Hot rod heaven: Classic cars to take over State Street

Lynn Welch

Madison is better known as a hotbed of rabid bicyclists than collectible car enthusiasts.

But throngs of people -- about 20,000 -- came out to gawk at classic cars last May during the first Cars on State event. The success was a surprise to organizers, and bodes well for this year's show on Saturday.

"You don't have to be into cars to appreciate looking at them," said Hawk Schenkel, organizer of the downtown event. "When you see 50- to 60-year-old cars sitting there in mint condition, it's pretty amazing."

"It's one of the most unique aspects of our culture," said Andy Muzi, owner of Yellow Jersey bike shop and one of 100 participants in this year's Cars on State event with his 1965 Chevy Corvair Corsa. "We love cars."

While cable TV shows like MTV's "Pimp My Ride and CMT's "Trick My Truck" have helped fuel interest in restoring cars, some entrepreneurs have turned that passion into an enterprise. Justin and Bruce Cole of the recently opened Benchmark Classics will show a 1970 Dodge Challenger at this year's Cars on State, but that's a mere glimpse into the sort of inventory the father-and-son team have assembled at their new store on the city's west side.

Benchmark Classics is a dream realized for Justin Cole, a 26-year-old University of Wisconsin-Madison business student.

"Our goal is to be a world-class facility," Cole said of the business, which opened its 14,000-square-foot showroom in March.

Justin Cole grew up with his dad's hobby, traveling to car shows and watching him work on collectible Porches, Corvettes, Jaguars and Harley-Davidson cycles. Eventually, the younger Cole bought and restored his own 1968 Mustang Fastback with money he earned mowing lawns.

That was when he was 12.

Since then, he's bought and restored about six cars. He had been looking for a way to enter the classic car industry, and the opportunity emerged late last year when the Coles purchased a 1967 Corvette from Joe Carroll, who runs Best of Show Automotive near Cleveland, Ohio. Their mutual love of cars led to a business relationship: The Coles used Carroll's business as a model for their showroom, and they employ the same classic car experts to find and examine the vehicles before buying them to show and resell.

The Coles found the perfect location for Benchmark near the corner of Verona Road and County PD, a growing retail corridor where 80,000 vehicles pass by daily. The location even had roots as a classic car showroom, as the former home of the now-defunct Capitol Corvette.

At any given time, Benchmark's inventory ranges from 25 to 50 muscle cars -- think Corvettes, Mustangs and the GTX -- plus a showstopping white 1958 Corvette from Bruce Cole's personal collection. Cars are priced from $15,000 to $325,000 -- the list price for Cole's award-winning Corvette. It's a charter member of the Corvette Hall of Fame.

"The secret to making this a business is finding the right cars at the right price," said Bruce Cole, a partner in Virchow Krause. "We felt we'd done enough work to ensure that we had the ability to find a good group of cars with great variety we could put up for a reasonable price.

"Our objective is to turn the inventory and have new cars all the time."

Justin Cole expects to sell very few cars locally. He estimated that 95 percent of people will view cars in stock online, then travel to the showroom to check the vehicle out before making a purchase. There's a strong fly-and-buy aspect to the business.

Because of the pricing and high collectibility of Benchmark's inventory, Bruce Cole said he anticipates up to half of sales will be to car enthusiasts in Europe or Asia.

But having a showroom is key.

"When people fly in to see these cars, they're not interested in just having them sitting in a warehouse," Cole explained. "They expect to see a nice establishment."

They also expect to see detailed, high-quality images of every car available. In addition to scheduling a test drive and placing a quick bid on the car, Benchmark's Web site shows 25 to 30 images of each car in stock.

Classic car hobbyists are predominantly men with a higher income, Cole said.

But it doesn't cost anything for the average Joe or Jane to look.

Cars on State

Saturday, May 10, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

www.carsonstate.com

BenchmarkClassics

5400 King James Way

www.benchmarkclassics.com