LAS VEGAS -- A light blue 1975 Ford Escort GL once owned by Pope John Paul II sold for $690,000 Saturday to a Houston multimillionaire lawyer who said he plans to put it in a museum he wants to build in his home town.
"To me, it's a piece of history," said John O'Quinn, a Baptist who said he has a collection of about 600 vehicles. "What a great human being Pope John Paul was."
Built 30 years ago in Cologne, Germany, the car sold in what auctioneer Dean Kruse said was original papal condition -- no hubcaps, no air conditioning, no radio, but with several nicks and dents.
O'Quinn, who made a fortune in a Texas tobacco settlement, outbid at least seven other would-be buyers.
The seller, Jim Rich of Sugar Grove, Ill., had paid $102,000 for the car in 1996.
