BEHIND THE SHADES: Steve Davis reflects on Barrett-Jackson being a beacon of normalcy

May 19, 2021
Posted by Barrett-Jackson

Barrett-Jackson President Steve Davis

STEVE DAVIS’ DARK GLASSES PROTECT HIS EYES FROM A LIGHT SENSITIVITY CONDITION – BUT THAT DOESN’T HINDER HIS VISION OF THE COLLECTOR CAR MARKET.

Where do I even begin to talk about the 2021 Scottsdale Auction? In my mind, it was unprecedented; our expectations were exceeded in every way for our first live event of 2021. The great sales, the excitement, the feeling you get when you come to Barrett-Jackson – it was there, even in the midst of a pandemic. It was truly a signature Barrett-Jackson event with an exclamation point.

We had to overcome some tremendous hurdles in terms of logistics and safety protocols to be able to stage what came as close to a traditional Scottsdale Auction as you could get given the regulations that had to be followed, and I think our team passed with flying colors.

A welcome and familiar site: the giant American flag over the Barrett-Jackson auction block.

Our goal was to meet and hopefully exceed the expectations of all the people who agreed to consign their cars with us – particularly all those at No Reserve, which was 99 percent of all the cars. Even though many wanted to come to Barrett-Jackson and get back to normal, there was just an amount of anxiety hanging in the air; uncertainty on many levels, in every walk of life. I really have to hand it to those who understood that, analyzed that in their head and then decided, “You know what? I’m going to go ahead and make this happen.” I think again it just reinforces the commitment and the appeal that Barrett-Jackson represents to our client base, both buyers and sellers – as well as spectators.

Alicia Monique Blanco, former Miss Arizona USA, was among those performing the National Anthem at the 2021 Scottsdale Auction.

It seems like on many occasions in the past and probably into the future, in these crisis situations – 9/11, the Las Vegas shooting, Iraq, the wars, the financial downturn, now COVID – Barrett-Jackson always seems to be this beacon of normalcy. We’re almost the “comfort food” of the collector car world, if you will. Seeing the American flag, starting the auction off with Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA,” and then hearing the National Anthem – that’s what we all needed. It feels good to come to Barrett-Jackson again, it feels good to see the excitement of the auction block and feel it. It feels incredible to walk down the rows of exhibitors and see them doing business, with smiles on their faces. And then to walk into the Sponsor Pavilion and see people lined up to take a turn on the dyno, go for a hot lap or watch the Hellcats – experiencing all the cool sounds and smells and tastes of Barrett-Jackson.

Wounded veterans onstage for the $2.5 million sale of the 2022 GMC HUMMER EV Edition 1 VIN 001 to benefit the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation.

I think people felt they finally could get back to a sense of normalcy – even if just for a day or two, or an hour or two. When they came to Barrett-Jackson, it was that comfortable, safe feeling of “I’m doing what I love and I’m doing it with the people around me who feel the same way.”

Among the auction highlights in my book were the charity moments, which were just spectacular. There’s no better feeling, for me. All the charities are wonderful, but there’s something very profound about the veterans on our stage who have literally sacrificed their bodies for us, to give us the freedom to do what we all love and enjoy.

Overall, I think we had arguably the most incredible collection of Resto-Mods ever. Just spectacular cars, spectacular quality, spectacular diversity. It was fantastic to get the level of excitement that we enjoyed in the arena and sustain it. It wasn’t just one car or two cars – it was “flip the switch on until we flipped the switch back off.” We just maintained that level of excitement and momentum on the auction block from the very first day to the very last.

2021 Barrett-Jackson Cup contenders on display.

One other highlight for me was to successfully relaunch the Barrett-Jackson Cup competition. What an amazing, fulfilling event that was! The diversity and caliber of the cars and the incredible custom builders represented were just phenomenal. It was another testament to the fact that we’re here, we’re back and we’re going to continue to build on this success moving forward.

The fact is that we accomplished a milestone moment for the collector car hobby. I think the team at Barrett-Jackson, who worked so hard to make that happen and shared in that experience, should be incredibly proud, as I am, that we were able to execute the event and have everybody be a part of that with us. We created an environment where everybody saw some spectacular things happen, and we look forward to taking that momentum with us as we gear up for Las Vegas, and are really looking forward to being the first public event at our brand-new venue – the nearly $1 billion West Hall of the convention center. See you there!