In a once-in-a-blue-moon occurrence, a group of 30-some-odd Alfa Romeos has wound up on a prominent southeast Michigan U-pull yard. How, where, and why did this happen? It’s time for an Autopian Investigation!
If you’re not a car person the jokes almost write themselves. Alfa Romeos are not exactly known for their longevity, so a preponderance of them in one U-pull junkyard shouldn’t be a huge surprise. However, as car people, we know that the inherent value and general rareness of these cars means that something else has to be going on here.
Here’s the story of how so many of these cars ended up in one place.
These Cars Belonged To Man Keeping Alfas Alive
As I was hanging out on The Autopian Discord, user dogapult brought this post to our attention.
https://www.facebook.com/USAUTOSTERLINGHEIGHTS/posts/pfbid02jxzqaTvAzxoTPTT86ny4CVcdoiUdrPAynTnnLmdAsykKeM7vbgctPQDjBkTiAMqfl
Hot damn! That’s a lot of Alfas huddled together. It turns out they used to belong to 72-year-old Dean Russell in Dearborn Heights. He runs Trail Auto, a factory-authorized repair shop that specializes in only Alfa Romeos. During my conversation with Russell, he said 30 Alfas were parked in a backlot two doors down from his shop. They were primarily parts cars, with some of the cars also being used to store specific parts.
“I’ve got cars in process and if I need a switch, or a headlamp, a door handle. I could go over there and get it.” Russell says things started to change over the last year or so from the city. He said a new ordinance officer started coming around, who said they were going to be more stringent about enforcing moving forward. According to Russell, there’s a building on the lot that housed an apartment that had been vacant for 40 years.
Despite this, he said in the city’s opinion, it was still zoned for residential use and the vehicles on the lot were considered “abandoned” and “unlicensed.” Russell disagrees with that point, saying his tax bill lists the property for commercial use.
According to Russell, an ordinance officer flagged his property. After a long back-and-forth with the city, a judge signed an order allowing the city to come and take his cars.
“I’ll admit that some of these things were ready to go away,” said Russell. “But not under these conditions… Destroying my property and taking it away like they did with the cars, it’s ugly.”
The Need For A Private Salvage Yard
Russell said his parts lot was formed out of necessity. There used to be a warehouse in Orlando for Alfa Romeo parts that’s since closed down.
I did a quick search and found a mention of “Alfa Romeo, Inc.” of Orlando in a forum posting from 2009. Going through the web archive, the site was maintained until some point between 2018 and 2021. Since the shutdown, Russell has been using a network of friends in the state with stockpiled inventory, or he has to go to Europe himself to locate items. “It’s not been fun.”
While we talked, Russell pulled up the Facebook posting to see what US Auto has on display. He said a number of the vehicles were ’91 sedans and demand had fallen off because of the lack of available parts for the 30-year-old vehicles. However, he got back the cream-colored ’65 convertible, pictured next to the red convertible, and a gray sedan, pictured on the far end, from the tow company. But, it was “expensive” and he couldn’t afford to do that with all the cars.
Taking A Field Trip
After hitting up the DTE EV Ride and Drive in Troy, Autopian Nick Hernandez and I moseyed on over to US Auto Supply of Sterling Heights. This was my first time at the yard and it was impressive. Last year, during David Tracy’s walk-through, ahead of his goodbye party, I was still on the road from South Bend.
It was like an open-air automotive Costco, with an impressive setup for check-in and check-out, and row after row of salvage cars for almost every automotive needed. Supposedly the reputation for this place is so strong, that they’ve seen people drive as far as Kentucky and New York for their Black Friday sales. In all, there are 1,200 cars on stands, with four new rows of 18 cars cycled in each day.
Near the back and to the right, Nick and I found roughly a half-dozen Alfa 164 sedans mingled with Milanos and Spiders.
Even more were located further back in the holding lot.
According to a US Auto worker, while they couldn’t get into specifics about how they bought these Alfas, most of their cars are bought at public auction from tow companies appointed by nearby cities. I inquired if it was common to buy such large amounts of a singular make and model. “No, hell no. If they’re after Pontiac G6s? Yeah. But unique cars, no.”
The man said most of their Alfa inventory is still in a holding area and will be slowly put out on the main lot over time. “We don’t want to put them all in at once because we turn our imports over every 21 to 25 days … We do one every day or every other day, we can spread this out over a couple months.” He described the acquisition as a “Holy Grail” event, but, “when they’re all the same manufacturer and the same kind you, literally just flood your own market.” At that point, lots like this have more value in marketing for US Auto Supply than straight revenue.
Was It Blight?
According to an article by Arab America News, an initiative for “city-wide sweeps to address blight and ordinance enforcement” started in May of 2022, reportedly the first time such action had been taken in six years.
It was still a hot-button issue in June of 2023, with then-City Councilman Ray Muscat saying, “We’ve been too lax for too long” during a special hearing on blight. While the article by Press & Guide mostly covers grass enforcement, improvements to the department, and public outreach, it’s clear this is an issue of great importance to the city.
Going through the ordinances for Dearborn Heights, it’s not friendly to parts cars. Under my understanding, any parts car would be considered an “abandoned scrap vehicle” per Sec. 32-119 “Abandoned vehicle procedures” of the Code Of Ordinances Of The City Of Dearborn Heights, Michigan.
(2) “Unregistered abandoned scrap vehicle” means a vehicle which meets all of the following requirements:
a. Is on public or private property;
b. Is seven (7) or more years old;
c. Is apparently inoperable or is extensively damaged, to the extent that the cost of repairing the vehicle so that it is operational and safe as required by section 32-386, would exceed the fair market value of that vehicle;
d. Is not currently registered in this state and does not display current year registration plates from another state;
e. Is not removed within forty-eight (48) hours after a written notice as described in section 32-118(b)(2) is affixed to the vehicle.
A situation like this could be resolved in a hearing, but according to Russell, it did not go his way in court. Reading further, I found Sec. 36-255 “Open storage of vehicles or materials,” which explains the issues regarding the vacant apartment. A similar ordinance in Troy doomed David Tracy and his infamous “Greep Jeep.”
(b) Motor vehicle parking and storage.
(1) No motor vehicle shall be kept, parked, or stored in any district zoned for residential use, unless the vehicle is in operating condition and properly licensed, or is kept inside a building.
(2) These provisions shall not apply to any motor vehicle ordinarily used but temporarily out of running condition.
(3) If a motor vehicle is being kept for actual use, but is temporarily unlicensed, the ordinance enforcement officer may grant the owner a period of up to twenty-one (21) calendar days to secure a license.
Russell expressed his frustrations with the process from start to finish but for now, said he was more or less resigned to the reality of the situation. I did reach out via email and phone to the city of Dearborn Heights’ Ordinance Enforcement department, its officers, and the mayor’s office for comment. As of publication, I have not heard back.
Unfortunately, it’s all too easy to see how a situation like this unfolded. Blight is a real issue that has consequences for the general public’s health and safety. People want to see their communities improved and I’d imagine it’s a winning issue for local officials.
On the other hand, it sucks to see something like this happen to a specialist who has worked so hard to keep unique cars on the road. At least according to our scouts, he still has a fair amount left on the shop’s immediate property.
“No motor vehicle shall be kept, parked, or stored in any district zoned for residential use, unless the vehicle is in operating condition and properly licensed, or is kept inside a building.”
The solution to his problem is in bold. He needs to put up some sort of cheap shelter so the parts vehicles are out of sight or lease/buy some proper warehouse space.
And if the vehicles aren’t worth enough to spend a bit of money on proper storage, then they should go to the scrapper.
“No motor vehicle shall be kept, parked, or stored in any district zoned for residential use, unless the vehicle is in operating condition and properly licensed, or is kept inside a building.”
The solution to his problem is in bold. He needs to put up some sort of cheap shelter so the parts vehicles are out of sight or lease/buy some proper warehouse space.
And if the vehicles aren’t worth enough to spend a bit of money on proper storage, then they should go to the scrapper.
If you business requires you to store your goods in a way that offends the neighbors or runs afoul of local regulations you don’t have much of a business.
If you business requires you to store your goods in a way that offends the neighbors or runs afoul of local regulations you don’t have much of a business.
As someone who has dealt with issues like this one, for years, it all boils down to one of two things, it’s either a politician (often newly elected) on a mission to “change things” or it’s a neighbor/busybody (either a new arrival or a bored, long-term resident) who’s on a mission to see every ordinance enforced.
The vast majority of zoning cases start with a citizen complaint (don’t piss off your neighbors!). Rarely are code enforcement officers out looking for new things to enforce. But, if/when a complaint is received they’re required to, at least, investigate, and use their discretion to obtain compliance.
Many times, the person being enforced disagrees, takes offense, refuses to comply, and things escalate. As they say, “urban living is messy”, and everyone needs to be willing to compromise. It may be “your land”, but you’re certainly not free to do whatever you want with it.
As someone who has dealt with issues like this one, for years, it all boils down to one of two things, it’s either a politician (often newly elected) on a mission to “change things” or it’s a neighbor/busybody (either a new arrival or a bored, long-term resident) who’s on a mission to see every ordinance enforced.
The vast majority of zoning cases start with a citizen complaint (don’t piss off your neighbors!). Rarely are code enforcement officers out looking for new things to enforce. But, if/when a complaint is received they’re required to, at least, investigate, and use their discretion to obtain compliance.
Many times, the person being enforced disagrees, takes offense, refuses to comply, and things escalate. As they say, “urban living is messy”, and everyone needs to be willing to compromise. It may be “your land”, but you’re certainly not free to do whatever you want with it.
Dean was my Alfa tech when I lived in Michigan many years ago. He worked on my GTV6 and 164S. He’s a very well spoken brilliant mechanic and a fascinating guy who exudes an elevated Zen aura. I believe he has degrees in law and psychology, but decided to wrench on Alfas and other Italian cars for a living.
He somehow always managed to look stylish when elbow deep in Alfa guts, with his Dickies pants tucked into military boots, Dickies shirt sleeves neatly rolled up, round thin wire frame glasses, and a black beret holding back his hair. He looked equal parts like a professor, artist and Jedi master. His tone of voice rarely changed from commandingly serene, which was strangely at odds with the utter chaos of his shop and yard. It always looked like an abandoned junkyard, and it surprises me it took this long for the city to take notice.
Dean was my Alfa tech when I lived in Michigan many years ago. He worked on my GTV6 and 164S. He’s a very well spoken brilliant mechanic and a fascinating guy who exudes an elevated Zen aura. I believe he has degrees in law and psychology, but decided to wrench on Alfas and other Italian cars for a living.
He somehow always managed to look stylish when elbow deep in Alfa guts, with his Dickies pants tucked into military boots, Dickies shirt sleeves neatly rolled up, round thin wire frame glasses, and a black beret holding back his hair. He looked equal parts like a professor, artist and Jedi master. His tone of voice rarely changed from commandingly serene, which was strangely at odds with the utter chaos of his shop and yard. It always looked like an abandoned junkyard, and it surprises me it took this long for the city to take notice.
You can argue the limits of government power over private property and eminent domain. But if you are going to argue that the owner of these junkers was running a good business — he wasn’t. If this fellow had the same junkers on his lot for several years that the junkyard is parting out in just a few weeks, that isn’t good business.
Turning and burning (selling) your inventory is good. Sitting on the cost of inventory and the land to store it for years is bad. For the sale price of his rusty inventory, I’m sure he (or she) could have traveled to Europe on the company and bought and sold several inventory turns. Probably could afford to buy (and repair) a few new Alfas in the meantime too.
I feel like the appropriate thing for him to do would have been to hire a high school kid interested in working on cars to fully disassemble them down to bare shells and bag&tag every part. Like Today we will remove the LF suspension from all of them. Tomorrow we pull the RF…and so on until every car is a bare shell.
You can argue the limits of government power over private property and eminent domain. But if you are going to argue that the owner of these junkers was running a good business — he wasn’t. If this fellow had the same junkers on his lot for several years that the junkyard is parting out in just a few weeks, that isn’t good business.
Turning and burning (selling) your inventory is good. Sitting on the cost of inventory and the land to store it for years is bad. For the sale price of his rusty inventory, I’m sure he (or she) could have traveled to Europe on the company and bought and sold several inventory turns. Probably could afford to buy (and repair) a few new Alfas in the meantime too.
I feel like the appropriate thing for him to do would have been to hire a high school kid interested in working on cars to fully disassemble them down to bare shells and bag&tag every part. Like Today we will remove the LF suspension from all of them. Tomorrow we pull the RF…and so on until every car is a bare shell.
So it appears David pissed in in everyone’s well in Michigan and then left.
So it appears David pissed in in everyone’s well in Michigan and then left.
Seems like the cheapest solution to prevent a tow in this case would be to register the vehicles with a Michigan Historic License Plate. They have to be over 26 year old, but it’s $30 and good for 10 years.
It wouldn’t work in every city, but since in Dearborn Heights it has to meet all the requirements on the list to be considered scrap, that would be the cheapest way to knock this off the list. “d. Is not currently registered in this state and does not display current year registration plates from another state;”
Nice job John.
Seems like the cheapest solution to prevent a tow in this case would be to register the vehicles with a Michigan Historic License Plate. They have to be over 26 year old, but it’s $30 and good for 10 years.
It wouldn’t work in every city, but since in Dearborn Heights it has to meet all the requirements on the list to be considered scrap, that would be the cheapest way to knock this off the list. “d. Is not currently registered in this state and does not display current year registration plates from another state;”
Nice job John.
I love Alfa Romeo, in my young time I had lot fun to repair.
My 1971 1750A Berlina (with rare automatic gearbox) was a lot of fun to drive but was no fun when the car required frequent maintenance and expensive parts, including four-electrode Golden Lodge spark plugs ($7 each, which was about $20 each in today’s money).
I love Alfa Romeo, in my young time I had lot fun to repair.
My 1971 1750A Berlina (with rare automatic gearbox) was a lot of fun to drive but was no fun when the car required frequent maintenance and expensive parts, including four-electrode Golden Lodge spark plugs ($7 each, which was about $20 each in today’s money).
I recently came into possession of a free parts truck for my Travelall project, and had no choice but to park it in my driveway, which is on the main road through my town. My local zoning laws are pretty similar to the others posted here—basically, if the vehicle ‘looks’ abandoned, or inoperable, or you’re visibly parting it out, the authorities can fine you and demand it be removed.
So I did what any other gearhead would do: I parted it out from the inside, kept it under a tarp and put the second plate from my registered truck on the bumper. After I got the front clip disassembled I set it up so that I could hang the fenders on with one bolt. When it came time to get it out of here, I pulled everything off in one weekend and had it towed away a day later.
I am looking forward to finding a quiet place in the country with more space, fewer zoning laws, and a nice big barn.
I recently came into possession of a free parts truck for my Travelall project, and had no choice but to park it in my driveway, which is on the main road through my town. My local zoning laws are pretty similar to the others posted here—basically, if the vehicle ‘looks’ abandoned, or inoperable, or you’re visibly parting it out, the authorities can fine you and demand it be removed.
So I did what any other gearhead would do: I parted it out from the inside, kept it under a tarp and put the second plate from my registered truck on the bumper. After I got the front clip disassembled I set it up so that I could hang the fenders on with one bolt. When it came time to get it out of here, I pulled everything off in one weekend and had it towed away a day later.
I am looking forward to finding a quiet place in the country with more space, fewer zoning laws, and a nice big barn.
All of us automotive hobbyists need to constantly remember that we are almost never viewd positively by anyone interested in “community improvement”. Having had my own fights with a city/county over alleged derelict vehicles, practically everyone who is elected or hired into these positions have an idealistic view of what their community, neighborhood, city, or subdivision should look like and those with offbeat, mechanical or artisanal hobbies are rarely included in that view.
My goal whenever I am financially able is to move to a rural county with minimal or no codes and zoning. I have a few in mind.
All of us automotive hobbyists need to constantly remember that we are almost never viewd positively by anyone interested in “community improvement”. Having had my own fights with a city/county over alleged derelict vehicles, practically everyone who is elected or hired into these positions have an idealistic view of what their community, neighborhood, city, or subdivision should look like and those with offbeat, mechanical or artisanal hobbies are rarely included in that view.
My goal whenever I am financially able is to move to a rural county with minimal or no codes and zoning. I have a few in mind.
I live in a pretty small city in California, about 2000 people, and blight is a huge issue in our community. There are a few individuals that have bought up a bunch of property over the years, and much of it for cheap. Because of the way California property tax works they are never reappraised as long as they own it. So they pay almost nothing in taxes(making it cheap for them) and providing no revenue to our city(which needs it). But the thing that pisses off the rest of us more than the money is that it means too much competition for the properties that are available, and it means our downtown is less vibrant than it could be. People want to open businesses downtown and having 10-20% of properties kept vacant really sucks and makes the town feel like it is doing poorly even though it isn’t. For example, when any commercial property on our Main Street comes up for rent or sale, it is occupied pretty quickly. We’re thinking of passing a vacancy tax that ratchets up on property owners that don’t legitimately utilize or rent out commercial property they own.
I live in a pretty small city in California, about 2000 people, and blight is a huge issue in our community. There are a few individuals that have bought up a bunch of property over the years, and much of it for cheap. Because of the way California property tax works they are never reappraised as long as they own it. So they pay almost nothing in taxes(making it cheap for them) and providing no revenue to our city(which needs it). But the thing that pisses off the rest of us more than the money is that it means too much competition for the properties that are available, and it means our downtown is less vibrant than it could be. People want to open businesses downtown and having 10-20% of properties kept vacant really sucks and makes the town feel like it is doing poorly even though it isn’t. For example, when any commercial property on our Main Street comes up for rent or sale, it is occupied pretty quickly. We’re thinking of passing a vacancy tax that ratchets up on property owners that don’t legitimately utilize or rent out commercial property they own.
What’s this now? Government took advantage of vaguely worded bylaws to take private property from a citizen? Something something to be an American where at least I know I’m free….
What’s this now? Government took advantage of vaguely worded bylaws to take private property from a citizen? Something something to be an American where at least I know I’m free….
Must be David’s Italian cousin, David Traccia.
Cousin Vinny?