Final: Barrett Jackson Las Vegas - MotorTrend Magazine (blog)
A year ago, when the Barrett-Jackson folks decided to stage a collector-car auction in Vegas in late October, they had no idea they'd be staring down the eye of a financial tornado. In the shadow of what appeared to be massively bad timing, B-J queued up more than 500 cars for a trip across the block at the Mandalay Bay Resort, Casino, and Events Center last weekend. And classic-car enthusiasts around the world were. Make no mistake: Prices have relaxed to pre 2006-2007 frenzy levels -- not just at this or any single sale, but the market as a whole. Rampant price increases often attract speculators and keep away real enthusiasts -- not my preferred scenario. Some prices may yet fall further, as much uncertainty remains about the prospects for 2009. But the Big Crash that some were predicting. Barrett-Jackson didn't have any million-dollar babies to sell, but it mattered little. interested in (generally) real cars for (generally) real people at (generally) real prices, you would have been a happy camper in Vegas. But the other 90% walked away happy. Muscle Is King -- Barrett-Jackson continues to make its name in hawking American muscle. While there are always splashings of variety, this was a muscle- and ponycar sale. I can't remember ever seeing more '69 Camaros for sale at one place at one time. Source: blogs.motortrend.com
