Understanding 2025 BaT Success Story of the Year—Bigmotorssmallcar’s Transatlantic Sportomatic Triomphe!
WINNER’S ANNOUNCEMENT:
The final votes are in, and the ninth running of the Success Story of the Year award has been our biggest one yet! It was off to the races, with @Bigmotorssmallcar’s 911S story taking an early lead and even weathering a brief upset by @Jinxi‘s tale on Sweet Pea the VW Bug. But in the end, the Transatlantic Sportomatic Triomphe secured the most votes, and is thus it is our winner for Success Story of the Year!
Buying a car from across the pond can certainly be an unnerving experience for many, but for Bigmotorssmallcar, the Gemini blue 911S was just too good to pass up. His detailed experience was certainly appreciated by the BaT community and staff alike.
Congratulations, Bigmotorssmallcar! We see you wasted no time diving into your new-old 911, and a fresh set of Michelins should liven up the driving experience nicely. We’ll be in touch shortly to coordinate your prize: a new set of Michelin or BFGoodrich tires of your choosing, courtesy of our generous friends at Michelin USA!
1/12 FINALISTS ANNOUNCEMENT:
Thank you to everyone who pored over the scores of Success Stories submitted by BaT buyers and sellers in 2025! You’ve closed in on three worthy candidates, and as we’ve done in previous years, we’re including one more Success Story that we found particularly compelling—the fly-and-drive story of the C1 Corvette that @Jmast won in June 2025. So here are your finalists:
- Bigmotorssmallcar’s Transatlantic Sportomatic Triomphe
- A New Home for Sweet Pea
- Picture Perfect Porsche
- Cross-Country C1 Corvette
Choose your favorite of the three in the comments below. Voting ends at midnight on Thursday, January 15th!
Bigmotorssmallcar’s Transatlantic Sportomatic Triomphe
Leading the pack this year is this story sent in by @Bigmotorssmallcar about his in-depth buying experience with this 911S Sportomatic from across the pond—specifically, from Paris to California. The tale, as noted by many, was certainly thorough and informative, and it offered a clear perspective on pulling off such a transatlantic triomphe.
@Jinxi‘s first Volkswagen Beetle proved to be a formative experience for her, and the urge to own another grew steadily over the years. She acted on that feeling in 2025 and rejoined the Beetle community with Sweet Pea—her 1959 Volkswagen Beetle. She eloquently wrote in with a heartfelt update on the new Bug, which remained a loving reflection of its former owner, Betsy.
BaT Local Partner @GenauAutoWerks brought us this story of this 911 Carrera coupe, largely told through @cwhite5‘s experience and did what we love best—a fly-and-drive adventure. He drove the car 2,600 miles home, capturing over 300 photos and an innumerable number of memories along the way.
Not only did @Jmast win a rad car, but he also drove it on an epic 900-mile journey back home. Best of all are his plans for this C1: “This ’59 will be destined for vintage hill climb racing, the Hot Rod Power Tour, and La Carrera Panamericana in the coming years.” Godspeed, Jmast, Godspeed.
Vote tallies start fresh now! To vote, leave a comment and let us know which of the stories above is your favorite. We’ll announce our winners on Thursday, January 15th.
ORIGINAL POST:
BaT Success Stories highlight the experiences of both buyers and sellers, and so many of these pieces strike a chord with the BaT community. These tales are often filled with memories, new friendships, once-in-a-lifetime adventures, personal histories, and dreams come true. Last year our winner was joeinbcs, whose story told about the Eldorado sold for Honest John’s charity. We published over 100 Success Stories in 2025, so there are plenty of great stories to choose from.
What was your favorite BaT Success Story in 2025?
To nominate, leave a comment that includes a link to your favorite Success Story—you can see all of this year’s pieces on our Success Story page. Honorable mentions are welcome, but please be sure to cast an official vote for only one story. Nominations are open now!
Please note that previous winners are not eligible for this year’s award. We want to spread the love around!
We’ll start tallying the votes on the morning of Monday, January 12, and the top three will move on to final voting. The winner will be announced in this post on Thursday, January 15, and will receive four new Michelin or BFGoodrich tires of their choosing.
For inspiration, here are the previous winners that were recognized by the community:
- 2024: joeinbcs with Honest John’s Eldorado Charity Auction
- 2023: Goose1964 with The Oddball Cannonball 2
- 2022: Lotus07s with A Tempo Marks the Time
- 2021: Bruce_Tyler and ostaylor with A TR2 for Bro
- 2020: ayjay with McLaren Ford Condor RV Heads to the Indy 500 with McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown
- 2019: salty_dog and his Family Road Trip in a Swapped E30
- 2018: Goose1964 with his story 15-Year-Old Daughter Learns to Drive in 1961 Buick Le Sabre on 3000-Mile Road Trip
- 2017: Uprightfan with his nine-part Athens to Amsterdam to Baltimore Alfa Romeo Trip
Cast your vote now! And make sure to vote in all your other favorite BaT Award categories for 2025:
- Photo Gallery of the Year
- Video of the Year
- People’s Choice: Best Listing
- Most Valuable Commenter
- The Cognoscenti Award
Check out our BaT Awards Announcement for the full schedule and rules.
