The Marvin car was in the Greenwich, CT, area originally. He lived there.
At that point in time he was a very in demand actor and the nature of the business meant that he wasn't home much vs. being on location shooting movies.
Let's face it. That kind of lifestyle contributes heavily to the lack of longevity in marriages. What chance does a car have?
As I recall, it didn't have much mileage on the odometer when he gave it away? Something like 8,000 miles or so and there were some comments after the fact that it was a mess and a completely ignored item just left on it's own in the driveway.
Greenwich is a funny place. It's full of lots of little neighborhoods with little bungalow houses in little private neighborhoods that you would never suspect were there. Sure there are 20 acre "estates" too, but that's not necessarily where these celebrities lived?
I don't think Lee was ever interviewed about the Shelby but the type of guy he was, that's probably just as well.
Ask him about having to sing and dance in his latest film is ok if you worked as a journalist with the "right" publication but asking about his car is "poking" into their private lives.
I tend to think that his on screen persona was not a role that he had work at to get into? It pretty much was him. I'm not sure if he would just deck you with a quick left hook or exercise his second amendment rights. It probably depends on if there were cameras and witnesses around? In any case, caution should have prevailed.
If you happened to be driving by and saw this scruffy, grumpy looking guy in his slippers and pj's, walking around in the driveway, grumbling about where they threw the morning newspaper this morning, best to ignore that and keep driving by? DON'T stop and ask for an autograph.
I think it was Carter Gette that said Marvin and Buster Crab were his customers? In fact he may be the source of that info, that they are original owners, now that I think of it? I do remember Carter saying Crab would bring his car in for service regularly, whatever that means.