Market Intelligence
Mecum Auction with the wind in its sails
The recent Mecum car auction in Glendale, Arizona demonstrated that Americans are eager for a return to normality and a thriving market for classic cars. The 774 cars on offer generated $39,553,900 in sales, almost double last year's takings, with an average price per car of around $60,000. The most expensive lot was a 1967 Chevrolet Corvette L88, sold for $2,695,000, while a 1927 Ford Model T "Voodoo Doll" hot rod sold for $62,700. The sale also saw interest in off-road vehicles, with a 1975 Ford Bronco Denver Broncos Edition selling for a record-breaking $121,000.
The sale at Mecum in Glendale, Arizona, made in presence as always, is a huge all-American party with audiences wearing cowboy hats and jackets or T-shirts emblazoned with the Stars and Stripes. A wonderful atmosphere that this year, with 774 cars on offer and 644 sold (equivalent to 83.20%), was more than confirmed by the results. But there’s more: compared to 2020, when no fewer than 1,041 cars were offered and sales stopped at a very respectable 65%, the total value of the cars sold ($39,553.90, equal to €33,255,143) nearly doubled from the $23,305,355 in takings last year, while the average price jumped from $31,072 to $61,417.
It is appropriate to use every caution in a period of uncertainty such as the one we are going through at the moment, but the numbers from Mecum demonstrate that Americans long for normality and a return to serenity. And they would appear to believe it’s possible. Looking at the average price per car – around sixty thousand dollars – the number is in line with those of large-volume auctions and, above all, with the reality of the American market where so much demand and supply acts as a sort of counterbalance with undisputable advantages on the liveliness of events.
