Real Men Own A Tank. But Does It Get You Laid?

by Bertel Schmitt

Published: February 28th, 2013

real men own a tank but does it get you laid

Going to Barrett-Jackson to buy a classic car is for sissies, says the Wall Street Journal. Real men collect tanks. Not Hummers. Tanks.

The number of private tank collectors in the U.S. is estimated to be between several hundred and 1,000. It’s a growing hobby, says the paper.

They have everything in their at-home armory, from WW2 Shermans to more recent vintage 1966 MY British Chieftain tanks.

Parts and MPG? Don’t ask:

“A set of rubber tracks for a Chaffee goes for about $6,000. A Chieftain gets about 250 miles on 200 gallons of diesel. Mechanics say vintage tanks require an hour or more of maintenance for every hour of operation. A turret-to-tracks restoration can require 2,000 man-hours or more of labor, at $50 or more an hour. That’s not including the cost of hard-to-find tank parts.”

As for the chick magnet: Tank collectors usually get a divorce, says the WSJ.

#BertelSchmitt #Tanks

Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

More by Bertel Schmitt

Comments

Join the conversation

2 of 76 comments

Jeffzekas on Feb 28, 2013

Tanks & exotic cars: cool to guys, uncool to girls. Personally, I'd go for a fiberglass REPLICA tank: light, cheap, but with the awesome look.

Like Reply
RobertRyan on Feb 28, 2013

How to buy a Tank ,Australian style. nice 105mm needs a few repairs. http://www.flickr.com/photos/traceyjohns/1837610865/sizes/z/in/photostream/

Like Reply

Recent Comments

Formula m How many Hyundai and Kia’s do not have the original engine block it left the factory with 10yrs prior?
1995 SC I will say that year 29 has been a little spendy on my car (Motor Mounts, Injectors and a Supercharger Service since it had to come off for the injectors, ABS Pump and the tool to cycle the valves to bleed the system, Front Calipers, rear pinion seal, transmission service with a new pan that has a drain, a gaggle of capacitors to fix the ride control module and a replacement amplifier for the stereo. Still needs an exhaust manifold gasket. The front end got serviced in year 28. On the plus side blank cassettes are increasingly easy to find so I have a solid collection of 90 minute playlists.
MaintenanceCosts My own experiences with, well, maintenance costs:Chevy Bolt, ownership from new to 4.5 years, ~$400*Toyota Highlander Hybrid, ownership from 3.5 to 8 years, ~$2400BMW 335i Convertible, ownership from 11.5 to 13 years, ~$1200Acura Legend, ownership from 20 to 29 years, ~$11,500***Includes a new 12V battery and a set of wiper blades. In fairness, bigger bills for coolant and tire replacement are coming in year 5.**Includes replacement of all rubber parts, rebuild of entire suspension and steering system, and conversion of car to OEM 16" wheel set, among other things
Jeff Tesla should not be allowed to call its system Full Self-Driving. Very dangerous and misleading.
Slavuta America, the evil totalitarian police state