It paid the price before, thus making it worthy of its price now.

A witness to CNN journalists’ faithfulness to their duty during a war coverage in Iraq last 2003, the CNN Hummer leveled with the Carrol Shelby’s 1966 Shelby 427 Cobra worth $5,500,000 during the 36th annual Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Event in Scottsdale, Arizona held last January 15-21.

At CNN.com, it was revealed that real estate company Re/Max International Incorporated Founder David Liniger got the $1 million-worth winning bid of the "Warrior One" Hummer that toured military bases and medical centers across the nation before the said event. Its $1.25 million net will be donated to the Fisher House Foundation, an organization that temporarily accommodates families of patients with major medical care in military hospitals and Veterans Affairs facilities.

"The guy that put the $250,000 in was bidding against me to the last minute," Liniger said in awe as he narrated how that same man turned around, placed his arms around him and said, "Hey, you buy the car, you get the car. I’ll add 250 to it." Liniger, a car collector and a consistent visitor of the Barret-Jackson Co. auction sales, was also a Vietnam war veteran and founder of Sentinels of Freedom, a foundation that aims to reach out to disabled soldiers.

He said that "Warrior One" is such a beautiful vehicle saying, "The military tries to take care of them, but once they leave Walter Reed, they’re on their own. Some of them don’t want to go anyplace. Some are highly motivated and just want to keep trying, and so for us, this is a beautiful symbol."

In November 2006, three years after the Iraq war coverage, The Learning Channel "Overhaulin" show renovated the CNN Hummer. Who would know whether it now has a new vent visor.

Facts gathered by octane-magazine.com showed that collectors must have spent an estimated US $112,000,000 during the said auction which featured about 1,271 cars sold at No Reserve. Nearly, 250,000 visitors came for the event.

"The collector car hobby continues to grow and demand was exceptionally strong for a variety of vehicles ranging from vintage Shelbys to superb customs, top notch muscle bars, obscure makes and even timeless Woodies," Craig Jackson, Barret-Jackson Auction Company chief executive officer said.