A few weeks before the managers of the Big Three meekly made their way to Washington to seek the billions of dollars that would ensure their survival, automotive America, that of the collectors, met in Scottsdale, Arizona, to take part in a lavish series of auctions.
Barrett-Jackson's plane
Even more immoderate than usual, the flamboyant Barrett-Jackson auction house called the shots during the seven-day event. Under an enormous tent erected in the desert, the auctioneers relayed each other without pause in order to sell 1,077 mostly American cars and trucks to the highest bidder. It was all there, from a 1904 Oldsmobile Touring Runabout to the first standard 2010 Chevrolet Camaro, with a slew of customs, one more extravagant than the next, and hundreds of muscle cars in between.
The star of this gigantic auto show? A plane. A 1929 Ford 4-AT-E Tri-Motor ($1,210,000) to be exact, followed by the first standard 1955 Ford Thunderbird ($600,000). At the end of the auction, all cars on offer were bought, and the final sales figure totalled $60,895,890, with an average of $56,542 per vehicle ($55,470 not counting the plane).
The top of the line
Two, more exclusive auctions took place in downtown Scottsdale, those of Canadian auction house RM Auctions and the eminently British Gooding & Company. RM worked out of Biltmore Resort and offered 127 cars, mostly classics, accompanied by a few rare gems, namely the formidable 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport roadster, one of five machines secretly build by a group of GM engineers, a resplendent Bugatti Atalante Type 57SC coupe, the 1954 Dodge Firearrow III Sport concept bodied by Ghia and a Ferrari 250 GT Tour de France.
Despite the bursting room (record attendance), the auction was a little morose and several star vehicles remained unsold, their reserve value not met. And so, the Corvette "stopped" at 4.9 million dollars, the Bugatti at 4.5 million and the Ferrari at 1.8 million. In all, 106 cars changed hands for a total of $16,211,025, an average of $171,802 cars, which was below expectations. The top seller was a Ferrari 275 GTB/4 coupe for $918,500.
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| The flamboyant Barrett-Jackson auction house called the shots during the seven-day event. |
Barrett-Jackson's plane
Even more immoderate than usual, the flamboyant Barrett-Jackson auction house called the shots during the seven-day event. Under an enormous tent erected in the desert, the auctioneers relayed each other without pause in order to sell 1,077 mostly American cars and trucks to the highest bidder. It was all there, from a 1904 Oldsmobile Touring Runabout to the first standard 2010 Chevrolet Camaro, with a slew of customs, one more extravagant than the next, and hundreds of muscle cars in between.
The star of this gigantic auto show? A plane. A 1929 Ford 4-AT-E Tri-Motor ($1,210,000) to be exact, followed by the first standard 1955 Ford Thunderbird ($600,000). At the end of the auction, all cars on offer were bought, and the final sales figure totalled $60,895,890, with an average of $56,542 per vehicle ($55,470 not counting the plane).
The top of the line
Two, more exclusive auctions took place in downtown Scottsdale, those of Canadian auction house RM Auctions and the eminently British Gooding & Company. RM worked out of Biltmore Resort and offered 127 cars, mostly classics, accompanied by a few rare gems, namely the formidable 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport roadster, one of five machines secretly build by a group of GM engineers, a resplendent Bugatti Atalante Type 57SC coupe, the 1954 Dodge Firearrow III Sport concept bodied by Ghia and a Ferrari 250 GT Tour de France.
Despite the bursting room (record attendance), the auction was a little morose and several star vehicles remained unsold, their reserve value not met. And so, the Corvette "stopped" at 4.9 million dollars, the Bugatti at 4.5 million and the Ferrari at 1.8 million. In all, 106 cars changed hands for a total of $16,211,025, an average of $171,802 cars, which was below expectations. The top seller was a Ferrari 275 GTB/4 coupe for $918,500.
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| A resplendent Bugatti Atalante Type 57SC coupe. |