Small Town News

Trenton man maintains immaculate stable of cars through daily discipline

---

We've all heard it said about new cars that they lose several thousand dollars in value as you drive away from the dealership.

Most of us buy our cars with the supposition that they will depreciate in value until they begin to cost more than they are worth, at which point we buy another one and start the degradation anew.

Ron Becker, of rural Trenton, turns that theory on its head.

When he buys a car, it's usually for keeps, "...and I rarely sell one for less than I paid for it, " says Becker. "I buy them with the idea that it's an investment."

The Beckers have 15 cars, ranging from 50 years old (a turquoise 1960 Chevrolet that originally belonged to his aunt) to nearly brand-new, a 2010 Chevy Camaro he just purchased this spring.

And all of them, without fail, are in mint or nearly-mint condition.

How does he do it? Becker's short answer is "it's just a matter of discipline."

His philosophy began to form when he was still in grade school, rooted in conversations he heard between his dad and friends. The talk invariably turned to cars, and eventually to lament. "There would always be a guy who said, 'boy, I wish I had never gotten rid of this car or that car', " Becker says today. "I remember thinking, why couldn't a guy buy a car and keep it?"

In high school, Becker developed the same fascination with cars as most teenaged boys. "When we sat around and talked about cars, " Becker said, "the goal was always to get a Corvette."

About a decade later, Becker got his Corvette, but only after experiencing disappointment in his initial effort. "I had ordered a new model in 1973, " he said, "but the factory didn't make enough of them and I didn't get one. Shortly after that I bought a '69 Corvette from (former Trenton resident) Mike Davis." Becker still has the orange '69, and later added a 2006 model that he bought new.

The prize show car in his collection, though, is a red 1961 Chevrolet Impala he originally purchased when he was a junior in high school.

"I'll never forget that morning-it was on a Saturday--when Ralph Taylor (a former Chevy dealer in Trenton) called and said, 'get down here. The truck with your car on it just got here'."

Nearly 50 years and about 67, 000 miles later, the car remains in showroom condition despite having never been restored.

When Becker arrived at the car lot, Taylor insisted that he drive the new Impala into the service garage for its initial service. It was an experience he was able to replicate earlier this year when he purchased the 2010 Camaro.

"When Nathan Deien (of Deien Chevrolet) called me and told me the Camaro was here, I said I didn't want to pick it up in the winter, so they agreed to keep it in their showroom until the weather turned, " said Becker.

In fact, Becker said at least a half-dozen of his cars have never been out in the rain, and hardly any of them have had snowfall crunch beneath their tires.

After buying the new Camaro, the first thing Becker did was remove the hood and trunklid to have racing stripes painted on, rather than keep the decals applied by the factory, which would eventually fade and crack. He also added a spoiler to the rear end and repainted the area below the rear bumper, from black to the same canary yellow as the rest of the car.

"I get a kick out of driving up to Jailhouse Rock, for example, and having someone come in and say, 'man, that's a nice car out there', " Becker said. "It's a simple thing, but it makes me feel good."

Even the Beckers' everyday cars look showroom new for the most part. There's the '99 Chevy Cavalier that both of his children drove to college at Ed-wardsville that still looks brand-new. There's the '96 Lumina that serves as the Beckers' "everyday car" yet remains as clean as if it were never driven. There's the 2002 Chrysler PT Cruiser that only has 4, 000 miles on it. A couple of newer trucks, along with the 1974 Chevrolet pick-up that was the family farm truck and still has the original mustard-yellow paint.

In fact, nearly all of the cars were either purchased new. or had originally belonged to a relative, the better to maintain control over the condition.

Becker cleans each car after every use. "Sometimes it's as small as cleaning a couple of bugs off the front, but I couldn't sleep at night knowing they weren't all clean." All the cars are stored, and many of them are covered. Heck, his lawn-mower is cleaner than most of our cars. When he washes a car, he handwashes it.

In fact, ' Becker takes some gentle ribbing about his cars. "When I get a new one, guys say 'you're never going to sell it' but we've sold some, " Becker said. "I don't know, you buy them and they're like puppies, you get attached to them."

Becker's story isn't the typical one for a car collector. He has cars of many different makes and models, domestic and foreign, varying price points, old and new. One gets the impression that his continuing interest is stoked by being able to defy the conventional way of thinking.

In fact, Becker said that while some of the older cars in his collection "grab most of the attention, he enjoys driving the newer ones more. "The new cars are so much more fun to drive, " he said. "There's just something about getting behind the wheel of a car that's capable of going really fast."

Becker is helping Pete Schumacher coordinate the Trenton-Fest car show on Saturday, September 10, but you probably won't see any of his cars there. Instead, he expects to show one of his antique tractors at Saturday's Vintage Tractor Show.

He's never been that interested in taking his cars to shows, despite having prodigious success when he did. "We showed cars for three or four years, and when I had accumulated 50 trophies I decided to stop. It's a lot of work getting a car ready to show competitively, and worrying that someone will scratch the paint or damage it in some way, " Becker said.

That's one reason that the TrentonFest car show won't be competitive, just an opportunity for people who are proud of their old cars to show them off. Registration starts at 11:30 a.m. and the automobiles will be on display from 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., and entrants are encouraged to participate in the TrentomFest parade starting at 5:30 p.m. Any car model year 1985 o>r earlier is eligible for the show, and pre-registration isn't necessary. For more information, call Pete Schumacher at 789-3588.

Becker still recalls Tremton's first car show, which took place during the "Great Western Round-Up" homecoming days, 1978. He took six cars to the show then, and came home with seven trophies, including one for each class he entered as well as the 'people's choice' award.



Copyright 2010 The Trenton Sun, Trenton, Illinois. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from SmallTownPapers, Inc.

© 2011 The Trenton Sun Trenton, Illinois. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

More from The Trenton Sun