(Initially published in February, 2016)
It was fun to be housebound in late January. With chilly temperatures, snow and wind making the option of doing outdoors yard tasks only a winter-time dream, I was happily stuck indoors glued in my recliner in front of the flat screen.
For days on end the melodic banter of professional auctioneers’ voices filled my living room. There were two major automotive auctions that were televised in January.
Mecum Collector Car Auctions, headquartered in Walworth, WI, started the winter auction parade in mid-January at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Florida.
Dana Mecum’s first auction event took place in 1988 at Illinois’ Rockford Airport. Despite a brief visit by a tornado that played havoc with the event’s display tents, the event was a success.
Now, one of the best-known and successful automotive auction houses in the country, Mecum Auction has earned a reputation for delivering quality cars, great customer service and high-energy auctions to collector car crowds throughout the year, in locations across the United States.
At the Mecum’s televised auctions Dana, and his son Frank can be seen working the crowds, encouraging reluctant bidders to loosen their purse strings and place one more bid on a desirable vintage car up on the auction stage.
The Mecums started out as a small business buying and selling muscle cars. In the ensuing decades, Mecum Auctions has grown into a leading auction house selling not only muscle cars – still their specialty – but also a variety of collectible vehicles.
In 2009, Mecum made a major decision and joined high-end auction houses like RM, Bonhams, Gooding & Company and Russo and Steele in Monterey, California and held one of its auctions during the week of events that lead up the Pebble Beach Concours.
With that move, Mecum became known not only for selling muscle cars like Mustang, Camaro, Mopar E-bodies and Shelbys but also exotic sports cars, classics and other high-end collector vehicles.
More on Mecum in a moment.
From January 23 to the 31, my TV watching plans shifted from central Florida to Westworld of Scottsdale, a huge venue in Arizona that is the home of the famous Barrett-Jackson auction. Billed as “The World’s Greatest Collector Car Auction,” Scottsdale-based Barrett-Jackson almost defies description.
On display at the Westworld site under huge white tents were thousands of collector cars. Classic beauties like Cadillac V-12s and Packards, American muscle cars and a slew exotic imports like Ferrari and German premium models filled the program listing vehicles for sale. Unlike many auctions, almost all of the Barrett-Jackson consignment cars are offered at no reserve.
Russ and Nellie Jackson and business partner Tom Barrett founded Barrett-Jackson in 1971. Today, Russ and Nellie’s son, Craig who serves as Chairman and CEO, heads the world-class auction house.
Craig, and Steve Davis serving as president since 1996, works hard to keep the annual extravaganza a massive success that attracts each January thousands of consigned vehicles and tens of thousand of interested car enthusiasts, many with money in their pockets.
Unlike most automotive auction events, Barrett-Jackson has made a strong philanthropic commitment. Over $84 million has been raised, with 2015 being especially successful with over $10 million raised for charities.
Both Mecum and Barrett-Jackson have grown significantly in recent years. Mecum Auctions are held not only in Kissimmee but also in cities and towns big and small across the U.S. Coming up will be 500 – 2,000 vehicle events in Kansas City, Denver, Harrisburg and Dallas, to name only a few.
Even my hometown of Lapeer, MI will be the site of a Mecum Auction on June 4. Lapeer resident Charles Schneider will be selling the world’s largest collection of orchard, vineyard and grove tractors.
Barrett-Jackson now holds several auctions outside of Scottsdale. Gambling towns Las Vegas and Reno and Palm Beach will all host a Barrett-Jackson in the months to come.
Both auction houses attract top-end vehicles because both draw active bidders with big pockets. Each year auction prices reach astronomical levels with some vehicles attracting prices in the seven digit figures.
Both auction houses permit owners to place their vehicles with a reserve but that practice appears to me to be more prevalent at Mecum than at Barrett-Jackson. A reserved consignment means that the owner reserves the right to not sell the vehicle if the hoped-for price is not met.
Personally, the excitement level is higher with no-reserve sales because it increases the chance that a very valuable auto may be sold at a rock bottom price. Obviously the bidder hits the jackpot if he or she can acquire a vintage car of their dreams at a price significantly below the expected price point.
Sometime, and this is when an auction is fun to watch, two wealthy bidders want the same car and money is no object. That’s when auction observers witness a so-so vehicle go out the door at a price dramatically higher than normal market price.
No surprise this year - a number of vehicles were sold at record prices. Perhaps the most captivating story for me came out of the Mecum Kissimmee auction. Readers know I have bias for Mopar cars, especially for the E-bodied pony cars offered by Plymouth and Dodge in the late 60s and early 70s.
Nine of the top-10 cars sold at Mecum’s Kissimmee sale were muscle cars. Of these, seven were Mopars. The auction’s top-10 sold vehicles brought in $10,747,500, and Mopar muscle cars accounted for $9,125,000 of the total.
The muscle car that brought top dollar was a low-mileage 1970 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda convertible with a four-speed transmission. Only five ‘Cudas Hemi convertibles were built in 1970 in this engine/transmission configuration. This rarity prompted some lucky buyer to bid an astonishing $2,675,000 for the Mopar!
Giving this ‘Cuda an extra appeal may have been its showy High-Impact Lemon Twist Yellow, Shaker hood with hood pins and a long list of desirable factory options.
It might interest readers that several other E-body Mopars also reached above the $1 million mark. They included both a 1971 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda convertible at $2,300,00 and a 1970 Dodge Hemi Challenger R/T convertible at $1,650,000.
An additional four muscle cars fetched over $500,000 and included a 1971 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda ($950,000), 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 “tanker” ($710,000), 1969 Dodge Hemi Coronet R/T convertible ($625,000) and 1970 Ford Torino King Cobra ($525,000.)
Bidders didn’t have to be a millionaire to pick up a nice car at Mecum, however. A nice 1962 Mercury Comet sold for a modest $5,000 and someone went home with a big 1964 Buick Electra 225 four-door hardtop for only $2,500.
If you have a fat bank account or not, whether you are looking to buy a vintage car or not, attending or watching these popular vintage vehicles are great fun and a perfect way to while away a long winter day.
Forget the stock market. If you want to build a nice retirement portfolio without resorting to Wall Street, look no farther than the collector car hobby. Cars that sold in four figures when new, sold in the five figures twenty years ago are now selling in the seven figures at well-publicized auctions. Case in point: At the recent Kissimmee, FL Mecum Auction, a 1970 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda convertible sold for an astounding $2,675,000! Low mileage and rarity (only five Hemi ‘Cuda convertibles were built) undoubtedly contributed to bidder interest.
(Note: This is not a Z06 Fuelie “Tanker” Corvette)
It can probably be said that just about every Corvettephile in the world would love to have a 1963 Corvette split window coupe. The dramatically new 1963 Corvette coupe was a styling sensation but the spiffy split window feature was eliminated after just one year of production to address complaints of poor rearward vision. Sixty-three 1963 Corvettes were built with 36-gallon gas tanks and were given a "tanker" handle and now fetch big auction prices. At the recent Mecum Auction in Florida, a Z06 fuelie "tanker" Corvette sold for $710,000. "Tanker" Corvettes were built to campaign in SCCA competition races.
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