Barrett-Jackson is an American auction company in Scottsdale, Arizona. The company specializes in the auction of classic cars and antique cars, and runs collector events in Scottsdale, Palm Beach, Florida, Uncasville, Connecticut and Las Vegas, Nevada.
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History
Russ Jackson and Tom Barrett organized the original auction in Scottsdale, Arizona. Jackson met Barrett through an interest in Barrett's 1933 Cadillac V-16 town car. In 1967, Barrett and Jackson presented a car show called "Fiesta de los Autos Elegantes," a fund-raiser for local charities, including the Scottsdale Library. Then in December, 1971, the two jointly presented a classic car auction, when they auctioned two Mercedes-Benz 770K Phaetons that formerly served as German dictator Adolf Hitler's staff cars. One of the Phaetons more than tripled the previous auction record, selling for $153,200.
Jackson died in 1993, and Barrett in 2004. Russ Jackson's son, Craig Jackson, who had worked actively on a daily basis throughout the year and on-site at the event, took over running the company in 1997, the same year the auction began airing live on the Speed television channel. Internet bidding was also introduced at that time.
Starting at the third annual Palm Beach auction in 2005, the show was renamed from "Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auction" to "Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auctions," followed by the name change in the Scottsdale, Arizona auction in 2006.
Beginning in 2008, a Barrett-Jackson auction also produced in Las Vegas.
From 2010 to 2012 a Barrett-Jackson auction was held in Orange County, California. However, on January 19, 2013, Barrett-Jackson announced it would move from Orange County to Reno, Nevada as part of the city's Hot August Nights event in August 2013. A Barrett-Jackson auction was held in Reno, Nevada until 2015.
On September 26, 2015, Barrett-Jackson announced that for the first time ever, they would have an auction in the Northeast at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. The inaugural auction took place June 23-25, 2016, with the auction block being located inside the Mohegan Sun Arena.
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Auction
Although it is billed as an automobile auction, other items are also sold, including trucks, motorcycles, airplanes, engines, boats and other memorabilia. American car manufacturers have sold several of their first production vehicles of a given model and generation combination, in charity format.
Celebrities who have attended the event putting their own possessions up for auction include Justin Bieber, Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, Jay Leno, Alice Cooper, Gene Simmons & Shannon Tweed, Burt Reynolds, Steven Tyler, Billy Corgan of the former Smashing Pumpkins, baseball players Reggie Jackson and Randy Johnson, DMX, Carroll Shelby, Bill Goldberg, Tony Stewart, and motorcycle customizer Jesse James.
Scottsdale, Arizona
The company's Scottsdale auction currently runs for eight days, including six days of auction, approximately 1000 vehicles, fashion shows, drifting, ride 'n drives, and demonstrations. The auction draws over 200,000 spectators at WestWorld, where the event has been held since 1989. The event was formerly on the Speed Channel. At the 39th annual Scottsdale auction, 40 hours of auction bidding was aired live on the channel. The Scottsdale event acts as the premier auction.
Scottsdale auction sales
Notable sales at the Scottsdale auction have included:
Palm Beach, Florida
In 2003, Barrett-Jackson added a second annual event in Palm Beach, Florida. The auction draws over 50,000 visitors, and approximately 500 vehicles cross the auction block each spring. The event is held for three days at the Americraft Expo Center at the South Florida Fairgrounds and includes auction, ride 'n drives, demonstrations, sponsors and vendors. The Speed channel has been providing TV coverage of the Palm Beach Barrett-Jackson auction since 2002. At the 7th annual Palm Beach auction, 23 hours of auction bidding was aired live on the channel.
Palm Beach auction sales
Notable sales at the Palm Beach auction have included:
Las Vegas, Nevada
In 2008, Barrett-Jackson added a Las Vegas event at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino. The inaugural Las Vegas included 533 collector vehicles, over 50,000 attendants and nearly $30 million in total sales over 3 days. Over 16 hours of live coverage was broadcast on the Speed channel. In 2009, the second annual Barrett-Jackson Las Vegas event had over 51,000 visitors and over $23 million in total sales for 428 vehicles. The Speed channel showed 19 hours of the auction.
Las Vegas auction sales
Notable sales at the Las Vegas auction have included:
Uncasville, Connecticut
In 2013 the Orange County, California auction was moved to Reno, Nevada. After three years, the Reno auction was moved to Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut in 2016. The inaugural "Northeast Auction" at Mohegan Sun took place June 23-25, 2016 and was the first double sellout in company's 45-year history. The auction recorded more than $26 million in sales and set an attendance record at Mohegan Sun with more than 90,000 auction guests. Automobelia sales reached $755,000, a new record for a non-Scottsdale auction, and had six charity vehicles cross the block that helped raise $605,000 for charity.
The second annual Northeast Auction took place June 21-24, 2017
Northeast auction sales
Notable sales at the Northeast auction have included:
Broadcasting
From 1997 through 2013, Barrett-Jackson's auctions were televised by Speed--a relationship dating back to its launch as Speedvision. Its first year featured highlights of the event, but due to popular demand, coverage was expanded into a six-hour live broadcast in 1998, and expanded even further in the years following. The auction's presence on Speedvision continued through its acquisition by Fox Sports and its re-branding as Speed Channel. Following the closure of Speed and its replacement with Fox Sports 1, coverage was spread across several Fox-owned channels, including but not limited to FS1, Fox Sports 2, Fox Business Network, National Geographic Channel, and at the Scottsdale auction in 2013, the over-the-air Fox network as well, from 2013 through 2015.
In 2015, broadcast rights to the events were acquired by Discovery Communications, and coverage moved to Discovery Channel and Velocity beginning at the 2015 Scottsdale auction. Chris Jacobs of Overhaulin' and Ray Evernham of Velocity's AmeriCARna became the main on-air hosts, joined by Rick DeBruhl, Mike Joy, and Steve Magnante as analysts.
Charity work
Since 2006, the company has helped raise more than $94 million. In 2008 it raised nearly $7 million at the three annual events. In 2009 $4.4 million was raised at the Scottsdale auction and over $1.5 million in Palm Beach. Some of the charities that have benefited from Barrett-Jackson are The ChildHelp Foundation, The Darrell Gwynn Foundation, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, The National MS Foundation, The Carroll Shelby Children's Foundation, The Armed Forces Foundation, The Hendrick Marrow Foundation, MLB Charities, The Boy Scouts of America, the EAA Young Eagles, and St. Jude's.
Co-branding and licensing
In 2008, Sherwin-Williams and Barrett-Jackson launched a line of auto paint under the Planet Color brand. The line of 25 colors was sold in NAPA and Sherwin-Williams stores. Branded merchandise and apparel are also licensed, as well as novelties and die-cast toy automobiles.
Company auction records by year
Scottsdale, Arizona
Palm Beach, Florida
Las Vegas, Nevada
- Total price exceeds top bidding price after buyer premium
Orange County, California
Reno, Nevada
Lawsuits
At the 2007 Scottsdale auction, after the last authenticated Ramchargers (a former drag racing team that had been staffed by Chrysler Corporation employees) race car had been sold for $300,000, owner David Clabuesch accused the auction company of ending the auctioneering prematurely, resulting in a lower than expected sale price. After the sale, Barrett-Jackson sued Clabuesch for "outrageous and defamatory actions," including chaining the car's wheels at the auction tent and putting up a sign calling its sale "void". On January 10, 2008, Barrett-Jackson announced a settlement had been reached three days earlier. In the settlement, Clabuesch exonerated Barrett-Jackson of all allegations of wrongdoing in relation to a situation that occurred at the company's Scottsdale event in January 2007.
2007 Sports Car Market dispute
During the 2007 Scottsdale auction, Keith Martin, editor of Sports Car Market and a former member of Speed Channel's on-air commentary team for the auction, was ejected from the auction by Barrett-Jackson. At the time Martin was ejected, Sports Car Market had run unfavorable editorials about the state of the collector car industry and whether some cars were worth the high dollars being spent on them but not mentioning Barrett-Jackson or any other firm by name. During the auction Martin allegedly made comments about company business practices and the quality of cars sold; according to Barrett-Jackson, he told people in the media center to leave B-J and attend the auction of a competitor. He was also dropped as a SPEED TV network commentator, at the request of Barrett-Jackson.
See also
- Auction theory
- Auto auction
- Antique car
- Classic car
- Game theory
- Online auction business model
- Winner's curse
- Most expensive cars sold in auction
References
External links
- Barrett-Jackson Auction Company homepage
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