First off, I find these kinds of auctions fascinating and entertaining. That said, I also don't see them as representative of the larger fun car market. Many of the cars auctioned at B-J are very special, well documented, and extremely high level cars. They command a higher price because of that uniqueness. People don't normally pay a premium for ordinary. Sure, there are a few of these folks that get "bid fever" and become bound and determined to prove they have bigger cojones by bludgeoning the other guy with the next higher bid, but that's what auctions are about.

I've got to take issue with your assessment al. I look around at the people I know in the car hobby and almost none of them inherited their money, or won it in a lottery. Most of them "found" their money by taking risks when they were younger and started a business or scrimped and saved to invest in something like real estate or the stock market. They put in 12-16 hour days for months, sometimes years, on end. They made some bad decisions that set them back, learned from them, and took some more risks that finally paid off. They got the bigger reward because they showed an uncommon willingness and desire to succeed. They didn't play it safe. They didn't let negative thinking dominate their life. Instead of saying "I can't afford.............", they'd believe in "How can I afford..............? I don't think that makes them better as human beings than anyone else, but I also don't think they should be derided for their efforts. Almost always, reward is commensurate with effort and risk, give them their due. And if that success allows them to buy a nicer house, car, or whatever, so be it. If their success leads them to be jerks, then don't pay attention to them. Those that are envious need to deal with their own issues instead of tearing others down. There's more than enough of that kind of stuff around here as it is.

The big hitter at this auction was the Zephyr coupe out of Spokane. I've been around this car a few times. It is absolutely spectacular. Not only different, but special. The workmanship is of the highest order. Still, I would have never guessed in a million years that it would pull down $400k at auction, even though it probably cost that much, or more, to build. One of our long time, though infrequent, contributors here had a sizeable hand in building that car, congrats to you Tim.