If you haven’t been to Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale during Auction Week you are missing out on one hell of a cool spectacle. And when I say spectacle, I mean it. This is part car show, part carnival, part auction, and all bitchin. Plus there is a Ridetech 48-Hour Camaro build going on that we’re thrilled to be helping out on. We’ve never been to any car event like Barrett-Jackson before. They say more than 300,000 people will roll through the gates during the week and there are more than 1700 cars, trucks, and more on site ready to go across the block. Plus there are a TON of vendors here with all kinds of cool stuff. Everything from built cars, boats, neon, automobilia of all kinds, and great food and drinks too.
And this all just scratches the surface. The truth is there is no real way to describe Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale without finishing a sentence saying “you just have to see it.”
And so here are our first two galleries of photos to check out. We’ll have a ton more photos coming over the next 10 days at least because we’ve already taken a dozen galleries worth of photos and it’s only our second day on site.
Remember, you can click on any photo below to make them larger and scroll through the entire gallery via our slideshow.
Lots of nice cars, sure. But Barrett is a joke. A beauty show for the beautiful people to see and be seen. Maybe buy some car so they can brag to their friends that they bought it at BJ. Doesn\’t matter that the price was inflated, it\’s all about the image anyway. All BJ does is drive up the price of collector cars everywhere else. I\’m a hobbyist who loves working on cars, not a millionaire businessman. Be honest – how many times have you tried to buy a special car but the owner has stars in his eyes from some perfect restoration he saw at BJ. \”I saw the same car on BJ for $60,000. I figure mine is worth $35,000.\” Are you kidding? Your car has the wrong engine and you can see daylight through the floors. It\’s a $3000 basket case. Yes, by the time someone puts 40k and countless hours into it, it will be worth 60k. But not even close right now. Sorry, BJ is a bullshit show for people with money falling out their asshole. I refuse to pay it attention.
Chad and Cole, thanks for the photos
Dave I agree most of what you say. I’m a small time guy that likes building my own stuff for myself. The fun is in the finding, building and driving.
I think BJ has a place. It shows us perfect cars and variations as well as letting us know what some people might pay. Obviously not you and I but I think we’re smart enough to find those same cars (for the most part) out there in the world and build them or restore them to our taste.
For me, I enjoy seeing cars I care about and what some egghead will pay for it. Makes me smile.