Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale - 2016

[XDCX]

It's that time of year again and I'm taking the afternoon off and heading to Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale, AZ.

The weather will be just about perfect - mostly clear with temperatures in the mid-70s.

I'll have my Nexus 6P with me and I'll shoot some pictures and add them to this thread if I see anything interesting.

I'm looking forward to seeing the 2016 Camaro up close and I'm wondering if GM will be using the new Camaro or the Corvette for the "Hot Laps" that they offer to people who have test driven one of their production cars.

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by XDCX

I'm looking forward to seeing the 2016 Camaro up close and I'm wondering if GM will be using the new Camaro or the Corvette for the "Hot Laps" that they offer to people who have test driven one of their production cars.

It turned out that GM was still using the Corvette Z06s for the "Hot Laps" and Ford was using their Mustang and Dodge was using the Viper.

Like the Vegas trip to Barrett-Jackson I took a ride in all three vehicles and had a great time.

Chevrolet had their new Camaro available for test drives and I took advantage of that opportunity. While the test course was super short it was great to see the new Camaro and get a chance to be behind the wheel.

[XDCX]

I'm headed to Vegas for a quick trip and 'm compressed for time so I'll add pictures to this thread on Sunday or Monday.

I didn't take too many pictures but it was cool to see the new Ford GT on display as well as the new Acura NSX - I took pictures of both vehicles.

[steve_biegler]

Travel safe!

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by steve_biegler

Travel safe!

Thanks for the good wishes.

I traveled about 700 miles without any problems or close calls. There's a fair portion of the route that is just a two lane highway with opposing traffic so I'm always glad to make it home in one piece.

The only accident that I saw on the trip was when a younger driver in a Honda Accord didn't slow down for a traffic circle and blew right through it - his car was stuck in the middle of the traffic circle but it didn't appear that there were any injuries. It was night time and I'm betting a lot of other people have done the same thing - the traffic circle is on a highway that has a 65 MPH speed limit. If you're not paying attention to the warning signs and the slower 25 MPH speed limit it would be too late to stop by the time you see the traffic circle.

The only other interesting incident was when I drove by an auto transport truck that was pulled over on the other side of the highway with the fire department and Highway Patrol on site. There were at least two or three of the cars on the transport trailer that were fully burned and there was a haze of black smoke on the horizon that could be seen for miles.

The truck was in perfect shape so the source of the fire had to be within the vehicles that were being transported. It's hard to imagine that a vehicle would just self-ignite but stranger thing have happened.

[steve_biegler]

Have you ever been to the Russo and Steele auction? It was in Scottsdale at the same time. They sold a prototype AMX and I watched it online Saturday night. Looked like a cluster.... Just wondered if you had ever seen one in person.

PS The prototype went dirt cheap, in my opinion. If Chrysler hadn't screwed me I sure would have been a player on the car.

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by steve_biegler

Have you ever been to the Russo and Steele auction? It was in Scottsdale at the same time. They sold a prototype AMX and I watched it online Saturday night. Looked like a cluster.... Just wondered if you had ever seen one in person.

PS The prototype went dirt cheap, in my opinion. If Chrysler hadn't screwed me I sure would have been a player on the car.

I've been wanting to go to the Russo and Steele auction but I missed it again this year. I heard from another "car guy" that it's really enjoyable to attend the R&S auction because the cars they sell and the prices they sell for can be vastly different than what's found at Barrett-Jackson.

Can you elaborate on the cluster...? Did the auctioneer sell the car with a quick hammer or was there some other issue?

[steve_biegler]

Maybe it was just the camera work. Things looked kind of unorganized, they didn't seem to respect the cars, putting paperwork, eyeglasses even a microphone on the roof/trunk while the car was in the ring. I do confess I only watched for about 45 minutes to see the AMX sell. When they sold the AMX, they rolled the car out while the bidding was going on and rolled in a Porsche and someone bid thinking he was on the Porsche, then everything stopped and the seller wanted the higher bid ($2500.00) more before he would sell the car. The bidder would not go the extra money so the owner/manager/ringman/ said he would "put on his big boy pants" and make up the difference to the seller. I guess it just didn't look as professional as Barrett and Mecum do.

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by steve_biegler

Maybe it was just the camera work. Things looked kind of unorganized, they didn't seem to respect the cars, putting paperwork, eyeglasses even a microphone on the roof/trunk while the car was in the ring. I do confess I only watched for about 45 minutes to see the AMX sell. When they sold the AMX, they rolled the car out while the bidding was going on and rolled in a Porsche and someone bid thinking he was on the Porsche, then everything stopped and the seller wanted the higher bid ($2500.00) more before he would sell the car. The bidder would not go the extra money so the owner/manager/ringman/ said he would "put on his big boy pants" and make up the difference to the seller. I guess it just didn't look as professional as Barrett and Mecum do.

Interesting.

In the short time I watched that auction at Barrett-Jackson they had two incidents where they had to back-up the bid. In one case they blamed the situation on a person who was bidding that didn't have credentials and in the other it was blamed on a miscommunication between the ringman and the auctioneer.

Call me a skeptic but I'm betting that at least one of those scenarios the auctioneer was taking bids from "ghosts" and ended up getting caught when he couldn't find a higher bid from a real bidder.

Maybe I'm wrong given that most of the vehicles at Barrett-Jackson sell without reserve but I've watched that happen so often at Mecum auctions it makes me think it's a common practice.

Concerning the AMX, I received your email this morning and I'll add a picture to this thread when I get a chance.

[steve_biegler]

The atmosphere at the auction reminded me of going to a dealer auction back in the day. Lots of guys standing around talking and not really paying attention.

I agree the Mecum auctions get a little old with the "Bid goes on". With that said if you go back to the website a couple days later many of those cars show sold. Again being skeptical I do wonder if they actually sold. The AMX was at Mecum in Chicago a few months ago and didn't sell with a "bid" of 200,000.00. I'm sure the pop machine had the bid at that point. It continued to show "the bid goes on" last time I looked.

I do like the way Barrett Jackson does it. If its there it sells.

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by XDCX

Concerning the AMX, I received your email this morning and I'll add a picture to this thread when I get a chance.

I'm finally getting caught up....

Here's the picture of the AMX Prototype:

Here's a link Steve provided with more information about the car - click here

It's definitely a cool piece of history - I can see how the concept of a "Ramble Seat" would draw crowds at the Auto Shows.

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by steve_biegler

The AMX was at Mecum in Chicago a few months ago and didn't sell with a "bid" of 200,000.00. I'm sure the pop machine had the bid at that point. It continued to show "the bid goes on" last time I looked.

How far did the bid go at the Russo and Steele auction before the bidding was stopped and the next vehicle brought on stage?

Originally Posted by steve_biegler

I do like the way Barrett Jackson does it. If its there it sells.

I agree but I'm sure it's stressful for the sellers.

I have heard that Barrett-Jackson will allow reserves on some vehicles if the gavel price is expected to be $250,000 or higher.

[steve_biegler]

The bid that won the car was 85,000.00. That is with the extra 2500.00 thrown in by Russo and Steele. The final price listed on the website shows a little over 90K. I'm sure that includes all the fees. I thought the price was very cheap considering the history behind the car. But with that being said, it is an AMC and there are not many of us that collect them. I would guess a Mustang or Camaro with this history would be 7 figures.

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by steve_biegler

The bid that won the car was 85,000.00. That is with the extra 2500.00 thrown in by Russo and Steele. The final price listed on the website shows a little over 90K. I'm sure that includes all the fees. I thought the price was very cheap considering the history behind the car. But with that being said, it is an AMC and there are not many of us that collect them. I would guess a Mustang or Camaro with this history would be 7 figures.

That does sound really cheap.

To your point I'm sure the price is reflective of the fact there are not too many AMC collectors.

[XDCX]

I remembered that I never added any pictures to this thread so I thought I'd take a moment and add the few pictures that I took.

I went to the Barrett-Jackson auction with a friend this year and like the last time I did that I found that I didn't spend as much time looking (or taking pictures) of the cars that were of most interest to me.

Here's a picture of the new NSX that Acura had on display:

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The car looked awesome - the color was perfect for a show car in my opinion.

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I'm a big believer in "halo" cars for OEMs and I hope this car lifts the image of the Acura brand.