Featured Enthusiast

Malcolm Pray Leads the Way

When it comes to getting youth involved in the collector car hobby – and motivating them to succeed – Malcolm Pray isn’t content to offer only moral or financial support. The Greenwich, Conn., collector has taken the wheel.

Through the Pray Achievement Center, which Mr. Pray created to give kids an up-close and personal look at automotive history, youth are given an opportunity to enjoy collector vehicles of all kinds – as well as the chance to dream big.

“If I see a kid standing there with his dad, looking at one of my cars, I’ll go over and take his hand, open the door and let him sit in the car and pretend to drive it,” Mr. Pray said. “Hopefully, it’s an experience he’ll never forget. I really get a kick out of that.

“I have a lot of friends, and they’re willing to donate money, but not many will take the time to talk to kids and do something with them. Anybody can do what I do; you don’t have to have money. If you go down to the local boys club and take some of those kids out to a ballgame, you can inspire them. They can start dreaming and believing.”

Mr. Pray knows first hand how the dreams of a child can fuel future achievement. He was bitten by the car bug when he attended the New York World’s Fair as an 11-year-old in 1939. Walking near the French Pavilion, his imagination was captured by a Delahaye that was on display. The elegant lines mesmerized him, and he immediately drew a sketch of the car when he returned home. He also vowed to own it one day.

While Mr. Pray never graduated from high school, he used his love affair with automobiles to score a job as a car salesman, and he became pretty good at it. In 1964, he founded his first dealership, selling Volkswagons, and over the next 35 years, Pray Automotive grew into a chain of six dealerships employing 250 people.

The start of Pray Automotive also marked the beginning of Mr. Pray’s car collection.

“I’ve owned probably 150 collector cars at one time or another,” he said. “My first car was a 1930 Packard Phaeton that I got in 1949 when my uncle died. I still have the registration sticker from 1950. So to have that – that shows the length of time I’ve had an interest in vintage cars.”

Mr. Pray’s collection began with a bang when he saw a classified ad offering a 1939 Delahaye – the car of his dreams – for $5,000. He didn’t hesitate.

Mr. Pray believes the purchase was meant to be, and it’s no wonder. While at the 1994 Meadow Brook Concours, after the car won the Class award, he was told by a group of French enthusiasts that his was “the missing car.” The significance of that statement came to light the following summer when Mr. Pray and his wife, Natalie, attended the Centenaire Rallye in France. French Delahaye Club archivist Andre Voucourt was fascinated with the vehicle, and after a thorough inspection declared, “This is the World’s Fair car.” Mr. Pray’s Delahaye was, in fact, the exact car that had sparked his imagination in 1939.

“I was amazed,” he said.

As Mr. Pray’s business grew, so did his collection. It now includes head-turning vehicles with names like Bugatti, Jaguar, Porsche, Allard, Morgan, Rolls Royce, Maserati, Packard, Auburn and Mercedes. But nothing – nothing – compares to the Delahaye.

“It has to be my favorite. All the other cars know that and they don’t get jealous,” Mr. Pray said with a laugh. “It’s a great driver. I drove it 1,000 miles through France, and I just trust that car. The mistake that too many collectors make is they don’t use their cars enough. They were made to be driven.”

Mr. Pray sold his business in 1999 and has since pruned his collection, as well.

“It’s down to about 60 cars now,” he said. “They were just too spread out, so I decided to part with some of them. It was extremely difficult. It’s almost like having a dinner party and you can only invite so many people. You hate to leave anyone out, but sometimes you have to.”

On the positive side, Mr. Pray now has more time to devote to his biggest passion: motivating youth. In 2001, he opened the Pray Achievement Center, which is located just over the Connecticut border in Bedford, N.Y. He said he has always had a soft spot in his heart for young people.

“I grew up in the 1930s, at the tail end of the Depression, and the Boy Scouts were a big influence. In fact, I have my 1938 manual sitting right here in front of me,” he said. “I’ve been on the board here in Greenwich for 35 years. I’d always bring kids up to my house to see my collection.

“I had four kids, and they’d bring their friends over to see Dad’s cars, too. I learned early on that young people can develop a passion for collector cars by seeing the cars and touching them. When they go to a museum, they can’t touch anything. So I wanted to do something different. I wanted to inspire them.”

Mr. Pray regularly hosts youth groups and school classes, allowing the students to check out the cars and take as many automotive magazines as they would like. Then he delivers a message that he has perfected over the years: “How To Become A Millionaire.” It includes advice about personal conduct and appearance, the value of money and school, the need to be patriotic and the importance of studying history, current affairs, business and politics. He also emphasizes that it is important to dream and not be afraid to fail.

Mr. Pray wrote the principles himself, and he gives each student a copy before they leave the Center.

“I started with the Boy Scout law – a Boy Scout is trustworthy and loyal and helpful and friendly… all those things,” he said. “It’s about basic morality and how to treat people, not ‘Go to Harvard and get a PhD.’”

Mr. Pray said he is a proud supporter of Hagerty and the Collectors Foundation, since “we stand for a lot of the same things.”

“I’m very pleased with how much Hagerty cares about young people,” he said. “Young people are the future, and it’s important to motivate them, encourage them and inspire them.”