The Barrett-Jackson classic car auctions are the most prestigious auctions in the country, televised live, and offering the absolute best, most pristine automobiles which sell for enormous sums. It was my first time attending such an auction, and while I didn't bid on any cars, I took over three hundred photos. Here are the best of them.
The auction was held at the Florida state fairgrounds in Palm Beach. The first thing visitors encounter are new and exotic cars and cars which showcase performance upgrades, like this smoking hot 2014 Corvette convertable
The main auction area is quiet this morning; collectibles are being auctioned off. Once the cars start rolling accross the stage, this area will be jammed with people, the auctions televised live. The bidding reached as high as half a million dollars for some cars.
The auction caller at work; how can anyone understand him?
A close-up of a large neon gas station sign up for auction
There were vendors selling beautifully restored auto collectibles, such as gas station air dispensers, vending machines, and gorgous vintage gas pumps
Beautifully restored vintage gas pumps, whic command a very "premium" price
One of these would make a perfect addition to any car lover's man cave
A service station diagnostic machine. Who would have thought back then that these pieces of equipment would be worth so much?
Pin-up art vendors were represented; here is a nearly completed pin-up art piece by an artist who also does Star Wars book covers and poster art. Note the reference photos around the easel
Outside the exhibition hall, cars line up for inspection by registered bidders. Once cars are under this tent, only bidders can look at them. There isn't a lot of time for inspection before the cars are driven on stage to be auctioned
Cars that are waiting to be auctioned are displayed under six enormous tents, allowing the public to look at them all. Barrett-Jackson staff will drive the cars through the fairgrounds to the bidder inspection tent, before the cars make their appearance onstage for the auction
A classic Masaratti waiting to enter the bidding-inspection area
Grille emblem from a Nash Metropolitan convertable
In the 1950s, Oldsmobile had some of the most beautiful ornamentation of any car manufacturer, as the following pictures demonstrate. Car ornamentation is truly a lost art form
A classic Lincoln Contenental
This is a Messerschmitt micro car. During Word War 2, Messerschmitt made aircraft for the Germans, then briefly dabbled in building cars once the war was over. The aircraft references are obvious, with the cockpit canopy and aircraft-style body. Messerschmitts are very collectible today
The rear of the Messerschmitt micro car. They typically had a tiny, two-stroke engine
A close-up of a Mercury badge on a mid-60s Merc
This car is a survivor of the short-lived television series called B.L. Stryker, starring Burt Reynolds. The show lasted only twelve episodes. This is a heavily modified Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am. Three were made, one was blown up, in an episode, and this is the only one that survived, signed by Burt Reynolds himself.
Even the pickup trucks were classy back then. This is a 1957 Dodge pickup, way too nice to be used for hauling hay.
Rolling, sculptured art, the kind of beauty that is nowhere to be found among today's bland, featureless rolling appliances, which are devoid of style, substance, elegance and craftsmanship.
DeSoto, a divsion of the Chrysler Corporation, was named after the new world explorer. The image of DeSoto, with his iconic helmet, also appears on the steering wheel hub
The dashboard of the DeSoto
An American Motors Rambler, nicely done up in a tiki/surfing motif. A perfect car for a female surfer!
A 1969 Dodge Charger General Lee replica from the television series Dukes of Hazzard, signed by cast members on the glove compartment
A 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air convertable, arguably the most iconic clasic cars of the 1950s, one that symbolized the optimisim, vitality and freedom of postwar America. This one has fuel injection, a rare option for that year. This example will sell for a very large sum.
This twenty-one window 1959 Volkswagen van is absolutely pristine in every way, and sold at the auction for a staggering one hundred thousand dollars. VW vans of this year, with the twenty-one windows, are extremely rare. Even rusted shells sell for large amounts.
The front of this amazing VW bus
This is the inside of the VW bus, which had a sliding sunroof.
A 1970 Dodge Charger that underwent a full frame-off, rotisserie restoration (meaning, the car was put on a revolving rotisserie mount and completely disassembled, every part restored, then put back together). The car was owned by one family and this is the first time it has ever been offered for sale.
The interior of the Charger. Even after a total restoration, it still has the comforting, slightly musty "old car" smell. Intoxicating.
A hood ornament from a Packard in-line twelve cylinder touring car
Auction staff try to get a classic Corvette started to get it to the auction stage. The Corvette doesn't seem to want to cooperate. Sometimes these cars have a mind of their own.
It wants to start...
A 1958 Chevrolet Bel air is driven out of the viewing building toward the bidder inspection area
Hood ornament from a 1930s-era Dodge van, converted into a hearse.
The front of the hearse, complete with funeral flags
Badging from a 1960s Lincoln Continental
The interior of a classic Rolls Royce
The interior of a 1979 Pontiac Trans-Am, the same year, make and model of the kind used in the film Smokey and the Bandit, starring Burt Reynolds. These Trans-Ams go for large sums now, and this one is pristine. This is what Burt Reynolds and Sally Field were looking at when they were filming the movie.
Pontiac reluctantly gave Smokey And the Bandit director Hal Needham three Trans-Ams to use for the film; by the end of the shoot, the last remaining Trans-Am was cobbled together from parts of the other two, wrecked during production. Pontiac's generosity paid off; the movie led to a huge jump in Trans-Am sales.
This monstrosity is an insult to automotive design. My eyes hurt just looking at it. I took a picture of it because words would simply not be enough to describe how utterly ugly this car is.
One of the vendors was selling lifelike figures that are eeerily realistic. Some of them had small motors in them, making them move.
