Bring a Trailer Auction Proceeds to Fund Piston Foundation Scholarships

Bring a Trailer (BaT) recently celebrated its 100,000th listing by selling its company-owned 1973 Datsun 240Z in a charity auction benefitting the Piston Foundation, the company announced.

The Piston Foundation is a non-profit organization aiming to bring more young people into the trades of the collector car industry, the foundation said.

The final bid for the car reached $124,240. Along with the $5,000 buyer’s fee and the $6,513 raised through individual donations from BaT members, a grand total of $135,753 was earned towards the Piston Foundation’s “Sponsor a Piston Scholar” initiative.

The funds are enough to create scholarships for 27 aspiring technicians, the foundation said, granting them the opportunity to pursue a skilled trades education. The Foundation’s goal for 2023 is to offer 50 scholarships. Piston awarded 10 scholarships in 2022, the inaugural year of the initiative, foundation officials said.

“It’s this joining of efforts between two entities who are passionate about the Piston Foundation’s mission that makes for such a dynamic result that will benefit the collector car industry for many years to come,” said Jeff Mason, president and COO of the Piston Foundation. “To be able to provide scholarships to aspiring technicians who are eager to learn a skilled trade is extremely rewarding.”

“Our BaT Staff and the BaT Community love the cars we sell and we all drive them and own them,” said Randy Nonnenberg, owner of BaT. “We know the value of technical experts, those that help us keep these vehicles on the road. Contributing to the Piston Foundation’s support and expansion of training for technicians will help us to enjoy our current cars for years to come, and also enjoy any that we buy on BaT in the future.”

By A.J. Hecht

A.J. Hecht is the managing editor of THE SHOP and host of the In Gear with THE SHOP podcast. Have an idea, a tip, or a question you’d like to see answered? Contact A.J. at ahecht@cahabamedia.com.