Need to promote your business? Think Volo.
Like all kids, Greg Grams likes to wake up, get dressed, and go play with his toys. Grams has lots of toys—probably numbering in the tens of thousands. He has hundreds of cars, lots of soldier things, and even antique dolls. No, Greg Grams isn't a strange little boy. In fact, he isn't even a little boy.Grams is 57 years old and the owner of the country's oldest and largest collection of cars and other memorabilia—the Volo Auto Museum, located in the countryside of Volo, Illinois. When it comes to classic, high-performance and Hollywood cars, no one comes close to the sheer numbers of Grams' collection.
In 1960, when Grams was just 10 years old, his father bought a 30-acre tract in what was then a rural farm area for $21,000. He opened an antique shop and the family moved into the house where the shop was located. Forty-seven years later, Grams still lives in the same house, but during the past year, he has been in the throes of building his first house as an adult. Maybe it's the lessening of unbounded energy at his "advanced" age, but he said he would never, ever consider building another house again.
THE GRAMS COMPOUND
Grams' new digs will be a security home located on the property and enjoy a commanding view of the Grams "compound." The new 8,000-square-foot home will be used for meetings and other events related to his businesses.
You're probably wondering why anyone needs an 8,000-square-foot home to keep tabs on an antique store. There may have only been one antique store on the premises, but that was 47 years ago. Now, the property houses four auto showrooms, a vehicle restoration center, three antique malls, a mercantile mall, which, among other things, has the Midwest's largest selection of die-cast automobiles, a straw market mall with creations by notable local crafters, an armed forces exhibit showroom, a kids' Hollywood showroom, a food court, a park, and a picnic area. The buildings contain seven miles of aisles, which, if all were walked, would be the equivalent of burning 4.5 cheeseburgers worth of calories.There's isn't a performance car enthusiast in the country who wouldn't hyperventilate and develop watery eyes after seeing the hundreds of muscle cars from the mid '50s up through the early '70s. There are Mopars, Fords, Chevys, Oldsmobiles, Buicks, and other examples of Detroit iron on display. Although the public isn't allowed to sit in them and fantasize—with the exception of cars in Grams' personal collection of about 20 vehicles—the public can purchase those vehicles. The prices are surprisingly reasonable. Not all the cars are originally equipped. Although the bodies are generally stock, the powertrains might have been "altered" somewhat. For instance, in touring the restoration facility, I spoke with some mechanics working on a 1968 Chevy Camaro Z28, which had arrived earlier in the day (and already received an offer from someone who wanted to buy it). I asked if it had the 302-cubic-inch, high-output V-8 for which the Z28 was known. The mechanic told me it was an 02 all right, but it was a 502-cubic-inch V-8.
Volo sells 40-80 cars per month. Grams' two sons, Jay and Brian, constantly scour auto auctions held about every other week throughout the country for quality vehicles that can be resold and maintain the inventory at about 300 cars. Sales were about $20 million for 2005 and the same for 2006. Grams saw the market for six-figured car prices begin to wane and had his sons dispose of the cars as quickly as possible. Prices have become more realistic since 2005, so individuals who are trying to sell vehicles they paid six figures for are now having trouble doing so.
Vehicles have been sold in most countries of the world. As I exited Grams' office, two car enthusiasts from Denmark were waiting to see him. He says that lately Russia has become a particularly active market for him.
THE HOLLYWOOD CONNECTION
Over the years, Grams has established friendships and bought and sold vehicles with some of the most noted names in the auto industry—people such as Carroll Shelby and George Barris to name just two. Carroll Shelby's original one-of-a-kind 1967 Mustang Cobra was put up for sale at $2.7 million—and it sold.Speaking of George Barris, The Volo Auto Museum has a room devoted to "The George Barris TV & Movie Car Collection." Featured vehicles include the Batmobile, the General Lee, the Cadillac ambulance from the movie Ghostbusters, the DeLorean from the movie Back to the Future, and Herman Munster's Coffin Hot Rod.
Other noted vehicles are Christine, Herbie, the Flintstonemobile, one of the few remaining police cars from The Blues Brothers movie, Eleanor (from the movie Gone in 60 Seconds), Michael Andretti's actual Indy 500 race car, and the real Ferrari Daytona driven by Don Johnson in the '80s TV show Miami Vice.
A GRACIOUS HOST
The museum is in constant use by car clubs, car shows (it's not uncommon for several shows to be held every Saturday), children's and adult groups, and professionals associated with the auto industry. Case in point was the fall rally of the Midwest Auto Media Association (MAMA), which, for the second time, held its program at the museum, using it as a staging area for test-vehicle driving routes and a day-long sight-seeing trip down memory lane. Even the Rolls-Royce Club meets at Volo. The Volo Auto Museum has become so well known that little advertising is needed to support it. Word-of-mouth is the strongest endorsement. Even though the museum has about 35 employees, its worth to the community can be measured exponentially. Hotels and restaurants have sprung up in the area. Museum parking has areas designated for collector cars and car-club groups. There's even free on-site overnight camping.
A few of the special events held this past summer at the museum included the Fourth Annual George Barris Collector Art Show, the Early Ford V-8 Club, the Kaiser-Frazer Owners Club, the Ride For Dreams Motorcycle Show, Chicagoland T-Bird Club, Inaugural Mr. Norm's Midwest Mopar Showdown, Toys for Tots Rally, the Windy City Z Club, Rally Insurance Customer Appreciation Day, Car Corral & Festival, and the Sixth Annual Shelby-Ford-Cobra Car Corral.
Each year, approximately 250,000 people pay a visit to the Volo Auto Museum. It's closed only three days per year—Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day. New Year's Day is one of the busiest days of the year. It's obvious that summer would be the busiest time, but oftentimes, the museum becomes an entertainment haven for those with nothing to do on a snowy or rainy day. If you care to eat on the premises, there's a '50s-style diner that offers an array of "drive-in" food and music from the '50s and '60s is piped throughout the facility.
Grams plows all the profits toward building his armed forces military museum. There's an incredible array of vehicles, weaponry, and military memorabilia from the Civil War on up to the present Iraq War. Each section is catalogued. There are uniforms and personal effects from heroes and villains alike (the soccer warm-up suit once belonged to Saddam Hussein's creepy son Uday).
Some of the hardware is extremely rare. For instance, Grams owns an enemy aircraft obliterator—a WWII half-track that has four 50-caliber machine guns on a fully rotational turret. Alongside it are ammunition cars loaded with thousands of pounds of bullets constantly needed to feed the heavy guns. A 50-caliber weapon has a voracious appetite.
Grams also has the only two privately owned military UH-1 (Huey) helicopters in the world. To purchase them, he had to swear he would never allow the choppers to fly.
The museum also has a unique collection of big things, like one of the world's most powerful trucks, the Brutte Boss Hogg. Mr. Hogg recently pulled down a two-story house and towed three monster trucks and 40 railroad cars.
Tickets to the Volo Auto Museum are $9 for adults and $5 for children (ages 5-12). Children under 5 and military personnel in uniform are free. There's a host of other rates for groups, seniors, veterans, etc. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days per week. The Volo Auto Museum's phone number is (815) 385-3644.
The museum has a really slick Web site: www.volocars.com, where you'll find everything you'd ever want to know about buying or selling a car, news and events, attractions, and other helpful items like insurance, storage, transport, etc. As a bonus, there's some terrific '50s music playing in the background.
There's an old adage that says, "The person with the most toys, wins." I never would have put much stock into it if I hadn't spent the day with Greg Grams at his Volo Auto Museum. He's definitely the winner.
