#scottsdale

If you’ve never attended a Barrett-Jackson event, think of it as a massive car show blended with the insanity of an auction and the food trucks from a county fair plus a SEMA’s worth of retail vendors. The whole thing is wonderful, glorious, organized gearhead chaos – and its marquee event is happening right now in Arizona.

I will admit that I am a Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction fanboi. I spent last week in Detroit during the NAIAS, and thus had to skip my annual trip to Scottsdale, Arizona for their auction extravaganza, one of the greatest automotive events in this country. However, amidst all the breathless reporting about Barrett-Jackson selling the original Batmobile for $4.6M, you might have missed the story of a rare fail by the auction giant.

Reporters gasped at the $160,000 a hand-built custom Ford Mustang went for at the auction in Scottsdale. The same reporter nearly had a heart attack over the $4.2 million a rare 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Alloy Gullwing fetched ( it could have been $4.62 million, accounts by the same reporter differ.)

The media missed the sensation of the day: An oil burning six year old Jetta sold for $35,000.