Did you watch the Barrett Jackson auction? I did, and I noticed an odd phenomenon, the huge number of perfect specimens of the same “rare” cars. A great example was the continuous stream of 427/435 horsepower mid sixties Corvettes. Now those are supposed to be a bit scarce, but there were so many coming across the block the announcers were having a hard time coming up with reasons why this particular one was special. Hmm … This one’s special because it’s blue, or this one because it had an automatic or this one was a true “radio delete” car or what … special because it was built on Tuesday?
Barrett Jackson does something, if you’re paying attention, similar to what the Internet did compared to local classified ads. A particular vehicle might be rare in your area but with a bit of money chasing those vehicles they come out of the garages in droves. The people on the scene get into a buyer’s frenzy and spend ridiculous sums of money when a bit of reflection would have them asking themselves, “What the Heck am I doing?”
Everyone who has that sort of money can spend it as they wish but sometimes they might be buying an illusion of rarity, sort of like the retail store that only has one of something on display and as soon as a buyer takes it home the store digs another one out of the case in the back room.
aaron says
the other day, ten minutes apart, two hemi baracudas went for $600,000+. funny thing is, they were the same triple black color scheme, and i think they were the same year! (yeah, baby. it’s rare… wait a sec, i’m parked next to another one…) this’ll end up like the 80’s ferrari boom. in 20 years the really rare models will still get top buck, but the somewhat rare ones will be more in line with reality.
Ty says
I was at Barrett Jackson this year and cannot agree more with the hype around “rare” cars, and the dollars museums, collectors, and the “better half” will pay once they get a bit “liquored up”. Back in 99 when I attended, Ferraris were the vogue, and after hearing the sound of a V-12, I was hooked. But these are also limited production exotics who one would think would hold their value forever. That said, I saw a total of 3 at BJ this year. The big hitters were the better than new Mopars, and the big block Chevies (Corvettes, Chevelles, etc.). Looks like the muscle cars are back with a vengeance, and I have to think that they will stay in vogue for quite some time. Why? There are still a lot of us out there that wanted one of these as a kid and couldn’t get one until now. And with the growing aftermarket segment supplying quality repro parts, even a shell of a car can be recreated into better than new showroom condition. Will the prices hold? In my view, the BJ prices are out of this world, and the hype around this event elevates prices that are not reproducible in other retail segments or other auction events. Case in point..I also attended the Russo & Steele auction in Scottsdale (held the same time as BJ). Just as many quality muscle cars, not as inflated of prices, and I didn’t have to worry about losing my wife in the crowds! You could view the cars for $10 or pay to get a bidders pass and then watch the auction. It cost me $40 dollars to get into BJ alone. Next year I will attend Russo&Steele again, and possibly Silver and RM, but I am done with BJ….The real question is after the muscle car hype, “what is next”? Ricers, Euros????