Ron Hackenberger

Ronald Ray Hackenberger (born 1935 or 1936) is an American businessman and car collector. He began as a truck driver before running his own trucking business, then moved into ranching, real estate, and hospitality. He bought his first Studebaker at 15 and eventually amassed a collection of over 700 vehicles, including over 250 Studebakers, which were all sold at an auction in July 2017.

Ron Hackenberger
Born	1935 or 1936 (age 89–90)[1]
Nationality	American
Occupation	Businessman
Known for	Car collection
Spouse	Eunice Hackenberger
Children	6 daughters
Website	www.ronhackenberger.com

1948 Studebaker

1963 Studebaker Avanti

1966 Dodge Charger

1967 Plymouth Barracuda

1982 DeLorean

Career

Hackenberger worked as a truck driver before starting his own trucking business, growing to 100 trucks and trailers.^[2][3]

Hackenberger sold the trucking business and then bought a cattle ranch in Texas.^[2][3] He also expanded into hospitality and real estate businesses.^[4] He now has a campground and catering service business in Ohio.^[2]

Car collector

Hackenberger started collecting cars in 1962.^[3] He bought his first car, a 1948 Studebaker, at the age of 15, using a loan from his grandfather.^[4][5]

Apart from more than 250 vehicles made by Studebaker, Hackenberger's collection includes Hudsons, Kaisers and Packards, British and Italian roadsters, and French cars such as Citroen DSs and 2CVs, also a DeLorean and a Bricklin SV-1.^[6] His muscle cars include a 1965 Ford Mustang, a 1966 Dodge Charger, and a 1967 Plymouth Barracuda.^[5]

There are microcars, such as Crosleys, a Nash Metropolitan, a Goggomobil, a Honda N600s and Z600s and a BMW Isetta.^[5][6] There are 1940s motorcycles, John Deere tractors, Jaguars, and a Cadillac ambulance that looks like it came "straight out of Ghostbusters".^[4]

His Studebakers include Larks, Hawks, at least one Avanti, as well as horse-drawn buggies and wagons from the carmaker's early days.^[7]

Hackenberger had originally hoped to open a museum to display his car collection, before deciding to sell them.^[3] He sold all of his collection by auction, on July 15 and 16, 2017, in Norwalk, Ohio.^[8]

The auction raised over $2 million, with the top price being $37,800 for a 1947 Indian Chief motorcycle with sidecar, followed by $31,500 each for a 1965 Amphicar 770, a 1969 Jaguar E-Type Roadster, and a 1938 Studebaker pickup.^[9][10][11]

Personal life

He married his wife, Eunice, in 1962. They have six daughters and live in Norwalk, Ohio.^[2][8]