There are very few automotive events that can draw a crowd quite like Barrett-Jackson. Luckily enough, 2015 marked the third year in a row that we were able to sneak away from the shop to catch a brief glimpse of everything the world’s largest collector car auction has to offer. Much like years past, it just keeps getting better!
The itinerary for this year’s trip was a bit shorter than prior adventures, so we made a few alterations to our event coverage in order to make the most of the few hours that we would have on-site. First things first, the DSLRs were left behind in exchange for a fully charged iPhone 6 & our favorite editing app from Visual Supply Co. This time around we were packing light — no supplementary glass or hardware, just pure, mobile hip shooting with a sense of urgency. The goal, as it were, was to test the waters for a fully mobile social media roll out where we begin transitioning away from intermittent posts with higher production value, to a more heat-of-the-moment style of sharing, giving you just the highlights & saving the real glamor shots for a new, day-to-day web feature format. The results were surprisingly staggering from the start, as even the first bit of “parkinglot spotting” staring a Porsche GT3 pulled in around 130 ‘likes’ in a matter of minutes after posting to the shop instagram!
Once inside the gates, it’s pretty easy to get caught up in the aroma of cold starts & carnival food. We had roughly 48 hours to see everything there was to be seen, and there’s no way we caught it all. Tents upon tents filled with row after row of every make & model imaginable line the lots – some old, some new, a handful of museum pieces & even a few that are completely devoid of all sensibility. It’s a proverbial automotive fun-house, and it’s a damn good time at that.
If you try to see everything in one go, you might actually go blind. There’s no science backing that claim of course, but we dare you to try it for yourself. Sure, we could have spent hours on the blocks with a play-by-play of every car that went across or scoured the event for all the high profile cars that were hogging the media spotlight, but that would just be more of the same that’s readily available on TV. Plus, round upon round of perusing endless aisles of autos is enough to make any enthusiast a little weak in the knees, so after an initial pass it’s usually a good idea to pump the brakes & focus on what you really want to see. Don’t worry about it en-mass; instead, make it an opportunity to pick & choose the greatest hits from childhood automotive dreams. It’s all here, and then some!
How’s that for a display of vehicular diversity? In short, Barrett-Jackson really does have something for everyone, you just gotta be willing to walk it out. It’s one of the few places in the world where it’s possible to window shop a venerable who’s who of automotive greats before watching them roll their way into the homes of collectors, dealers, and drivers alike. Perhaps when 2016 rolls around, we’ll plan ahead & sneak away for the whole week to do some more shopping of our own!
Still haven’t got your fill of Barrett-Jackson? Check out our coverage around the grounds from 2014 & 2013 blog archives or read through the official docket of 2015 for the complete look at every car that crossed the blocks. Need more automotive VSCO goodness in your life? Follow along with our facebook & instagram pages for daily updates straight from the shop floor!
