Classic car auction draws aficionados to Cape Girardeau

Burgin Claiborne, a Memphis dentist car shopping with his wife Ann, is looking to build on his collection this weekend as Smith's Auction Co. holds its annual Smith Classic Car Auction. "Lots of guys have problems with their wives saying 'no.' Mine just says, 'Yeah, you should buy it,'" Claiborne said.

The auction showed 50 cars Friday at the Show Me Center. Gates open at 10 a.m. today and the auction expects to show about 200 cars.

"I enjoy it as a car show, but then you get to take it home with you," Claiborne said with a laugh. Having traveled to shows in Las Vegas, Tulsa and Scottsdale, Ariz., the couple has enjoyed coming to Cape Girardeau for the last six years. "It's very user-friendly here, easy to get in, easy to get out."

"The event attracts people from over 600 miles away," said Sherman Smith, owner of Smith's Auction Co. "It's an annual event and one of the major events of the Midwest."

Ed Williams came to sell his 1948 Chevrolet pickup with a 350 engine. Not a regular trader, Williams has owned his vehicle for eight years, but his wife's arthritis has recently kept her from enjoying it.

"It's no fun having a street ride if your partner can't come with you," Williams said. As for purchasing another classic car, Williams "couldn't imagine being without one."

Don Baskin of Baskin Truck Sales in Covington, Tennessee, deals in used 18-wheel trucks and was looking for a "good deal" on the classic cars.

"I'll probably buy fifteen to twenty cars this time," Baskin said. He restores, sells and keeps vehicles for a museum where his shop is located. Regarding the economy's effect on his shopping and sales, Baskin said, "Our business has been good. We sell for market price, and nobody's buying new."

Sherman Smith said that with the downturn in the national economy, there has been "probably a 20 percent effect on the business."

"The muscle cars are off a little, they went too high, too fast," Smith said about the previous years' markets. There was a slight artificial increase, but by the "end of last year the market was a little soft" and brought prices to the level Smith thinks is accurate. "The Midwest market is holding up better than the East and West Coast markets. If you sell over 50 percent [in a typical auction] you're doing good. We tend to sell 60 percent of the inventory," Smith said.

"The auto collection business is holding its own very well. People are putting money into cars versus other investments," Smith said, adding that buyers and traders get to "make money, plus enjoy the vehicle."