Pope John Paul II's 1975 Ford Escort Sells for $690,000

After the near fatal assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II in 1981 he gave up riding in an open car for sitting in a glass-enclosed Pope-mobile instead. But this had not always been the Pope's favorite means of transportation.

Back in 1975, when he was still the Polish Cardinal Wyzynski he purchased a blue Ford Escort as his personal car. Yesterday, at a Las Vegas auction, the car sold for $690,000. The seller had been hoping the car would sell for as much as $1-5 million.

You could pick up an identical model down at your local used car lot for $1,200.

I'm sure that is what Cardinal Wyzynski would have wanted you to do.