A celebrity car auction offers some answers to America’s auto manufacturing woes
This past New Year’s holiday weekend, I had planned the ritual of watching endless college and professional football games on television with my son. He’s home for Christmas break from university, and the last weekend of every year has always been spent eating, hanging out, and yelling at the screen while teams we have no real interest in engage in endless skirmishes on Grill. However, this year, our display clothing was turned upside down by a replay at an auto auction.
Every January, the Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auction is held in Scottsdale, Arizona. The auction lasts for the better part of a week and features the most impressive stock of cars in the world, selling for jaw-dropping prices for celebrities and ultra-rich collectors. If you like cars, and like a 1960s kid, this is kind of addicting. My son and I watched very little football this weekend, as the auction played out hour after hour, a repeat of the January 2006 auction, as shown on the Speed Channel, and we were consumed.
Watching the auction was eye-opening on several levels: not only was the auction exciting, the cars beautiful and unique, the bidding lively, but collector demand for American classics outpaced market desire for all other types of collectible vehicles. . Ferrari, Porsche and Maserati were offered and sold; however, all record sales prices were achieved by American muscle cars of the 1960s and 1970s.
Did ANY American auto executive show up, watching TV or at least aware of the insatiable demand for their historic nameplates? At a time when Ford, General Motors and Chrysler, virtually all that remains of the once mighty American auto business, are losing market share, losing cash and closing factories, the demand for pedestrian-priced rolling stock is immense. Plymouth Barracuda, Dodge Hemi, Chevelle, Camaro, Firebird, Mustang, and dozens of other American car models, all once widely sold and, at prices virtually every man could afford, fetched prices of up to $2 million. That’s right: $2,000,000!
The replay of the 2006 Barrett-Jackson auction clearly underscored what ails the American auto business and what the recipe for a return to the glory days must include. Mid-20th century American auto engineers and designers loved the industry – they were car guys first, last, always! His designs and performance enhancements reflected passion. Automobiles were more than just mass transportation; they were statements of American creativity, artistry, and leadership and inventiveness. Can any of these characteristics be applied to the pedestrian, bland and similar offers that come to us from Detroit?
Harley Earl at GM, Raymond Loewy at Studebaker, Lee Iacoca at Ford, John DeLorean at Pontiac, and Virgil Exner at Chrysler were craftsmen whose designs and styling cues influence the global automotive design industry to this day. Can you name the lead designer of any contemporary American car model that works today? They are as anonymous and colorless as their vehicles.
The classic “baby bird” Ford Thunderbirds of the 1950s were allowed to stunt, become gluttonous and square before being sentenced to a deserved death in the 1990s. that the Thunderbird would be offered again in the original introduction of the sporty two-seat roadster. Expectations were high for the “new baby bird,” fueling pre-production bookings and lavish advertising in anticipation of the return of this American classic.
Unfortunately, the car was a failure on every level. Performance was dull, the body lines and silhouette a pale memory of distinctive 1950s design, and the public quickly turned away from the car. After only three years of disappointing sales, the new Thunderbird was discontinued.
Ford at least tried. My question, re-edited while watching the 2006 Barrett-Jackson auction, was this: Why didn’t the new “Bird” body look exactly like the old bird, beautiful pastel colors, cutting edge styling details, continental kits, but with modern mechanics? underhood? The “old bird” is a recognized classic. Every collector wants a classic Thunderbird in the garage. Nobody cared about the attempt to leaf on a pseudo-Bird as offered by today’s Ford designers.
The contemporary American auto business suffers for many reasons, including legacy costs, past management errors, and overstaffing. By far the biggest flaw, however, and I think any casual viewer of the Barrett-Jackson auction would agree, is the dull monotony of its contemporary offerings. When a Cadillac, Buick, Hyundai, and Toyota all look the same, the car with the lowest price, the best warranty, and the best service record will win the most sales. Unfortunately, these are not currently benefits associated with American cars.
The historic design pedigree that naturally could and should be attached to American models has been largely lost. When a 1970 Plymouth ‘Cuda (original tag price, $4000) sells for over $2 million and Shelby Mustangs regularly sell for $1 million, the market is making a clear statement. Is anyone in Detroit paying attention?