I took a trip over to the Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction at WestWorld in Scottsdale AZ. It was about a 45 minute drive from McDowell Mountain Regional Park where I am staying. Even though I got there around 9am I had to park about a mile away. Of course luck has it that the person in front of me had problems with his ticket and it took them 15 minutes to get it straightened out while we all stood there waiting to get in.
Once inside there was a large display from Ford that had most of their vehicles on display. Just past that was a GM display and then the vendor booth. The vendors had everything from automotive accessories to diamond jewelry, Tempur-Pedic Mattresses and home furnishings. Some of the more interesting items I seen were wood framed bicycles and new motorcycles that looked like vintage (early 1900's) bikes. Of course there was nothing there that was in my price range.
After I wound my way through the indoor vendors I was able to enter the main auction floor. Since it was early they were auctioning off automobile memorabilia like signs and gas pumps. And yes, the auctioneers sound just like they do on TV. On the other side of the main arena was an area for some of the specialty cars that were going to be auctioned.
Outside there were more vendors that required more space. Some of them included Mothers Polish, Traxxas RC Cars and Discount Tire. Also in this area was Ford and GM "drive and ride" areas. I decided to stop in the Ford area and took the Taurus SHO and F150 EcoBoost for a drive. Once done I was then able to get a ride in a Mustang GT350 driven by a professional driver.... was a blast getting a ride drifting through a few corners!
Walking back a bit further I saw a bunch of tents. Not just any tents but a group of about 10 tents, each about 200 feet long. In each tent was 4 rows of cars waiting to go on the auction block. Among the 1000 or so vehicles was everything from rusted heaps to wild customs. If you have a favorite car, no matter what it is, there was at least one example on display. It had to be one of the largest car shows in world in one place.
No event this size would be complete without the food vendors. Some was typical carnival stuff like funnel cakes but also Indian food, oriental food and BBQ cooked on a grill the length of a semi trailer..... yes, it was actually built on the flatbed semi trailer.
It was a great time. I spent 6 hours hours there and didn't see it all but my feet gave out before I had a chance to tour all the areas. If you ever have the chance, don't miss a Barrett-Jackson auction. It's not just an auto auction, it's an event!
You can view more pictures in my Photo Gallery.