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There's a story behind those tail fins

By RITA FARLOW
Published January 10, 2007

Many a car collector has heard the tale.

Somebody knows somebody who has a vintage automobile in pristine condition, with low mileage and a strange history.

So when John Pfanstiehl was told about a 1960 Cadillac Eldorado Seville in 1981, he had to see it for himself.

"It turned out to be a 1959, which is much more desirable," he said. When Pfanstiehl bought the car from the son of the original owner, Maurice Gagnon, he knew little of the car's history.

"All we knew was that the son's dad was supposedly killed in the car," Pfanstiehl said. Turns out, there was much more to learn.

Gagnon, a wealthy entrepreneur from Rhode Island, met an untimely end in the front seat of the Cadillac in 1959. He was shot in the head and left in the car on a back street in Nashua, N.H.

"These guys that were going to be arraigned for breaking into his residence kidnapped him in his own car," Pfanstiehl said.

"They drove across Massachusetts to get the car out of state, dumped it in Nashua and probably shot him there."

Pfanstiehl found the car's original carpet and floor mats on a copy of the state's evidence list from the trial. He was able to get a court order to have them released, and they were returned to the vehicle.

On Jan. 19, collectors will have the chance to buy the Cadillac at Barrett-Jackson, the world-renowned classic car auctioneer in Arizona.

With only 2,243 miles on the odometer, the car is believed to have the lowest mileage of any 1959 Cadillac in the world.

"You can buy so many wonderful cars, but you're never going to have a find like this again," Pfanstiehl said. "You typically only get one in a lifetime."

[Last modified January 10, 2007, 01:19:17]