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Is anyone watching the Barrett-Jackson auction tonight?


Lebowski

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It is entertainment pure and simple, I often just leave one of the auctions on while exercising. The commentators try hard but are at a disadvantage: few were there when the car was new so few even seem to know the difference between a distributer and an HEI much less single vs double bump vs straight plug heads or that a gold head valley means 9:1 compression.

Oh well. Shiny/Pretty always sells.

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Guest Dr. Strangelove

I will give credit where credit is due. That is, the broadcast crew stays largly intact from year-to-year, auction-to auction and they rarely repeat their mistakes. Taking the whole broadcast into perspective, they are the highlites.

Now Miss Maximum, or whatever her name is, she needs to go and take the Tweeter, social media overload too .....

Edited by Dr. Strangelove (see edit history)
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Guest Jim_Edwards
It is entertainment pure and simple, I often just leave one of the auctions on while exercising. The commentators try hard but are at a disadvantage: few were there when the car was new so few even seem to know the difference between a distributer and an HEI much less single vs double bump vs straight plug heads or that a gold head valley means 9:1 compression.

Oh well. Shiny/Pretty always sells.

Right on two major factors. The auctions have become entertainment. Second, it appears that most of the buyers are simply buying looks.

I would seriously question if most of the bidders know a great deal about the nature of cars they bid on beyond looks and the period those looks may represent. It would seem those auctions have attracted a class of seller/restorers that have taken what may have been a really nasty project car, dumped enough money into them to make them look good enough that some nit-wit with more money than brains will bid them up to figures the car does not deserve.

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Auction Fever is a very real phenomenon. It's both fascinating and frustrating for me as a dealer to see it. It definitely happens that a guy will want a car, and can easily talk himself into "just a few more dollars," or "one more bid." They figure they're already into it, another few thousand bucks won't really matter. Of course, there's that manly competition thing going on, too--you don't want the other guy to get the better of you, don't want him thinking you can't afford it, right? So the cars go for a few thousand more than they should because you have guys with admittedly big egos trying to buy something they want and trying to prove themselves without even realizing they're doing it.

Then there's the fact that there's A LOT of alcohol flowing through the place. Drinks are ridiculously cheap--or even free!--for a reason. None of you have ever taken home a girl who didn't quite look like you expected the next morning? ;)

And finally, you do have a small handful of guys who just do it because they love to and the money doesn't matter at all. $50,000 for a Model A? Meh, I like the car and I can find that much money under the cushions of my sofa. Of course, when it comes time to sell, they always forget that they over-paid and figure that they should get their money back +20% on something that they were, by definition, the person willing to pay the most.

The smart buyers go to auctions looking for bargains, and they're out there, but they have to be cold and calculating. Set your number and walk away when it gets there. Like gambling, you just have to know your limit and then shut it off. But also like gambling, that's really, really, really hard to do in the heat of the moment when your heart is racing, you're pumped on adrenaline, and you can almost taste the thing for which you're lusting. It's extremely hard for the average guy to shut it off in the heat of battle.

And don't think for a minute that the auction companies don't know all of this and exploit it as much as humanly possible.

On the other hand, when they come to buy a car from me, well, they only start at the asking price and work down, which is exactly the opposite of an auction. If I ran my business like an auction, I'd be bankrupt in a month. Yes, sir, the price is $50,000, but it'll cost you $55,000 (with buyer's premium) to own it. Holy crap, I can't believe people actually fall for that scam!

Fascinated and frustrated, that's me.

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Straight Shooter...if you think the price for that Gull Wing was high then you might go into complete shock as an alloy bodied 55 sold for 4.6 million this weekend as well. Prices on Gull Wings have been very strong for awhile.

Matt...Alcohol and bidding would not be something I would recommend to most people! I am sure more than a couple let their drinks do the talking. However, calling buyer premiums a scam is not fair. Everyone knows upfront about the premiums so it hardly can be defined as a scam. You and I simply do not have to participate if we do not like. I always try to remember what my total cost is when I bid on something that has a premium (hard to do!)

Most of the B-J auction hold mild interest for me as there are only so many Corvettes, Mustangs, Chevelles, etc that are modified or stock that I can look at. However, their attempt at bringing back the big time cars held a lot of interest for me and it was fun to watch.

It was also great to see some serious, serious money raised for legitimate charities. It is very hard to raise money for many concours and along comes an auction like this and they hit home runs. The guy who donated the 1.5 million or so could not have had had room for one more pen in his pocket! Next year he had better wear a shirt with two pockets if he has any money left!!:)

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The dart board keeps moving on all my Fantasy bids! Got within $1,000 on the Alice Cooper Mustang when the bidders ran out of money. Great fun to watch, the new guy Steve just mentioned was a class act, nice to see him win so many charity cars. Not to knock the guy but couldn't Jay Leno place a car up for auction an not a garden tractor?

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The dart board keeps moving on all my Fantasy bids! Got within $1,000 on the Alice Cooper Mustang when the bidders ran out of money.

Good for you on the Mustang, my bidding did not improve much. Even with a limited amount of research I still could not hit them reliably. I got 40 points (within 20%) on the barn find Shelby and the Saleen Mustangs and barely missed that on the custom F100, all cars not my specialty. When I saw the 1960 Bonneville convertible (one photo on my smartphone) I thought great, of all cars I can bid this one on the fly. I know the cars, the features, the cost, their status in the Pontiac community, and as a Saturday night prime time car it must be a premium car. $95,000 easy at such an event.

It sold for $65,000 and I got no points--I just can't win. Kudos to the guesswork on those who are leading the board, I do not know how they do it.

Right now I am watching the MG GT bid to $34,000, must be a new record and from a crowd not known for loving import sports cars. Who knows? Todd C

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By the way, I would like to add that whoever picks the Fantasy Bid cars does pick a diverse mix. We here (especially me) grumble about all the Corvettes, Camaros and street rods, but picking the bid cars they really do have variety, a good job on that, Todd C

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Hi Bob;

This is fun, especially, today! I got my 80 points for being within 5% on the MG, and now telling myself I Might ;) have a chance for the daily win, with only TWO

cars for the whole day, if I can score high on the next and final one. I bet the second one does not come up until the last half hour or even later, and I might not see it:eek:

Laughingly, yesterday, I missed a COUPLE of cars by $100,000, and that includes Over AND Under! My wife is laughing and enjoying this.

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Hi Bob;

This is fun, especially, today! I got my 80 points for being within 5% on the MG, and now telling myself I Might ;) have a chance for the daily win, with only TWO

cars for the whole day, if I can score high on the next and final one. I bet the second one does not come up until the last half hour or even later, and I might not see it:eek:

Bob, do you know what were the feature cars (which I missed) last night between the 1960 Bonneville and the Alice Cooper Mustang?

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Hi Poci;

There were only two Fantasy Bid cars in between those two;

1. The 1969 Dodge Charger 2-door ("General Lee") Bid to $110,000 which is the Fantasy Bid #. (but with the buyer's premium, was $122,000) I was 100K Off! @ 235,000 and a bit surprised since the last General Lee at BJ got around $450,000!, and I follow them, since my son has a near perfect one. Going by it's claimed history as the first Original one and subsequent crash and trash, I would "guess" they would have had to replace "a Lot" of the original parts, to get to the auction condition at BJ..

2. 1960 Corvette Custom Roadster (Lot # 1300) bid to $135,000 (Acutual sale price, with buyer's premium- $148,500-which is quite a boost!) (I guessed $122,000 worth 60 points :))

Edited by memaerobilia (see edit history)
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Hi Poci;

There were only two Fantasy Bid cars in betwen those two;

1. The 1969 Dodge Charger 2-door ("General Lee") Bid to $110,000

2. 1960 Corvette Custom Roadster (Lot # 1300) bid to $135,000

Thanks. I probably would have defaulted to $100,000 on the General Lee and been close. The Corvette I would have remembered the one for $325,000 Friday night and been over.

Just a little tip to thank you, the Lincoln Derham sold for $23,000 at auction a year ago. Todd C

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Hi

Does anyone know what the 39 Buick indy pace car went for ? That car was at the RM Auction at Hershey in 2011.

Al Storrs

Whoever bought this got a great deal. I know the restorer well and we used to take this car out for a run once in a while a few years back. Spoke to him today and he says it was a model 80C (restored in 1991) and they only made 3 convertibles in 1939. Supposedly they made around 31 81C convertibles in 1939.

post-30758-143138810649_thumb.jpg

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Hi Todd; Thanks

Wish I had seen your old value on the Lincoln before I bid. But even THEN it may not have lowered my bid of $45,000. You cannot get mad at these things, or try to justify or complain. It WAS a lot of fun, and because of the contest, my wife did not object to leaving the auction on all last night and today. and she even enjoyed rooting for me (us). Great idea by B-J. The more I Missed by, the more we laughed!

I swung and I MISSED on the Lincoln. I can only laughingly try to calculate that such a unique car with some good history brought so much less than a old ford Pickup truck,, and some real "dogs" bought a lot more. I'm happy for the buyer, though.:)

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Hi Poci;

There were only two Fantasy Bid cars in between those two;

1. The 1969 Dodge Charger 2-door ("General Lee") Bid to $110,000 which is the Fantasy Bid #. (but with the buyer's premium, was $122,000) I was 100K Off! @ 235,000 and a bit surprised since the last General Lee at BJ got around $450,000!, and I follow them, since my son has a near perfect one. Going by it's claimed history as the first Original one and subsequent crash and trash, I would "guess" they would have had to replace "a Lot" of the original parts, to get to the auction condition at BJ..

The guy who won the auction for the General Lee was pro golfer Bubba Watson....

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You cannot get mad at these things, or try to justify or complain. It WAS a lot of fun, and because of the contest, my wife did not object to leaving the auction on all last night and today. and she even enjoyed rooting for me (us). Great idea by B-J. The more I Missed by, the more we laughed!

I should try your system here at my house. My wife is normally unhappy with my grumbling at the TV about the auction and it's..(ahem)..showmanship. This time she was MORE unhappy at my newfound determination to follow along for an entire weekend. That is why I missed the General Lee and the Corvette--I agreed to go out to dinner and a movie as a gesture of togetherness (while trying to sneak in bids on my smartphone connection).

To lebowski, I ended up with 400 points but considering the amount of effort I put in that is a disappointment. BUT now I will be back if they do it again at Palm Beach in April. Looks like the Fantasy Bidding sucked in this critic....Todd C

PS--I do wish they would schedule more of the bids on Sunday though...

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....................I agreed to go out to dinner and a movie as a gesture of togetherness (while trying to sneak in bids on my smartphone connection)....

"What honey? What? Do you think I can, like, just bring football scores and video to my cell phone, like just out of the air?" :D

You guys are something.:cool:

W.

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I stopped watching after the short wheelbase Lincoln sold, staying at any party to the very end puts a sad ending to it, I'd rather remember things as they were rolling along, the 2013 event will be here in no time. Thanks Barrett-Jackson I had a great time!Bob

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"A LOT of alcohol flowing through the place. Drinks are ridiculously cheap--or even free!--"

I don't know what Barrett-Jackson charges, but RM wanted $12 for a glass of wine at Hershey. You won't get me drunk that way!

Phil

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Actually their closing thoughts were to my liking. The announcers said a few words to the effect that to those who think the event is decadent they would encourage them that you do not have to spend big bucks but can come and find something for as little as $3000-$4000 and enjoy participating in the hobby yourself. I do not remember seeing that $3000 car, but the message is one I have been trying to spread over the years and I appreciated the sentiment. Todd C

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I do have another question for those also watching. The announcers kept referring to each other's car guy credentials, do we know what their interests are? Sounded like Mike Joy is a collector. Todd C

Mike Joy is the main announcer at NASCAR Sprint Cup races. He wasn't there on Thursday and Friday because he was the MC at the NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony which was taped in Charlotte, NC on Friday and is airing tonight from 6-9 PM ET on the Speed Channel. I think most or all of the other guys work for various car magazines and all own at least a few classic cars....

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Guest Dick Whittington

You could have watched the live streaming from the BJ website. No senseless drivel to listen to. I have TV sound muted most of the time and listen to the auction on the internet. Nothing like being there, but I due to business commitments, I was unable to go this year

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Here is some info of the Connecticut native. Mike Joy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:)

Mike Joy is the main announcer at NASCAR Sprint Cup races. He wasn't there on Thursday and Friday because he was the MC at the NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony which was taped in Charlotte, NC on Friday and is airing tonight from 6-9 PM ET on the Speed Channel. I think most or all of the other guys work for various car magazines and all own at least a few classic cars....
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I found it a bit more ejoyable than past B-J auctions. I don't get annoyed when the announcers say something obvious or silly, keeping in mnd that "I" only know about SOME cars, and they cannot possibly know EVERYthing, about EVERY car, or even TYPE of car. And they are paid to keep talking..I DID find it annoyingly pretentious to have the 5000 Series, Reserve cars announced and presented in a thick British Accent. Especially since most of these were GREAT AMERICAN historic Classics. If you turned off after the last Fantasy Bid car, Bob, there were still a surprising amount of cars to follow that went through the 100K barrier. I would have turnned it off, too, but had it droning on in the background, while scanning old aviation photos at my computer. Best thing was the impression that they will be bringing back MORE Great American pre-War Classics next time, since they were pleased with the "action" on them, this year.

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Best thing was the impression that they will be bringing back MORE Great American pre-War Classics next time, since they were pleased with the "action" on them, this year.

Hi Joe, I heard them say that too and I am glad to hear it, always glad to see more of them. I also thought their prices seemed pretty strong, did you see who was buying them and what kind of buyer they were, i.e. middle age, elderly, museums, dealers, etc? Todd C

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[quote=memaerobilia;986576I DID find it annoyingly pretentious to have the 5000 Series, Reserve cars announced and presented in a thick British Accent. Especially since most of these were GREAT AMERICAN historic Classics.

__________________________________________________________________________

If you didn't like that thick British accent, you probably wouldn't have liked the dialect of the members who signed the Declaration of Independence either. Perhaps you prefer the dialect my grand kids have picked up on the street. Now where is my bar of soap???

D.

Edited by helfen (see edit history)
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