BEHIND THE SHADES: Barrett-Jackson President Steve Davis tackles the most often-asked collector car questions

December 20, 2018
Posted by Barrett-Jackson

Barrett-Jackson President Steve Davis

Steve Davis’ dark glasses protect his eyes from a light sensitivity condition – but that doesn’t hinder his vision of the collector car market.

The question people ask me, probably more than any other, is “What kind of car should I collect?” – usually followed by “Do I buy one that’s already restored, or one that needs fixing up?”

My initial answer is always the same: You need to identify what you want, what you can afford and what you’re going to use the car for – and then buy the best example you can afford. A lot of Barrett-Jackson buyers are looking to buy something they can work on as a family project – perhaps a father and his kids – while others want a collectible restored to show or a vehicle that is going to be driven.

Don’t buy a car with the idea that you’re going to make money and have that be the motivation going into it. It takes a special combination of variables to make that actually work out.

Heading to the 2019 Scottsdale Auction: 1970 Mercury Cougar XR7 Convertible (Lot #770).

Of course, another burning question is always “What’s going to be the best car in the future?” Well, nobody really knows. Buy what you like, so it doesn’t really matter. Enjoy it for what it is. If it becomes more desirable and more valuable, then that’s a bonus. If it doesn’t, you’ve still enjoyed it, and it’s served the purpose you purchased it for. Sometimes value is measured in more than monetary terms.

In my opinion, anyone who collects car, at some point in their life, was touched by something meaningful or by someone or something that happened that caused them to look at an automobile as more than a utilitarian device to get you from point A to point B. They became a vehicle – no pun intended – that allowed you freedom to express your own personality; your car became an extension of your personality.

Steve Davis cut a hole in the hood of his first car – a 1968 Cougar – and had the carburetor sticking out with a velocity stack.

Back in the day when I began my love affair with cars, that was arguably the golden era of the muscle car. My first car was a 1968 Cougar. That was the car I drove to high school, the car I took on dates with Janie (now my wife). I’d cruise it and drag race it. It morphed into being more of a drag race car than a street car, although it was my everyday driver. I had a limited income, and that dictated what I could do with my car, like most people back then. You bought what you could afford; my job would dictate that.

I put custom wheels on that Cougar, then headers, then saved up some money and eventually pulled the engine out. I ended up going completely through the engine and transmission, putting high-performance internals, headers and a big Holley 3-barrel with a tunnel-port manifold. I cut a hole in the hood and had the carburetor sticking out with a velocity stack. I was Top Cat!

It was a really cool car and I loved it; it was really fast, and the center of my universe. Actually that car became Janie’s and my first house, because I ultimately sold it to use as the down payment on that house. That was in 1971. I always have my eye out for that particular Cougar; for one of my next projects I would like to Resto-Mod one.

Heading to the 2019 Scottsdale Auction: 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429 Fastback (Lot #1319).

The moral of the story is that collecting cars is not an exact science – there are no wrong choices. It’s all about enjoying what you collect and the satisfaction you receive from the cars.

Cars, after all, are such an important part of our lives. There’s a large percentage of people who have an emotional bond with their cars in a way that transcends mere transportation. They become part of our families, they create memories and represent a part of our lives every time we open or shut a door. Cars touch a lot of our senses: The way they sound, smell or shift. But the most important aspect of a car is the recollections the cars bring back: your youth, your struggle of trying to get to the next level – and that might be just making the rent each month. It’s not necessarily what a car represents visually, but it’s what it represents to you, and the back story it tells.

Every time you see one of those cars that had special meaning in your life, you’re instantly transported back there – which is part of the magic that happens at each and every Barrett-Jackson event, and why people come back year after year.

For a look at all the vehicles headed to the 2019 Scottsdale Auction, click HERE.