I picked up my press credentials today for what Barrett-Jackson modestly proclaims to be “The World’s Greatest Collector Car Auction.”
By the way, that phrase, “The World’s Greatest Collector Car Auction” is a registered trademark. Given that fact, I think somebody should trademark “The World’s Greatest Collector Car Auction Week” and apply it to what’s going to take place hereabouts in the coming days.
Until that occurs, however, we’ll simply refer to what is about to unfold as Arizona Auction Week, which begins Saturday with the International Classic event at the company’s home grounds in Gilbert, an East Valley suburb of Phoenix, and a Kruse International event that’s scheduled on the west side of town, at the hotel that is part of the complex in Glendale that includes the stadium and arena where the Arizona Cardinals and Phoenix Coyotes play their games.
Barrett-Jackson starts on Monday at WestWorld in Scottsdale, Russo and Steele on Wednesday, and more or less kitty-korner across the highway from Barrett-Jackson, with RM at the Biltmore on Thursday, and Silver at the casino in Fountain Hills and Gooding at the Scottsdale Fashion Square shopping center on Friday.
Yes, that’s seven events, at which something like 3000 collector cars (and trucks and a few boats and even an historic airplane) will be up for auction. Prices will range from hundreds of dollars to more than a million – and, for some vehicles, most likely several million.
Like me, you probably don’t have several million to spend at the auction. In fact, like me, you might not even have several hundred to spend at the auction. But that doesn’t mean we can’t pretend. So let’s pretend: If we could afford it, what would we want to drive home from the auctions?.jpg)
I’ve picked four vehicles, one from each of the major auctions. Here they are:
At Barrett-Jackson, I’d want the 1959 Cadillac Coupe De Ville (right) that was modified by famed industrial designer Raymond Loewy. Loewy disdained big fins and flashy chrome and his transformation of the ’59 Caddy is stunningly sleek and delightfully detailed for its day. (Loewy had the car built in France and used it for a European tour with his wife and daughter, then brought it to the U.S. and parked it at his home in Palm Springs until 1970, when he sold it to a neighbor.
At Russo and Steele, I’d want the 1948 Tucker 48 convertible (left), even if, as some critics contend, the car isn’t really a factory prototype started while Preston Tucker was still building his three-eyed, rear-engined cars.
Tuckers were cherished by car collectors long before Francis Ford Coppola cast Jeff Bridges in the title role of the movie Tucker: The Man and His Dream. Tucker production ended after 51 sedans. This convertible, which rides on chassis No. 57, was either a prototype for an anticipated convertible version or a one-off Tucker was building for his wife, Vera. Regardless, it was not finished until last year, the work being done at Benchmarks Classics, a classic car restoration shop in Madison, Wisconsin.
At RM, I’d want the 1956 Chrysler Plainsman concept car, or maybe the 1954 Mercury XM-800 “dream car,” or maybe the green and copper-colored 1941 Chrysler Thunderbolt concept. Or, hey, since I’m bidding with play money, I’d bring home all three. I know, I said I’d pick one car at each auction. I really like station wagons, and the Plainsman concept something of the ultimate statement of the 1950s family transporter. But if I can pick only one car at RM, it’s the Mercury concept (above), in part because it is gorgeous in a grotesque sort of way, in part because unlike General Motors and Chrysler, Ford did relatively few concept cars in the 1950s.
At Gooding, I’d want the 1948 Cadillac Series 62 custom cabriolet with coachwork by Saoutchik (left). Some might think the amount of chrome and the purple and black two-tone paint job are hideous, but this car is one of just two post-war Cadillacs with bodywork by Jacques Saoutchik, one of the masters of 1930s streamlining.
Those are my selections – for today. A disclaimer: The selections I’ve made are based only on what I’ve seen in the auction catalogs. I’m liable and readily eager to change my mind once I’ve been to each of the auction venues and seen each of the cars in the flesh… oops, I mean in the sheetmetal. I’d post another blog after the auctions and share a new list of what I wish I could have driven home from each.
-- Larry Edsall