Lyle Greenfield of Amagansett will sell his 1960 Nash Metropolitan convertible and donate the proceeds to the Amagansett Village Improvement Society. Weather permitting, the car can be seen on Saturday and Sunday from around 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the lawn between the Amber Waves farmers market and the hamlet’s firehouse on Main Street.
Mr. Greenfield intended to donate the classic car to the Amagansett Village Improvement Society to be auctioned at its Summer Splash fund-raiser. But the annual party, which was planned for Aug. 1 at the South Fork Country Club, was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, the Metro will be offered for sale this weekend. All proceeds will benefit AVIS.
A two-tone pale aqua green and cream, the car is just over 50 horsepower, has a three-speed manual transmission, and has 95,000 miles on the odometer. It has been restored with new paint and upholstery, but all mechanical parts are original and running well. New brake linings were added last year.
The Metropolitan was designed by the Nash Motor Company in Detroit in 1951-52 and manufactured in England until 1961. A company called Fisher & Ludlow built the bodies, and the Austin Motor Company built all the mechanicals.
At a time when American auto makers believed that bigger was better, the compact Metro, with a wheelbase shorter than that of the Volkswagen Beetle, was marketed as an economical second car for two-car families. According to Wikipedia, notable owners of Nash Metropolitans have included Jimmy Buffett, Steve Jobs, Princess Margaret, Paul Newman, and Elvis Presley. "Now," Mr. Greenfield said in a statement, "they can update that and include me!"
"The Nash Metro is a car whose design I've always loved and been charmed by, and on the occasion of my 70th birthday, in July of 2017, I decided to give myself one,” he said. “I've had a blast with this car. When it's on the road, people literally whistle or yell out, 'Awesome car!' "
In the course of three years, he and his wife acquired three grandchildren and space in the garage behind their Main Street farmhouse was occupied by cribs, high chairs, and other such items. "No room for my little classic!" he said. He considered selling it, but it later occurred to him to donate it to AVIS. "It would have been fun to see the Metro bid on at the Summer Splash," but with the event’s cancellation, the donation will help "our hamlet's amazing team of 'village improvers.' " Those with serious inquiries may call him at 917-657-0671.
Mr. Greenfield is a former ad agency copywriter and the founder of Bang Music, a company that creates original music for commercials, television, and films as well as audio post-production for all media. He published “The Soul Mate Expeditions,” a collection of his stories and letters. After 45 years of "dual citizenship" in New York City and Amagansett, he settled year-round in Amagansett with his wife, Mary Jane Hantz Greenfield, whose father grew up five doors down on Meeting House Lane.
