald Trump, the former president, sees tariff hikes and income tax cuts as better to support manufacturing.

“What we’ve been able to do with the CHIPS Act is not just build a few new factories, but fundamentally revitalize the semiconductor ecosystem in our country with American workers,” Raimondo said. “All of this is because of the vision of the Biden-Harris administration.”

A senior administration official said the timing of the announcement reflected the negotiating process for reaching terms on the grant, rather than any political considerations. The official insisted on anonymity to discuss the process.

After site work, Hemlock Semiconductor plans to begin construction in 2026 and then start production in 2028, the official said.

Running in 2016, Trump narrowly won Saginaw County and Michigan as a whole. But in 2020 against Biden, both Saginaw County and Michigan flipped to the Democrats.

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The Internet is Littered in ‘Educated Guesses’ Without the ‘Education’

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2 weeks ago

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October 8, 2024

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Although no one likes a know-it-all, they dominate the Internet.

The Internet began as a vast repository of information. It quickly became a breeding ground for self-proclaimed experts seeking what most people desire: recognition and money.

Today, anyone with an Internet connection and some typing skills can position themselves, regardless of their education or experience, as a subject matter expert (SME). From relationship advice, career coaching, and health and nutrition tips to citizen journalists practicing pseudo-journalism, the Internet is awash with individuals—Internet talking heads—sharing their “insights,” which are, in large part, essentially educated guesses without the education or experience.

The Internet has become a 24/7/365 sitcom where armchair experts think they’re the star.

Not long ago, years, sometimes decades, of dedicated work and acquiring education in one’s field was once required to be recognized as an expert. The knowledge and opinions of doctors, scientists, historians, et al. were respected due to their education and experience. Today, a social media account and a knack for hyperbole are all it takes to present oneself as an “expert” to achieve Internet fame that can be monetized.

On the Internet, nearly every piece of content is self-serving in some way.

The line between actual expertise and self-professed knowledge has become blurry as an out-of-focus selfie. Inadvertently, social media platforms have created an informal degree program where likes and shares are equivalent to degrees. After reading selective articles, they’ve found via and watching some TikTok videos, a person can post a video claiming they’re an herbal medicine expert. Their new “knowledge,” which their followers will absorb, claims that Panda dung tea—one of the most expensive teas in the world and isn’t what its name implies—cures everything from hypertension to existential crisis. Meanwhile, registered dietitians are shaking their heads, wondering how to compete against all the misinformation their clients are exposed to.

More disturbing are individuals obsessed with evangelizing their beliefs or conspiracy theories. These people write in-depth blog posts, such as Elvis Is Alive and the Moon Landings Were Staged, with links to obscure YouTube videos, websites, social media accounts, and blogs. Regardless of your beliefs, someone or a group on the Internet shares them, thus confirming your beliefs.

Misinformation is the Internet’s currency used to get likes, shares, and engagement; thus, it often spreads like a cosmic joke. Consider the prevalence of clickbait headlines:

  • You Won’t Believe What Taylor Swift Says About Climate Change!
  • This Bedtime Drink Melts Belly Fat While You Sleep!
  • In One Week, I Turned $10 Into $1 Million!

Titles that make outrageous claims are how the content creator gets reads and views, which generates revenue via affiliate marketing, product placement, and pay-per-click (PPC) ads. Clickbait headlines are how you end up watching a TikTok video by a purported nutrition expert adamantly asserting you can lose belly fat while you sleep by drinking, for 14 consecutive days, a concoction of raw eggs, cinnamon, and apple cider vinegar 15 minutes before going to bed.

Our constant search for answers that’ll explain our convoluted world and our desire for shortcuts to success is how Internet talking heads achieve influencer status. Because we tend to seek low-hanging fruits, we listen to those with little experience or knowledge of the topics they discuss yet are astute enough to know what most people want to hear.

There’s a trend, more disturbing than spreading misinformation, that needs to be called out: individuals who’ve never achieved significant wealth or traded stocks giving how-to-make-easy-money advice, the appeal of which is undeniable. Several people I know have lost substantial money by following the “advice” of Internet talking heads.

Anyone on social media claiming to have a foolproof money-making strategy is lying. They wouldn’t be peddling their money-making strategy if they could make easy money.

Successful people tend to be secretive.

Social media companies design their respective algorithms to serve their advertisers—their source of revenue—interest; hence, content from Internet talking heads appears most prominent in your feeds. When a video of a self-professed expert goes viral, likely because it pressed an emotional button, the more people see it, the more engagement it receives, such as likes, shares and comments, creating a cycle akin to a tornado.

Imagine scrolling through your TikTok feed and stumbling upon a “scientist” who claims they can predict the weather using only aluminum foil, copper wire, sea salt and baking soda. You chuckle, but you notice his video got over 7,000 likes, has been shared over 600 times and received over 400 comments. You think to yourself, “Maybe this guy is onto something.” What started as a quest to achieve Internet fame evolved into an Internet-wide belief that weather forecasting can be as easy as DIY crafts.

Since anyone can call themselves “an expert,” you must cultivate critical thinking skills to distinguish genuine expertise from self-professed experts’ self-promoting nonsense. While the absurdity of the Internet can be entertaining, misinformation has serious consequences. The next time you read a headline that sounds too good to be true, it’s probably an Internet talking head making an educated guess; without the education seeking Internet fame, they can monetize.

______________________________________________________________

 

Nick Kossovan, a self-described connoisseur of human psychology, writes about what’s

on his mind from Toronto. You can follow Nick on Twitter and Instagram @NKossovan.

 

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