I believe the auction world has tired of the date-code correct matching numbers BS and resultant fraud that muscle cars bring. The Jerry Seinfeld Porsche mess is a great example. One fraudulent car is now tied up in lawsuits involving three current and previous owners, a classic car dealership and two auction companies. Imagine the legal bills.
The event program for each B-J auction has an editorial "View From the Block" written by Craig Jackson. Here are a few excerpts:
Scottsdale 2019
Now, when you consider the first baby boomers are hitting retirement age we’re seeing another generational shift. The Gen Xers and millennials are gravitating to the cars from the ‘80s and ‘90s with Japanese imports drawing increasing attention. This was very much in evidence at our 2018 Las Vegas Auction where we saw two Toyota pickups from the 1980s and a 1997 Acura Integra Type R set new world records at auction. The Acura in particular caused a stir in the automotive world with the story of its $63,800 sale spreading like wildfire on the internet and social media; our Facebook post about the sale reached nearly 2 million people.
Will Barrett-Jackson still sell prewar classics and muscle cars? Of course - but perhaps just not as many as in years past. I’ve always said that Barrett-Jackson needs to embrace change as the collector car demographic evolves. As a result, you’ll likely see an even wider, more eclectic selection of vehicles cross our auction block in the coming years.
Palm Beach 2019
The collector car market is unquestionably transforming, and we’re embracing it with open arms. It was great seeing people buy vehicles they actually want to go out and have fun with – Broncos, Jeeps, pickup trucks and Blazers. In fact, 10 of the 28 world-record sales we saw at the Scottsdale Auction fell into that category. We had record sales occur on every single day of the auction – another first for Barrett-Jackson.
The generational change in the market was more evident than ever before – everybody noticed it, and our statistics back it up. On top of strong performances in other sectors, the cars that were cool when the Gen Xers and millennials were kids have come on strong, and we are thoroughly welcoming that new dynamic. Those younger generations are purchasing nearly twice as many vehicles as they were five years ago, and the average year of the cars they’re buying has shifted from 1968 back then to 1978 now.
We’ve been very conscious of the changes in the collector car world all along, and continue to build our dockets to meet the shifting demand of younger buyers. Of course, one major trend we’ve been predicting would come to the forefront since they first appeared on our auction block some 10 years ago is Resto-Mods. Over the past two years, there has been a steady increase in not only the quantity of customs/Resto-Mods we’ve sold, but also a boost in value. A total of 161 custom vehicles were on our 2019 Scottsdale docket – an increase of over 87 percent from the 2017 docket – and the average sale price is up by nearly 28 percent. Seeing that distinct generational change take hold was just one of many highlights of the 2019 Scottsdale Auction. I am so grateful for the overwhelming support we received this year.
We were honored to welcome Toyota as a new automotive partner this year, and were thrilled that both they and Ford Motor Company chose to unveil brand-new vehicles at the Scottsdale Auction as they were simultaneously being unveiled at the renowned Detroit Auto Show.
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