EMBRACING CHANGE: Younger generations are finding much to like about Barrett-Jackson auctions
August 22, 2017
Posted by Barrett-Jackson
Ari Roth, 16, and his brother Ashton, 13, with the 1980 Pontiac Trans Am SE Bandit Edition (Lot #449) that Ari persuaded his father to sell at the 2017 Northeast Auction.
As Bob Dylan sang back in 1964, “The times they are a-changin’.” The millennials have been visibly on the move in the collector car world over the past couple of years, and their eyes seem to be focused less on the prewar classics customarily considered the kingpins of collections, and more on the pickups, SUVs and performance cars of the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s.
The changing face of collector cars: this 1971 Chevrolet Custom K5 Blazer (Lot #681) set a world record when it sold for $220,000 at the 2017 Palm Beach Auction.
“There’s definitely been an increase in the number of people who want to buy cars they can drive and have fun with, which years ago we wouldn’t have thought of these types of vehicles as a collector car,” says Barrett-Jackson Chairman and CEO Craig Jackson. “We used to sell nothing but prewar classics when the company first started in 1971. My brother Brian and I were instrumental at bringing in ’50s, ’60s and ’70s convertibles, sports cars and muscle cars to the auction in the late ‘80s and throughout the ‘90s. Now – thanks in large part to our president, Steve Davis, who was among the first to embrace the trend – we’re seeing a big increase in Resto-Mods, with the younger generation looking for cars they can use and drive.”
According to Hagerty Insurance, in 2017 – for the first time – millennials are responsible for more collectible car activity than the pre-baby boom generation. More than 200 individuals between the ages of 18 and 37 signed up as first-time bidders at Barrett-Jackson’s first three auctions in 2017.
That younger demographic has literally changed the perception of just which cars are worth owning and preserving. Consider these: among the top sellers of the 2017 Scottsdale Auction was a 1978 Pontiac Firebird Custom Coupe, and new world records at auction were set for the sale of several Fox Body Mustangs, a 1970 GMC Crew Cab pickup and two Chevrolet K5 Blazers from 1970 and 1972. Jaws dropped at the 2017 Palm Beach Auction when a 1971 Chevrolet Custom K5 Blazer sold for $220,000 (also a new world record). At the 2017 Northeast Auction, several Porsches from the 1970s and ’80s, as well as a 1993 Land Rover Defender 110 SUV, were among those that brought in good numbers.
Bryan Frank (left), discusses a bid at the 2017 Northeast Auction with sons Jackson, 20, and Mitchell, 18.
The millennials (and even younger) were particularly in evidence in Connecticut for the 2nd Annual Barrett-Jackson Northeast Auction. Seen everywhere from the bidder floor and the auction block to the car displays and staging lanes, the car collectors of the future were clearly taking more than a passing interest in every aspect of the auction.
Some were born into the hobby, as is the case with the Frank family. Bryan Frank has been coming to Barrett-Jackson auctions since 2006, when he and his father Roger attended as spectators. The two returned in 2007 to immerse themselves in the action, buying and selling many cars over the years. Roger Frank sadly passed away in 2013, but left a legacy of collector car passion to his four grandsons, two of whom are named Barrett and Jackson. (Coincidence? We think not.)
Bryan’s sons have all attended the auctions and have been involved at varying levels. The younger two, Lincoln (age 14) and Barrett (age 12), primarily are called upon to detail the cars the family brings to the auctions, while Jackson (age 20) and Mitchell (age 18) do body work, painting and some mechanical work. Bryan says all four have bid on and purchased a car (under his watchful eye, of course), while Jackson and Mitchell have both consigned cars. Mitchell has also brought several pieces of automobilia to the auctions, with a pedal tractor he just restored consigned to the upcoming Las Vegas auction.
Teaching a new generation: a father and son look over a car on the block at the 2017 Northeast Auction.
Longtime Barrett-Jackson customer Joe Petralia also encouraged his son, Joe Jr., to get involved with the auctions. In addition to attending the events since he was little, he’s helped his dad the past few years at his shop, and decided to sell his first car – a 1996 Ford Mustang GT – at the 2016 Scottsdale Auction. “We bought the car back in 2013,” Joe Jr. remembers. “We lowered it, put some cool wheels on it, cleaned it up a bit and I drove it for a couple of years. When we decided to sell it at Barrett-Jackson, it was a great experience – I was only 19 and one of the youngest consignors there.”
New to the auction scene are Barton Roth and his 16-year-old son Ari – who was the driving force behind them getting bidder badges for the very first Northeast Auction in 2016. Ari admittedly has been crazy about cars since he was very young, feverishly reads car magazines and had watched Barrett-Jackson on television for many years. After that initial visit to the auction in 2016, Ari was determined to become more involved in 2017, and spent hours searching online for the perfect car.
He settled on a 1980 Pontiac Trans Am Bandit Edition in California, which he persuaded his father to purchase. The family drove it for about a year, taking it to car shows and just enjoying the car – before deciding to sell it at the 2017 Northeast Auction. It was Ari who did all the research, discovering how to consign the car at Barrett-Jackson, finding and sourcing the parts needed to bring the car into pristine condition and working with the body shop to make sure all work was completed to his exacting standards.
“I could really get into the hobby myself one day,” says Ari, adding that he would probably collect exotics. “There’s just something about exotics that is so cool – hearing the engine roar gets your heart racing.”
Many of the younger people involved in buying and selling at Barrett-Jackson emphasize that you don’t need a huge bankroll to get involved. “Obviously you have to set a budget for yourself,” advises Jackson Frank. “It takes a lot of patience, and you’ve got to look for the right car. Do your research and wait for the right deal.”
“It’s encouraging to see the younger generation like my sons getting into the hobby,” says Bryan Frank. “Not only do they like the newer cars, like GTRs, but they still like the Chevelles, Camaros and Mopars. To me, that’s a good sign that the hobby is going to continue for a long time.”
Millennial bidders at the upcoming 10th Annual Barrett-Jackson Las Vegas Auction will have some great collectibles to choose from – to view the Preview Docket, click HERE.