RM Sotheby’s, Santa Monica, California, June 24, 2017
Yes, that says “RM Sotheby’s”, not Auctions America. Santa Monica was started as an Auctions America sale. Its re-branding as RM Sotheby’s coincides with another RM Sotheby’s schedule change, the elimination of the sale at the Inn at St. John’s in Plymouth, Michigan during the Concours d’Elegance of America. Reasons? Draw your own conclusions from […]
Barrett-Jackson, Northeast, Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, Connecticut, June 22-24, 2017
Barrett-Jackson returned to the Northeast for its second round June 22-24, 2017. A measure of the success of B-J’s foray into New England is the price of admission on Saturday: The same $75 that B-J charges for a Saturday ticket at its original Scottsdale auction at WestWorld. Spectator traffic may have been impeded by a […]
Leake Auctions, Tulsa, OK, June 9-11, 2017
Few collector car auctions have the history of the Leake Auction Company. Begun in the Sixties by James C. Leake, Sr. out of his passion for old cars and particularly Rolls-Royces, it has been continued by his daughter Nancy and her husband Richard Sevenoaks. The third generation, their daughter Audrey and her husband Ty Young, […]
Mecum Auctions, Spring Classic, Indianapolis, Indiana, May 17-20, 2017
Traditionally Mecum Auctions’ headline auction, the Spring Classic has been overtaken by the commercial paroxysm of Kissimmee in January. The Spring Classic this year offered 1,650 cars, well below the 2,663 at Kissimmee (both adjusted for reruns) and with a total of $54 million changing hands, well below Kissimmee’s $84.9 million. The Spring Classic’s $28,600 […]
Auctions America Auburn Spring, May 11-13, 2017
Auburn Spring is a curious phenomenon, growing out of a desire (need?) to utilize the Auburn Auction Park that grew up from the annual Auburn auction over Labor Day weekend. Auburn Spring has never been big, but it’s always been an opportunity to showcase a collection or disposition or two. This year saw two days […]
Worldwide Auctioneers, Dallas (Arlington), Texas, April 21-22, 2017
Worldwide marked its move from the Houston area (Montgomery) to the Dallas area (Arlington) this year by adding a day to its calendar. The Monical collection of no reserve cars filled the added day. It was a challenge for Worldwide which faced established competition in the market from Leake’s three-day sale in downtown Dallas at […]
Leake Auction, Dallas, Texas, April 21-23, 2017
As with many auctions these days, Leake had a powerful contingent of late model cars. 99 of the 430 lots on offer were model year 2001 or later, 23% of the entire offering. The late model vehicles were led, again in common with many recent auctions, by the sale’s top lot, 2014 LaFerrari s/n …205216, […]
The Branson Auction Spring 2017, April 21-22, 2017
The 2017 Spring Branson auction was missing a key element: Mark Trimble. Mark died February 11, probably while planning on doing aerobatics in the air over the Ozarks. He was dedicated to Branson, but more than that to living a good, fulsome, life. He brought the Branson Collector Car Auction to life nearly 40 […]
Mecum Auctions, NRG Arena, Houston, Texas, April 6-8, 2017
Since arriving in Houston in 2012 Mecum has made a splash, then settled down into a consistent $20 million sale. The “splash” came in 2014 when a single Ford GT40 s/n GT/104, brought $7 million hammer, 23% of that year’s total auction handle all by itself. Over the years the consignment has steadily declined until […]
Auctions America, Ft. Lauderdale, March 31-April 2, 2017
It’s difficult to find a collection of cars at auction backed up by a team more enthusiastic than Donnie Gould has at Auctions America. Two weeks after their partners at RM Sotheby’s hit a home run at Amelia Island, Auctions America did the same in Ft. Lauderdale. The cars were mainstream but that didn’t mean […]