For those whose minds immediately picture tail fins and chromed-out bullet headlights when they hear the phrase “classic cars,” a trip inside The Weekend Motor Company is a stunning reminder that the automotive world didn’t cease production in the 1970s.
Today’s classic cars, the nostalgic holy grails of the modern collector, look a heck of a lot more contemporary.
Ryan Meany, founder of the dealership, is inside the showroom, showcasing a curated selection of vehicles from his current inventory.
“A lot of the older stuff, from the Model A Ford through the 1950s, unless it is museum quality or is a missing link to a generational family collection, is not getting the interest or the money. … people have many emotional ties to those vehicles, and try to quantify those emotions,” said owner Ryan Meany, whose collection spans one side of The Weekend Motor Company, possibly the most exclusive dealership in the Lowcountry. “It’s the car that the coolest kid in the high school had that you fantasized about. It’s the car that, when you were riding around in the back seat of your parents’ car, you looked out the window and said, ‘Mom! Dad! Look what they have on the lot!’ And for most of us, that is not a 1962 Ferrari Testarossa.”
Instead, his offerings here speak to a younger collector for whom nostalgia means driving a car that doesn’t connect to your phone’s Bluetooth. In Meany’s current inventory, you’ll see a single-owner 1998 Honda Prelude SH with just 50,000 original miles, a 1993 Ford Mustang Cobra with only 4,500 miles, and a 1972 Datsun 240Z in dazzling blue with a white interior, featuring lap seatbelts, crank windows, and an analog dash clock.
For a serial entrepreneur like Meany – the co-founder of Virgil Kaine Whiskey and founder of Yellowfish Properties – the dealership represents a chance to mingle business with pleasure.
Ryan is showing a client around a pristine, concourse-condition 1993 Mustang Cobra, pointing out its standout features as they discuss the terms of the deal.
“Post-Covid, when the real estate business started slowing down, I needed to find something else to do,” Meany said. “I just went back to that old adage of, ‘do what you love,’ and that’s where this sprung from. It’s what I probably should have been doing in the first place.”
Drawing on the years of experience and mountain of connections he has made within the car world, Meany built up The Weekend Motor Company as a place where a customer could get their hands on hard-to-find, but more affordable, “new classic” cars that many dealers don’t offer. And, since the collectors’ market has shifted to these newer classics, the savvy customer very often can enjoy their car and see a return on their investment a few years later.
“Over decades of going to auctions, I’ve amassed a Rolodex of car people I can call and say, ‘Hey, do you have a lead on this?’ Anybody can get on the internet and search on CarGurus. But if it’s something special and unique, it’s probably not on CarGurus,” Meany said. “A lot of the larger private collections, stuff’s always for sale. They just don’t advertise, so you’ve got to know who to ask. That’s actually one of my favorite things to do – to play ‘Go Find It.’”
Find out more at theweekendmotorcompany.com.
2019 Porsche Speedster: Sleek and minimalist with a low-slung design, and classic round headlights.
2018 Porsche GT2 RS: A muscular, high-performance beast with a wide stance, carbon-fiber hood, and large rear wing.
2024 Porsche GT4 RS: Aggressive and modern, featuring sharp lines, the pinnacle of the 718.
