The afternoon of June 17, 1994, was unforgettable. TV stations pre-empted regular programming to broadcast a slow speed police chase down the LA 405. In the car fleeing was its owner AC Cowling and the celebrity football hero O.J. Simpson. Folks were crowding overpasses with handmade signs saying “Go O.J. Go” and “Can’t Stop the Juice”. The reason for the chase was stomach churning. The cops were after O.J. to question him about the murder of his Ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and a charming young waiter, Ron Goldman. O.J. was acting pretty nutty to be sure and many surmised that if he was so innocent, why was he acting so crazy?
Cowling’s White Bronco became a pop culture icon. A spectacle of a trial followed with the famous line from Johnny Cochran “If the glove don’t fit you must acquit”. The jury did let OJ off and the reaction to the verdict showed that our country was indeed fiercely divided along racial lines.
Now OJ is a hot celebrity property again as he is being released from prison this October for a strong armed robbery he committed in 2007. The White Bronco will be again in motion on an episode of “Pawn Stars” called “If the Pawn Don’t Fit” that is supposed to be a cute play on the phrase used by lawyer Johnny Cochran during OJ’s trial.
The Bronco, now owned by O.J.’s Sports Agent Mike Gilbert has sat doing time in the garage except for a brief gig in 2003 on display at a Casino. That’s Vegas for you. Now the SUV is out of retirement and “Pawn Stars” will show Harrison, Gilbert, and Chumley taking a test drive. Harrison was quoted in The New York Post, saying that he thinks O.J. is a “douchbag” and wants to instill morals in his kids but he couldn’t pass up this item.
Having the White Bronco featured on “Pawn Stars” is win win situation for everyone but the families of Nicole and Ron who will have to bear yet another insult to their loved one’s memory. I will try to check my personal feelings of disgust about their exploitation of a real life murder and stick to the topic. Harrison may be successful and be on TV but he is still a pawn broker and the slow speed chase for profit rules the day. The ratings for the episode that will premiere August 14th at 10 pm on the History Channel will garner millions of viewers.
Unless Harrison could have procured the vehicle in 1995, there has never been a better time to be featuring the White Bronco on his show. Gilbert bought the 1993 Bronco from A.C. Cowlings for 75K and Gilbert will no doubt make a bundle his investment. Not that a ’93 Bronco is worth anything on its own. A family sputtering up in such a vehicle at the local Walmart would be pitied by onlookers. It’s not just the fact that O.J. Simpson sat in it, it’s that he and A.C. made history in it. Call Simpson a monster or a misunderstood hero, he’s the most famous celebrity ever to go on trial. The Bronco is a star as well and that bizarre slow motion chase has been the punchline of jokes and fodder for spoofs for decades.
Harrison described the vehicle as running great but that he had an eerie feeling when he sat in it. That means more money for resale, as there is a market for anything creepy related to gruesome crimes. There is also the pride of ownership if that is what you are into. Sports fans, haunted collectors, and historians will all covet owning the infamous White Bronco. What will the White Bronco fetch? One can safely assume that it will be six or even seven figures for this strange piece of pop culture history.
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