A Custom Mercury, With a Batmobile in Its Family Tree, Heads to Auction

While the Merc fell into disrepair and was sold for just $500 in the late 1950s, the man who bought it, Jim McNiel, always planned to return it to glory.

“I remember it being backed into the garage on one side, just kind of tucked away, blankets and cardboard boxes stacked on top, and knowing there was some significance to it, but not understanding why,” said Mr. McNiel’s son, Scott, who is 51. “And it was ugly. This huge, ugly, two-tone green thing with dents and scratches. It just looked weird, and kind of scary.”

Scott McNiel eventually helped his father restore the car. The full process took decades, but the car was eventually shown again, most notably in 2015 at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, where it won a Best of Class award. It was inducted into the National Register of Historic Vehicles in 2017. As part of this honor, it was displayed in a vitrine on the National Mall in Washington.

Jim McNiel died in 2018. Recently, Scott McNiel and his sister, Darla McNiel, made the difficult decision to sell the Merc.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/06/business/hirohata-merc-auction.html