Thanks for proving my point, as you knew exactly to whom I was referring.
But, last time I checked, Cussler had over 90 million books published. (I admit I've read -- and enjoyed -- a sample of most of them.) No matter the size of his royalty percentage per book, that is a heck of a lot of money -- more than he can possibly spend on old cars...
When it came to a battle of swaying opinions, Spence never had a chance.
Travesty, really... :-(