The Scottsdale Barrett-Jackson Auction
 

Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends, we're so glad you can attend, come inside, come inside. So goes the Emerson, Lake, and Palmer song, but you can't escape the feeling of a big-tent revival when attending the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona.

For the past 33 years, the Barrett-Jackson organization has quietly built up quite a following in the Arizona desert, offering the people what they want: a chance to own the car of their dreams. At one time, all it took was a sharp eye and some cash. But nowadays, the Barrett-Jackson auction has become something else completely: an extravaganza.

With huge white circus tents popping up out of the desert floor the gathered crowd is enthusiastic and close to the action, and, as the bids get higher and higher, they get caught up in the sights, sounds, and smells of beautiful cars rolling across the auction block. Large amounts of money will do that to people.

When one of the cars exceeds its pricing expectations, the people begin to applaud and offer up shouts and whistles when the sold hammer finally falls. The auctioneer sounds like he's speaking in tongues--a rapid-fire method of driving up the prices while spotters work the crowd like someone possessed, arms flailing about and with quick, jerky moves, all in an effort to translate the potential buyer's offer back up to the stage.

Many kit and repli-car builders and manufacturers attend this event, some with booths to show their wares. And the amount of money flowing through this venue is nothing short of astonishing. With cars on the block selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars, many in the crowd didn't think twice at dropping $80,000-100,000 for a repli-car built to their particular tastes.

Once the domain of the Duesenberg and Packard crowd, the auctions now attract 50- and 60-year-olds with a large amount of disposable income. They don't want their father's cars, they want muscle-cars, and are willing to set spending records to get what they want. And the Cobra, Daytona, and Vette kit builders were more than happy to discuss future customers' wish lists with them.

It's hard not to get caught up in the moment, either. If you sell a car there, they automatically give you a voucher for that amount so you can possibly spend it sometime during the show. And, by getting 8 to 10 percent of the sale from both the buyer and seller as commission, the Barrett-Jackson organization must now be drowning in cash.

There are several ways to determine if an auction is considered successful, and the Barrett-Jackson auction hits on all eight cylinders. The total dollar amount for cars and paraphernalia sold (878 lots in 2005) was $61,687,526, with one car selling for a cool $3,240,000.

The One-of-a-kind Oldsmobile concept car got the record bid at the Barrett-Jackson auction on January 29, 2005. The 1954 Oldsmobile F-88 grabbed an all-time record at the Collector Car Auction in Scottsdale, Arizona, with a winning bid of $3,240,000—including bidder's fees. The General Motors concept car lasted through a fierce bidding war to become the highest selling car ever at the Barrett-Jackson auction, besting a 15-year record of $2 million for a 1932 Hispano-Suiza J12 Binder.
 

While most of its brethren were destroyed after their debuts at GM's Motorama shows, the gold-toned Olds survived this fate to become one of the most historically significant vehicles of its era," said Craig Jackson, president and CEO of the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction. "Many automobile historians consider the roadster to be one of the greatest expressions of automotive design to ever come from North America."
 

The seller of the F-88 was Gordon Apker, an avid classic car collector and member of the advisory board for the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.
 

Built for the 1953 Detroit Auto Show, the F-88 was Oldsmobile's answer to the Chevrolet Corvette. The Corvette had just been introduced, featuring a 6-cylinder engine, 2-speed automatic transmission and no windows. Meanwhile, the F-88 sported an Oldsmobile Rocket 88 V8, 4-speed Hydramatic transmission, and power windows and door latches. Designed by Harley J. Earl, the F-88 was roughly the same size as a Corvette and sporting a fiberglass body, the F-88 is considered by many to be the epitome of automotive forward-thinking of the 1950's, with its open top and lightweight structure.
 

"This car would have outsold the Corvette, and would have changed history," claimed Apker. With its lightweight fiberglass body, it would have out-performed the Ford Thunderbird as well as the Corvette. However, because Chevrolet had so much clout at the time, being the producer of more General Motor's products than any of the other divisions, it was able to convince the board of directors at General Motors to kill the Oldsmobile project, and as a result the F-88 was never built.
 

According to Apker, GM officials ordered Oldsmobile management to destroy the F-88, along with all plans and documentation. The collector said there were actually two concepts built, but one burned when the engine caught fire and no one could figure out how to open the hood and extinguish the flames. Meanwhile, some of the Oldsmobile executives could not bring themselves to destroy the product of 18 months work, so they ended up selling the car and design to E.L Cord. Cord's plan for recreating the car ended when financing for the project fell through.

Passed among a number of different owners, the F-88 eventually ended up in Apker's possession. In the latter part of the 1990s he leased the concept to Oldsmobile for their year-long centennial celebration, and while showing the car it became damaged in transit. The GM division then paid to have the car restored, so Oldsmobile ended up completing work on the car they had started almost 50 years earlier.

In Scottsdale the winning bidder fended off strong counter-bids from Tennessee Collector Allan Jones to become the proud owner of this one-of-a-kind beauty, and at the same time stepped into the pages of Barrett-Jackson auction history as well.

The event is televised on the SPEED channel, and the show is immensely popular, and followed even by those without a thin dime to spend on a car. That non-car buyer can be found in the thousands at the auction, as the event has become a "must-attend" for many. Overcrowding is now a real problem for the show, as parking lanes in and out of the event are constantly cram-packed. But once inside, there is much to see and do, even if you don't have a bidder's badge.
 

If you want to stay home you can watch the coverage on Speed TV you will hear technical commentary by Mike Joy of NASCAR and Steve Magnante who was the Editor for HOT ROD magazine. You will be able to witness the bid raise all the way to hammer time and watch the cars roll away with a new owner. Celebrities are commonly seen buying and selling. Most notable are Billy Gibbons, Alice Cooper, Sammy Haggar, Bob Seger, Tony Stewart, Joe Amato, Reggie Jackson, Bill Goldberg, Chip Foose, Boyd Coddington, Linda Vaughn, Paul Teutul Sr., Paul Jr. From American Chopper, Rich Christensen from PINKS, Courtney Hansen from Overhaulin, and more.

"My personal favorites include, the Alloway 57 Chevy (another Tennessee Great), the dead sled C cab hotrod hearse, the 55 Buick special, the blastolene, and of course the ‘09 ZR1"
 

Alice Cooper will be selling a 1955 Mercedes-Benz gullwing with a GM 5.3 engine and automatic transmission the week of January 12-20 2008. We love to listen to Alice on his late night radio show Nights With Alice Cooper while we burn the midnight oil here at Speed Engineering. Nights With Alice Cooper is broadcast locally on 103.5 WIMZ

Some have said one of the four best salesmen is from Tennessee and his name is Jack Daniels. The other three are Jim Beam, Johnny Walker, and Jose Cuervo. One couple from Tennessee liked the show so well they named their twins after it... Barrett and Jackson Phillips.

Thank you for visiting Speed Engineering and Dyno's Barrett-Jackson Section. We hope this site will help to show you what we can offer for your late model car or truck. We offer many different services ranging from tune-ups to full performance engine builds. If you want the best service and tuning possible, then give us a call or send an e-mail. We will be more than happy to get you a quote on any part or talk with you about a full package. No matter what, Speed Engineering can meet your needs. Whether it is an aftermarket cold air intake, a Speed Engineering custom built 4" cat-back exhaust, a 400 RWHP bolt-on only X-Package, or a 427+ cubic inch blown monster. You have found the right place!

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