Car collectors cruise to Vegas for high-end auction

Metro Police officers escort a parade of modern and classic cars down Las Vegas Boulevard during the Barrett-Jackson Road Rally on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2011. The event was part of the 4th annual Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction. The auction takes place Thursday through Saturday at Mandalay Bay Events Center.

2011 Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction

Art Greenberg and Febe Soriano wait for the start of the Barrett-Jackson Road Rally car parade Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2011. Greenberg had the convertible top down on his 2011 Mustang GT, but Soriano protected herself with a hat and parisol. Launch slideshow »

If you go

The first sign of a good car show is when the Jaguars and Bentleys in the parking lot start to look humdrum.

Such was the case Wednesday at Mandalay Bay as a parade of show vehicles, in town and on the road for the Barrett-Jackson car auction, made their way onto the property. There were souped-up Shelbies, classic Corvettes and mint-condition early-model pickup trucks. Decades-old tractor trailers parked next to hopped-up Harleys.

This is the fourth year Barrett-Jackson is in Las Vegas. Over the next three days, the auction company will hawk 600 collector vehicles. Some will sell for as little as $10,000. Others will top $1 million. All will be in running condition and immaculate.

“Las Vegas could be, in my opinion, our second signature event after Scottsdale (Ariz.),” said Phil Neri, Barrett-Jackson’s vice president of sales and marketing. Scottsdale is the company’s headquarters and site of its largest auction.

About 65,000 people are expected to attend the event. Many will be local or West Coasters, but some will come from across the country or world. A man from North Carolina, for example, will have 30 cars on the block and is bringing 75 friends and bidders with him.

Fewer than a dozen vehicles have reserve prices, so most if not all are expected to sell. The only question is for how much.

Neri said he anticipates a solid haul. Two hundred more bidders have signed up this year than last, and Barrett-Jackson’s three earlier auctions in Scottsdale, Palm Beach, Fla., and Orange County, Calif., netted sales prices 1 to 2 percent higher than last year.

“This has been our most successful year in 40 years,” Neri said. “Because of the economy, many people with cars in garages or museums need the money and are coming to auction.”

Las Vegas attracts a fair number of high-rollers who might be willing to drop some cash on a vehicle, Neri said, but the city’s appeal to car buffs is much the same as to any tourist, namely gambling, shows, good weather and fun.

To kick off the auction, 75 local car club members paraded down Las Vegas Boulevard on Wednesday showing off their hot rods, muscle cars and antiques. Three-dozen Metro Police officers stopped traffic as the cars streamed two-by-two down the road.

“It’s not often you get to cruise the Strip without hitting the brakes,” said Richard Harris, a retired detective and casino security manager who drove a gleaming orange, five-window 1952 Chevrolet pickup. “It’s a great opportunity to meet a lot of people with the same interests.”

A few feet away, former North Las Vegas Fire Chief Bob Dodge sat on the fender of a 1928 New York City firetruck. Dodge bought the vehicle in rough shape almost two decades ago for $12,000 but didn’t start refurbishing it until he retired in 2003. He has since put into it 2,500 hours and almost $100,000. At the car show, it wore a “for sale” sign on its windshield.

“It’s a collector’s piece,” Dodge said. “I wanted it to pass the fireman test. Everyone always tells me I couldn’t sell it, but I could.”

He paused, looked at the firetruck, then added: “And if I had the urge, I could buy another one.”

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