I almost didn’t make it to this year’s Mecum Spring Classic muscle-car auction. We were in crisis mode at work, cleaning up the mess after a software deployment went wrong. Thursday was to be my day among the cars, but we were still troubleshooting at work, so I put it off. Fortunately, we found the underlying problems Thursday afternoon. My team told me they had it under control and urged me to go on Friday.
I’m so glad I did. Mind you, I may have driven my team crazy by checking in every hour or so over instant messenger. That doesn’t mean I wasn’t relieved that their excellent skills allowed me one of my happiest days of the year!
I normally write a post or two sharing some photos from the auction, but this year I’m going wall to wall all week, with posts and photos every day through Friday. Then on Saturday I’ll share more from the auction over at Curbside Classic. If you’re not into cars, come back Monday when regular programming resumes.
It’s hard to believe the sheer number of cars at each year’s Mecum Spring Classic. This year, over 2,000 cars rolled by the auctioneer. While they wait their turn, and even after they are sold, they have to wait somewhere. So they fill five or six large buildings at the Fairgrounds, and even sit in the parking lots outside.
I took all of these photos in the 147,000-square-foot West Pavilion. As you can see, this enormous space is filled with cars. It takes me several hours to walk through just this building. I spent the entire day at the Mecum and I don’t think I saw all the available cars.
The Mecum Spring Classic focuses on muscle cars. There are so many Camaro Z28s, Boss Mustangs, Hemi Cudas, et al., that it’s overwhelming. But I’m not here to see them. I come every year searching for true classics, or the oddballs, or cars I’ve only ever seen in photographs.
I also bring two digital cameras with spare batteries. My twin Canons, the PowerShot S95 and the PowerShot S80, are highly competent point-and-shoots that slip easily into the big pockets of my cargo shorts. This year I took 700 photos. I’ll share more of them all week.
