Scottsdale-based Barrett-Jackson Auction Co.’s recent inaugural collectible auto auction at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa saw $15 million in sales and drew about 58,000 people, according to Chief Executive Craig Jackson.
He said he was targeting $10 million to $15 million in sales for the debut Orange County show. The company’s original Scottsdale show sees about $70 million in sales annually.
Barrett-Jackson also holds auctions in Las Vegas and Palm Beach, Fla.
Nearly 400 cars were sold in Costa Mesa.
The top three sellers were 1970 muscle cars: a Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 convertible, which went for $253,000; a Chevrolet Chevelle SS custom coupe, which sold for $250,000; and a Plymouth Road Runner custom two-door hardtop for $187,000.
TV personality Jesse James saw his 1936 Ford custom five-window coupe sell for $165,000.
Nearly 60% of the bidders in Costa Mesa were first timers, according to Jackson.
The auction sold everything from Volkswagen Karmann Ghias and Beetles to Mercedes-Benz Maybachs and Ford Packards. There were a lot of Ford Cobras, one of Jackson’s favorites, he said.
Jackson has about 30 cars in his personal collection. He has a red and black 427 Cobra.
“I drive it all the time when the weather permits,” he said.
Leading up to the event, Connell Chevrolet in Costa Mesa hosted 164 cars at a Cruise-in car show.
Sprawled across the fairground were tents housing rows of cars to be auctioned or that already had been sold. It was a fair-like atmosphere for car lovers. There were ride and drives and drifting competitions, fair food stands and vendors selling car art, antiques, jewelry and other wares.
The event raised $1 million for various charities including the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the Russ & Brian Jackson Cancer Research Fund and the Armed Forces Foundation.
Auto Sales
Sales at OC auto dealers rose for the fourth straight month in May.
Sales were up nearly 30% from a year earlier to 8,511 autos, according to the Newport Beach-based Orange County Automobile Dealers Association.
The figure is based on registrations with the state, a barometer of sales.
The gain is one of the biggest single month advances since the economic recovery began.
Auto dealers could see increases for the next few months as they move into summer.
Nearly all auto brands saw higher sales in May. Still, sales for the month were about half of the 14,622 autos that dealers sold in May of 2007, when the market was much stronger.
South Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia, which have their U.S. bases in OC, did well in the downturn and continue to boost sales as the economy improves.
Hyundai was up 44% to 382 autos sold in May. Kia was up 1% to 148 autos.
Luxury car sales improved for the top three brands in OC.
Mercedes-Benz was up 25% to 617 autos for May. Lexus was up 5% to 408 autos. BMW was up 23% to 381 autos.
Jaguar and Porsche, which sell fewer cars here, had a tough May. Porsche was down 12% to 50 cars. Jaguar sales were down 70% to 12 autos.
Toyota continues its upward climb after a series of recalls. The Japanese automaker was up 41% to 1,760 autos sold in May.
Key rival Honda also was up. Honda boosted sales 32% to 1,283 autos.
Wonderland at the Grove
Newport Beach’s Wonderland Bakery is opening another shop at The Grove in Los Angeles in October.
The store, called Wonderland Bakery and The Enchanted Party Garden, is set to be big enough to host tea and cookie decorating parties.
Wonderland Bakery also is shopping a reality cooking TV show about the hectic bakery and its owners, mother and daughter team Sondra Ames and Allyson Ames.
Sondra Ames handles the business aspects of the bakery and Allyson Ames is the chef. Now in her 20s, Allyson Ames has been baking since she was a kid.
The Ames’s have hired William Morris Agency to shop their TV venture to networks. The show would be filmed at the Newport Beach and Grove bakeries.
The bakery was recently busy making birthday goodies for the son of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.
Wonderland also made cookies for baseball’s All-Star Game this week at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. The cookies feature the game’s logo on them.
Store Openings
Brazilian flip-flop maker Havaianas opened its first store in Huntington Beach at the Pierside Pavilion.
The 1,250-square-foot store also sells flip-flop-themed items, including a chandelier made of tiny sandals and flip-flop-shaped furniture. Havaianas is part of Brazil’s São Paulo Alpargatas SA … A Splendid boutique is opening at Fashion Island in September. Splendid sells extra soft T-shirts. The 2,200-square-foot store sells shirts for men, women, kids and babies. Splendid’s flagship store is on Robertson Boulevard in Los Angeles. Splendid is part of North Carolina’s VF Corp., which also owns Cypress-based Vans, among others.
