Auction becomes a classic event

More than 300 cars were on display Friday and Saturday at Smith Auction Co.'s Classic Car Auction at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau.

"It's almost all classic cars," Sherm Smith, founder of Smith Auction Co., said Friday.

This year's auction was the largest consignment of cars the company has had in 20 years of hosting the event at the Show Me Center, Smith said.

Josh Hanlon, manager of the Show Me Center, said more than 1,000 people attended the two-day event.

"It's been a solid turnout for a car auction," Hanlon said.

Among those who attended was Philip Paul of Murphysboro, Illinois. Paul entered his 1963 blue Chevrolet Stingray Corvette into the auction Saturday.

He put about $90,000 into the car and expected to sell it for $60,000.

He said he needed to sell the car to have more space in his garage.

"It's an all-American classic car," Paul said. "I'm afraid to drive it for getting nicks and dents on it."

Growing up in Chicago, Paul said he bought his first Corvette when he was 19 and a student at the University of Colorado-Boulder.

"I've had about 15 Corvettes," Paul said. "They're a blast to drive. They compare to a lot more expensive cars."

Rock Wilferth of Cape Girardeau entered his 1950 Ford Coupe, which he said was valued around $20,000, into Saturday's auction.

"You've got all the conditions of cars" present at the two-day auction, Wilferth said. The auction is a "good spectator sport" with "something here for everyone," he said.

Although this was the first time Chris Hahn of Golconda, Illinois, attended a car auction in Cape Girardeau, Hahn said he has attended other auctions in Las Vegas; Scottsdale, Arizona; Chicago; and Orlando, Florida.

The auction had a good selection that was "very impressive," Hahn said. "Prices are very reasonable."

Hahn has his own collection, which he said consists of classic cars from the 1960s and '70s.

"I appreciate all the makes and models," he said.

T.J. Parrish of Mount Vernon, Illinois, said he graduated from Southeast Missouri State University in 1994 and has attended other car auctions in Indianapolis and Kissimmee, Florida.

It's good to have a classic car auction in Cape Girardeau in a "pretty neat location," Parrish said. He said he entered his 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle and a Chevrolet Nova and expects to get about $40,000 total when the two are sold.

A 2005 Ford GT, one of the newest cars at the auction, sold for $270,000 during Saturday's bidding. Bids for the car started before Saturday, however.

Smith said Friday a $260,000 phone bid was placed on the car. He said it is rare because it was made for only two model years, and only about 4,000 were made during that period.

Listed below are some of the results from Saturday's auction:

* 1966 black Ford Mustang, sold for $32,250.

* 1966 cream Ford Mustang, sold for $21,000.

* 1956 Ford Thunderbird, sold for $31,250.

* 1929 Ford Model A, sold for $12,500.

* 1968 Chevrolet Camaro, sold for $17,500.

* 1979 black Clenet Asha hardtop convertible, sold for $40,500.

* 1957 Chevrolet station wagon, sold for $11,500.

* 1953 green Chevrolet Bel Air, sold for $17,000.

* 1972 AMC Javelin SST, sold for $11,000.

* 1968 blue and white Volkswagen Transporter, sold for $13,250.

Pertinent address: 1331 N. Sprigg, Cape Girardeau, Mo.