A Jolly Good Time For $43,200

Filed in archive on January 19, 2006

At last the fun has begun. Money has started to flow at the Barrett-Jackson Auction and although the dollars paid are still low when compared to what you'll see later, some sales are quite impressive. Or maybe a little ridiculous, depending on one's point-of-view.

The biggest bucks on the first auction day went for a 1967 Plymouth belvedere GTX Hardtop with a "Hemi Recreation" powerplant. The buyer shelled out $118,800 for this one. It seems anything with the Hemi label attached is going to be expensive, as if it were the only great engine ever made (which it wasn't) but the word around here is that the mad rush to own 60's muscle cars is tapering off and could be heading downhill, depending on how the economy goes. Corvette fans, however, will be pleased to learn that someone paid $102,600 for a 1965 Corvette Custom Convertible.

Proving that even small budgets have a chance, a buyer picked up a 1964 Vespa Scooter for $2,160, a 66 Cadillac Coupe de Ville went for a mere $9,720 and a lovely 67 Jaguar 420 sedan brought a very reasonable $16,200. Most unusual buy of the day? A 1959 Fiat Jolly 600 2-Door Cabana at $43,200. I could have gone for that one but I'm waiting for the "real" classics, like this 34 Lincoln V-12 by LeBaron. Now that's class.