After more than 11 years in the collector-car auction business, I am amazed by the ability of Mecum Auctions to bring together so many – often numbering in the thousands – of vehicles to each of its many events. I am also amazed at their many auctions held annually, often in secondary markets or cities adjacent to major centers. Given my love of classic rock ‘n roll, Mecum’s strategy vaguely reminds me of that of Van Halen during the late 1970s and early 1980s and their choice of concert locations near, but just outside of major cities. Anyway, Mecum possesses the uncanny ability to hold huge auctions many times annually, and its first sale in Glendale, a Phoenix suburb and home to the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, will likely go down as another Mecum win. While I have yet to attend a Mecum auction, by all accounts from my discussions with industry colleagues, the strategy works and seems to work well for Mecum.
Following on the heels of the week-long Scottsdale, Arizona auctions hosted by Barrett-Jackson, Bonhams, Gooding and Company, RM Sotheby’s, Russo and Steele, Silver, and Worldwide Auctioneers, Mecum’s timing of March 14-17 seems well-calculated. A large auction first planned as a two-day event but soon stretched over four days, Mecum’s Arizona venture promises 1,250 cars and will likely mop up more than a few cars that did not manage to sell in January. While best-known as a purveyor of ’50s cruisers, resto-mods, ’60s muscle machines, and plenty of other automotive categories, Mecum’s Scottsdale-Glendale, Arizona sale will also offer some great prewar Full Classics, including a one-off Duesenberg Model J Torpedo Berline by Rollston, which should receive appreciative bids from those collectors in Arizona with a taste for Classic Era greatness. Of course, Mecum’s docket is chock full of choice muscle cars, modern supercars, racing cars, and custom rides, plus 30 classic motorcycles from the collection of the longtime Harley-Davidson dealer, Buddy Stubbs.
Update: Here’s Mecum’s Top 10 sales (including buyer’s premium), courtesy of Hemmings.com:
1970 Dodge Challenger R/T Hemi Convertible $1,320,000
1932 Duesenberg Model J Rollston Torpedo Berline $880,000
2011 Ferrari 599 GTO $770,000
1970 Plymouth Superbird $357,500
1969 Chevrolet Yenko Camaro $231,000
1967 Ford Mustang “Eleanor” tribute $225,500
1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429 $209,000
2009 Rolls-Royce Phantom drophead coupe $195,250
1962 Chevrolet Corvette $187,000
1989 Ferrari Testarossa $181,500