The Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction is a collector car auction and exposition company, started in 1960. It is known today as "The Greatest Car Show on Earth."[1]
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History
The car show was first introduced by Russ Jackson and Tom Barrett at the original auction at Scottsdale, Arizona. Jackson met Barrett through an interest in Barrett's 1933 Cadillac V-16 Town Car. In 1967, Barrett and Jackson presented a car show called "Fiesta del Auto Elegance", a fund-raiser for local charities, including the Scottsdale Library. Then, in 1971, the two joined together to present a classic car auction. Barrett's Mercedes 770 Phaeton sold for $153,000 at this event and the Barrett-Jackson name soon became internationally prominent.
Russ Jackson died in 1993, and Tom Barrett died in April, 2004. Craig Jackson, who had worked actively on a daily basis throughout the year and on-site at the event, took over and developed the company further through expansion and innovation. Internet live bidding was also introduced that same year.
Starting at the 3rd annual Palm Beach auction in 2005, the show was renamed from "Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auction" to "Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction", followed by the name change in the Scottsdale, Arizona auction in 2006.
Beginning in 2008, the auction also takes place in Las Vegas.
Auction
Although it is labeled as an automobile auction, other items including trucks, motorcycles, airplanes, and engines are sold at the auction. Starting in 2007, the auction also sold boats, rock and roll memorabilia, and other things. It is widely believed that the high visibility of the auction has caused the prices of vintage cars to rise greatly in the last several years.
The auction has also became a place for American car manufacturers to sell the first production vehicles of a given model and generation combination, in charity format.
The 2006 auction broke many records and set many new precedents for Barrett-Jackson's future, seeing more than 225,000 spectators. This recent event was viewed on the Speed Channel for 33 hours. There were more than 4,500 registered bidders, coming from all fifty states and fourteen countries.
The Saturday auction is commonly known as 'Shatterday', referring to the frequent record breaking sales happened during that day.
Prices for collector cars ranged from about $10,000 to well into the millions:
- $5,000,000 for a one-of-a-kind 1966 Shelby Cobra 427 S/C "Supersnake" (2007 auction).
- $4,000,000 for a 1950 Futurliner "Parade of Progress" tour bus (2006 Auction).
- $3,000,000 for a 1954 Oldsmobile F-88 concept car (2005 Auction).
- $2,800,000 for a 1954 Pontiac Bonneville Special concept car (2006 Auction).
- $2,000,000 for a 1932 Hispano-Suiza J12 Binder (1990 Auction).
- $2,000,000 for a 1938 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante (1990 Auction).
- $2,000,000 for a 1970 Plymouth Hemi Cuda convertible
- $1,600,000 for a 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe "Rondine" Concept Car (2008 Auction).
- $1,242,000 for a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle LS6
- $1,100,000 for a 1957 Jaguar XKSS roadster
- $1,100,000 for a 1929 Ford 4-AT E Tri-Motor Airplane (2009 Auction).
- $1,000,000 for a 1928 Duesenburg J Dual Cowl Phaeton (2008 Auction).
- $1,000,000 for a 1952 Chrysler D'Elegance concept car
- $1,000,000 for a 1953 Chevrolet Corvette
- $1,000,000 for a 1954 Dodge Firearrow II convertible concept car
- $1,000,000 for a 1954 Dodge Firearrow IV convertible concept car
- $1,000,000 for a 1993 Hummer H1 used by CNN in War in Iraq (2007 auction).
The auction had over $100 million in sales.
Many celebrities attended the event, putting their own possessions up for auction. They included Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, Jay Leno, Billy Corgan of the former Smashing Pumpkins, baseball player Reggie Jackson, Randy Johnson, DMX, Carroll Shelby, Bill Goldberg, Tony Stewart, and Jesse G. James.
Commissions
Organizer charges premium over final bidding cost from successful bidder and consigner for any item.
| Year | On-site Buyer | Absentee Buyer | On-site Automobilia Buyer | Absentee Automobilia Buyer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -2006 | 8% | 12% | 15% | 17% |
| 2007- | 10% | 12% | 15% | 17% |
| Year | Consigner |
|---|---|
| -2009 | 8% |
TV coverage
Speedvision has started live broadcasting the auction since 1997, produced by Lingner Group Productions, Inc. In addition, there are other derivative programmes based on the auction.
- Barrett-Jackson Car Search (2004): A contest between teams to find old cars, restore them, then sell the cars in Barrett-Jackson auctions.
- Barrett-Jackson – Life on the Block (2005-): A show produced at the time of the auctions, covering people involved in the auctions.
- Barrett-Jackson ON THE ROAD (2006-): Craig Jackson and SPEED Channel staff introducing collector vehicles in automobile shows. Craig Jackson also appraises vehicles on stage.
- Barrett-Jackson THE ROAD TO LAS VEGAS (2008-): Preview of the vehicles in the first Barrett-Jackson Las Vegas auction.
During auction broadcast, SPEED Channel also offers Hagerty Fantasy Bid, a game which involves viewers closely matching the price of the upcoming fantasy car without going over, before the actual bidding of the car. Tie breakers are determined by the time of the bids. Points and prizes are awarded to individual car winners, daily winner, and auction winner.
Barrett-Jackson Auction records
Scottsdale, Arizona
| Year | Item | Cost (in US dollars, before buyer premium) |
| 2005 | 1954 Oldsmobile F-88 General Motors concept car | $3,000,000 |
| 2006 | 1950 General Motors Futurliner "Parade of Progress" tour bus | $4,000,000 |
| 2007 | 1966 Shelby Cobra 427 "Super Snake" owned by Carroll Shelby |
$5,000,000 |
| 2008 | 1963 Chevrolet Corvette "Rondine" concept car | $1,600,000 |
| 2009 | 1929 Ford 4-AT-E Tri-Motor NC9612 | $1,100,000 |
Palm Beach, Florida
| Year | Item | Cost (in US dollars, before buyer premium) |
| 2005 | 1953 Buick Roadmaster 4 door sedan owned by Howard Hughes |
$1,500,000 |
| 2006 | 1947 Bentley Mark VI coachworks by Franay |
$1,600,000 |
| 2007 | 2007 Chip Foose custom coupe built to buyer's specification |
$300,000 |
| 2008 | 1965 Chevrolet Chevelle Super Sport (with Regular Production Option code Z16 "SS396" performance and appearance package) 2 door hard top owned by Dave Miner |
$177,000 |
| 2009 | 1969 Chevrolet Camaro RS/SS custom 'Project American Heroes'[2] | $500,000 |
Las Vegas, Nevada
| Year | Item | Cost (in US dollars, before buyer premium) |
| 2008 | 2006 Ford Mustang GT custom owned by Funkmaster Flex |
$300,000 |
Lawsuits
At the 2007 Scottsdale auction, after the last authenticated Ramchargers (a former drag racing team that had been staffed by Chrysler Corporation employees) race car had been sold for $300,000, owner David Clabuesch accused the auction company of ending the auctioneering prematurely, resulting in a lower than expected sale price. After the sale, Barrett-Jackson sued Clabuesch for "outrageous and defamatory actions," including chaining the car's wheels at the auction tent and putting up a sign calling its sale "void".[3][4] On January 10th, 2008, Barrett-Jackson announced a settlement had been reached three days earlier. In the settlement, Clabuesch exonerated Barrett-Jackson of all allegations of wrongdoing in relation to a situation that occurred at the company’s Scottsdale event in January 2007.[5]
Controversies
During the 2007 Scottsdale auction, Keith Martin, editor of Sports Car Market and a former member of Speed Channel's on-air commentary team for the auction, was ejected from the auction by Barrett-Jackson. At the time Martin was ejected, Sports Car Market had run unfavorable editorials and articles concerning Barrett-Jackson, and during the auction Martin allegelly made comments about the state of affairs of the company; according to Barrett-Jackson, he told people in the media center to leave B-J and attend the auction of a competitor.[6][7]
References
- ^ azcentral.com
- ^ 'Heroes' Camaro Hits $500,000 at Barrett-Jackson
- ^ Car drama has Barrett-Jackson suing seller
- ^ Barrett-Jackson Auction Co. v. Clabuesch
- ^ Barrett-Jackson Auction Company Announces Settlement of Defamation Suit
- ^ Golfen, Bob "Collector-car writer ejected from show" The Arizona Republic January 19, 2007 http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0119auction0119martin.html
- ^ Gritzinger, Bob "You're Outta Here - Old cars guru gets the boot from Barrett-Jackson" AutoWeek January 29, 2007 http://autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070129/FREE/70129002&SearchID=73271143407621
External links
- Barrett-Jackson Auction Company homepage
- Barrett-Jackson Auction Company Official Store
- SPEED Channel Barrett-Jackson homepage
- Comer, Colin "Russian Roulette with a Full Clip" one of the offending Sports Car Market article that resulting in Keith Martin being ejected
- Martin, Keith "Beanie Babies and Muscle Cars" another of the offending Sports Car Market articles
See also
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