What is it with comedians collecting cars?
On advice from Jay Leno, comedian Gabriel Iglesias started a car collection as a means of investing his money, and his vehicle of choice was the Volkswagen Type 2 – more affectionately known as the VW Bus. The collection is kept in a warehouse in Long Beach, California that is essentially a shrine to Volkswagen including a design motif that mimics VW's Wolfsburg, Germany factory, and Business Insider got an inside look at the collection.
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The Volkswagen Bus has become a hot-ticket item at auctions recently easily topping the six-figure price range, and Iglesias' are no different with an estimated value of $3 million, according to Iglesias. The cool part about Iglesias and his collection is that he added a certain level of customization to some of the Buses, while still retaining their originality. The few examples that he highlights in the video have all been repainted with a more exciting and modern paint scheme, but other than that, they don't appear to be modified. The two Buses that he has modified are sure to never drive again, because they were transformed into aquariums!
In addition to his obvious affinity for Volkswagen Buses, his collection also includes some Volkswagen Beetles. One of which is a well-documented 1950 Beetle that was imported to the by Max Hoffman, and not only is it one of the earliest examples of a Beetle in the U.S., Iglesias says that the one he owns is very rare.
Iglesias' passion for cars also extends to muscle cars. He has a Challenger Hellcat Demon and Charger Hellcat and a classic Trans Am, but the coolest late-model car he owns is probably his Trans Am Depot Bandit Edition. These cars are modified Camaros with a little extra kick under the hood, and Iglesias even had his car signed by Burt Reynolds.
