Nearly $135 million worth of collector cars were sold last week at four Northeast Valley auctions, with 10 of those cars bid up to $1 million and more.

Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Event, the headliner of the week, sold 1,163 cars over six days for $88 million, compared with $111 million a year before, which shows the softening of some parts of the collector-car market but also reflects the Scottsdale auction’s evolution into an entertainment and lifestyle attraction, said auction president Steve Davis.

“The event that we just experienced was one of the most successful Barrett-Jackson ever had in its 37 years,” Davis said. “Less cars, no multi-million-dollar consignments, no rock ‘n roll memorabilia, more hobbyist-level consignments, all by design.

“With all those things, we still ended up with the third-highest sale in Barrett-Jackson history.”

Much of the success was outside the auction area, he added, including the highest gate ever at 280,000, compared with 250,000 last year.

Posted: 01|24|08 at 10:47 am. Filed under: US News.