Barrett-Jackson.....

Well,it's Barrett-Jackson auction time again. This year they are showing it on SpeedTV for 5 days. And already on the very first day, some prime examples of the "More Money than Brains" crowd. (If you are watching, you KNOW what I am talking about... ) But, I suppose that I really shouldn't say that. If someone wants a particular car for some reason,it's definitely their own perogative as to how much they want to pay. But, really. Some of these have been pretty unbeliveable already.


This is normally a Muscle Car/Old Car/Hot Rod/Resto-Rod/Mod crowd. But they always throw in a few Ferrari's as "Fluff". Maybe a Countach or two. Have to see how many,what kind,and what they go for.

This is looking to be a fun week to watch, judging by the kind of money being spent on really unremarkable cars already.

 

They said that there are only 4 Ferrari's entered this year. 4!!!! Then,they went on to say that in 1987,there were over 20 entered. That the market has changed and so on.

I have a Barrett-Jackson preview guide that I recieved in my last issue of Hemmings Motor News. As far as Ferrari's and exotics go. We have listed: Lot#762-A Black 1971 DeTomaso Pantera GTS. Lot#402-A Red 1986 Mondial cab. Lot#969-A Red 1985 "Gray market" Ferrari 308GTSi with 22K miles. Lot#1071-A Red 1980 Ferrari 308 GTBi with under 800 original Miles. Lot#1347-A Yellow 1995 355 Spider.
Lot #1051.1-A White 1985 Lamborghini Countach.

So,seeing as most of the buyers that I see down there now look to be in their 50's and 60's. They are mostly looking for the Muscle cars and 1950-60-70's cars. So,in about 5 years or so,start looking for the Ferrari's and Lambo's again. Thats when the Next Generation of Car guys will be down there. They did not grow up yearning for '69 Camaro's. '70 Boss Mustangs. Or Hemi 'Cuda's. They grew up with Magnum and Miami Vice. And,what else was there to get from the Late 70's-80's and early 90's??? Nothing! Absolutely nothing! But.... Ferrari's, Lambo's, Few Corvettes, Deloreans, Porsche's, Bricklins, Trans Am's, Z-28's, Saleen Mustangs, ETC.....Start stocking up...I'm telling you....

I'm sure that the Muscle cars and Older Corvettes will always be desirable. But,not at the insane prices that they are now. Like,the Auburns, Cords and Deusenburg were back 15-20 years ago. Multi Million Dollar cars then. Some are still very valuable, but most are down into the $100-300K range now.

 

LOL! Yeah,Thats going to be my Summer project. Churning out MOPAR Hemi Clones as fast as I can shove the engines in!..... Then,it's off to B-J next January....

 

I'm sticking a Hemi in my 308....

Yeah,you are definitely right,Rick. But,think about this....You are a Specialty Car Dealer. You have some Friends who are also Specialty Car Dealers. You've got old Mopars and other Old Cars up the wazoo. Just sitting there,day after day. What do you do? You band together,and bring some of your cars to B-J. Then,you all bid super high against each other. Bringing up the prices. Then,next week,these things are practically driving themselves out of your Dealership...at astronomical prices. It can easily be done.

 

Thats right.....Didn't we go through this last year?......LOL!

No, I wanna put in one of those new 572 Cubic Inch "Crate" Hemi's with 1000 Horsepower. I want to make my Prancing Horse gallop....

(BTW....I am just kidding....but, it could be alot of fun!... )

 

True. And, that was a "Gray market Car".

But, as far as Craig Jackson and Ferrari's go....Last year, when they were doing that Barrett-Jackson TV show. He would highlight a future,(in his opinion) Collector Car every week that anyone could afford now. And,one week he did a Black 308. He seemed to really like the cars and didn't say much bad about them. And suggeted buying one as a future collectible.

But, as I said earlier. It is SO easy to manipulate prices through an Auction. Naturally, you do need to have money to do it. And, a bud who does too. But, seeing some of the prices that have been paid for "mediocre" or not rare or particularly Special edition cars. IMO, there are going to be quite a few guys kicking themselves in the ass in the near future for paying what they did. There are too many out there. And,I am going by the prices that I see in such publications as Hemmings Motor News..."The 'Bible' of the Hobby for over 50 years". (As printed on the spine of each issue). DuPont,ETC...

Remember back in the late '80's when some Ferrari's were going for a Million Dollars. Even 308's were up in the $100K range. Then, they all dropped. Think about the guy who paid that kind of money for a car then the price just plummeted. Same thing's gonna happen here with the Muscle cars someday.

Don't get me wrong...I love old Muscle cars. I've owned Several very Cool ones,including a '66 GTO,'68 Fury III,'72 'Cuda,'74 Roadrunner,'67 Chevelle SS,'65 Impala SS, '701/2 Camaro,'81 Z-28,And 7 Corvette's. And,I love 'em all. But,I know what they are. How they drive. Etc...And,other than the really special ones...the Hemi's,the Yenko's,the COPO's,ETC...They aren't worth the kind of money,(to me) that they are going for. And,with the future buyers who never really experienced those cars,the Muscle Car Era,and the future of gasoline powered vehicles. Those cars will be Museum pieces, like the Deusy's, but thats about it. Way too many out there.

I mean,there aren't quite as many '55,'56,'57 Chevy's as there used to be on B-J either. The buyers are getting past that "Era". Sure, there are still a few "Old Timers" there buying the old cars. But not near as many,(Cars or Old timers that like the old cars) as there used to be.

For example. So far on the B-J auction. There have been 5 '69 Camaro Pace Cars. 5!! IMO,5 at one auction does not show much distinction. One would. How many '70 'Cuda's and '69 Camaro's can they show? All of them in the country?....

 

LOL! Yeah, back in High School. My friends and I had some really cool old Muscle cars. That weren't all that old back then. Besides the cars that I had. One other bud had a '70 Super Bee. His bro had a '69 AMX. (and he subsequently owned a '68 and a '70,too. THERE are some awesomely fast little cars....) And a '70 GTX. We had 4 'Cuda's and 1 Challenger between 5 of us at one time. One guy had a '68 and a '70 Charger, and another guy had a '71 Demon. Man,we had some fun. The Elmhurst P.D. had their hands full.... And,that was just our group of guys. There were tons of Gearheads in that town back then.

 

Very Cool assortment! Man, I just LOVE those '69 Daytona Chargers, and '70 Superbirds. IMO,THOSE are the epitome of the old MOPAR Muscle cars.... Definitely wouldn't mind trying to make one someday....(a clone) You can get all of the parts,decals,everything to make just about every type of Muscle Car ever made these days.

But, now that I've passed through the Muscle Cars, the Corvettes. And into Ferrari's and Italian Exotics. Seeing the kind of money that these guys are spending on B-J,to me,is good Ferrari money....