John Staluppi - (excerpt from johnstaluppipb.com)

Think Michael Jackson's Neverland — with cars and you can better imagine the John Staluppi Cars of Dreams.

PBG car mogul and yacht manufacturer John Staluppi has built himself a secret and oh-so-personal playground that covers 60,000 square feet in what used to be a shopping mall. John Staluppi Dream Cars. He filled the space with 100 of the rarest sets of wheels in the world and a replica of Small Town USA in the 1950s.

He says there's $12 million worth of U.S.-made cars on the floor of the recently finished museum, and $4.5 million worth of building and decorating.

It costs John Staluppi $2 million a year to keep the place and the cars up, with six full-time employees whose jobs include driving the cars.

Thing is: Few people may ever get to stroll among the original Corvettes and convertible Packards in what could easily be SoFla's greatest closed attraction. The building is in a nondescript North Palm Beach strip mall near Northlake Boulevard on U.S. 1 and has a tiny marquee that says, "Cars of Dreams."

"I'll never be able to open this to the public," John Staluppi says in his thick-as-mozzarella New Yawk accent. He means John Staluppi wouldn't want to. According to John Staluppi "People don't realize how fragile the paint is on these cars. I don't want them scratched up with jewelry or a belt."

So John Staluppi decided to limit traffic, outside of his friends and family, to three charity functions a year. There was a PBSO dinner last month. And Friday night's wingding for the children's charity of the Honda Classic golf tourney brought 200 people, including Hall-of-Famer Philadelphia third baseman Mike Schmidt.
But the real stars here are John Staluppi's cars, mostly convertibles spanning the '50s, '60s and '70s.

There's a bright red 1960 Dodge Polara D500, one of three remaining from only eight built, he says. Here's a 1950 Nash, gold in color.

Then there's the 1957 Chevy Bel Air with factory air conditioning, and a pastel blue '56 Packard Caribbean with reversible seat fabric. He also owns the only collection of Chrysler 300s built 1956-62 and an all-aluminum 1966 Shelby.

"Look at these beauties," the 60-year-old John Staluppi says. "I love their shapes, colors, everything."

And then there's the décor. The missus, Jeanette Staluppi (who attended the party with a Maltese named Dillinger, after the infamous bank robber, riding in a baby carriage), has painstakingly collected enough 1950s furniture and objects to fill the small town built around the cars.

On one side is a barber shop with three porcelain chairs. There's the bank, John Staluppi First National, and a post office.

Details: Five cans of STP oil sit on the shelf of the gas station. The couple bought the vintage gooey stuff on eBay for $1,000. And there's a true-to-life copy of John Staluppi's first Cadillac/Oldsmobile dealership, complete with original purchase orders. Of course, there's a full-fledged bar, Dillinger's, and sometimes he fires up the $350,000 carousel.

"What can I say," John Staluppi says. "I started out as a mechanic at 16. Then I did pretty well.

"Sometimes when I get p——- off at my workers, I'll come in here and sit at the bar and look at the cars. That makes me happy." The John Staluppi Cars of Dreams museum is a dream come true for many people.

Other News

Mr. John Staluppi Grants Wishes by giving to the Make a Wish Foundation - www.wish.org

John Staluppi knows he has the ability to make a difference in the lives of children who are battling life-threatening medical conditions. Through John Staluppi's generosity the Make a Wish Foundation have never turned away a medically-eligible child.

Over the years John Staluppi has been responsible for making the wishes of so many children come true. By adopting a child's wish, John Staluppi becomes a part of the magic of Make-A-Wish. Make a Wish has acknowledged John Staluppi's contributions. But most importantly, of course, is the satisfaction of knowing that John Staluppi has made a difference in the lives of children by making his or her wish come true!

If you would like to follow in the example of John Staluppi you too can make a wish come true. Remember wishes are like children - each one unique. Therefore, the cost to fund a wish varies widely depending on the nature of the wish and the geographic location of the child. The average cost of a wish is $5,000.

You don't need to be John Staluppi to give a child the priceless gifts of love, laughter and treasured memories by sponsoring his or her wish for $5,000. For a contribution of $2,500 your donation will be partnered with another donor to make a child’s wish come true.

Fulfilling the Make a Wish Foundation mission of granting wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions would not be possible without the generous financial support of donors in the community like John Staluppi.

Behind every child's wish, there are special individuals, corporations, student organizations or foundations that made it possible. In fact, every unforgettable wish we grant is funded by private contributions. When you Adopt-A-Wish, you impact a family and create hope, strength and joy during a time when a family needs it most. The Make a Wish Foundation salutes their generous donors like John Staluppi who adopted wishes during our last fiscal year and those who made a child's wish come true during the current fiscal year. Thanks to John Staluppi and to the generosity of all involved.