Carl Casper's Custom 52nd Annual Auto Show, Louisville, KY 2015

Barret-Jackson & Russo-Steele with Ken Rooke, Scottsdale 2015

    

     Ah! welcome back to blog-o-sphere by Kenny at Insignia.  Yep, more talk of cars, cars, cars!

Is it not wonderful to have someone to talk to that loves American Muscle Cars just as much as you

all do? I think so. Let's put this 6-speed in reverse and back-up just a bit, you see, Patrice, yep,

that Patrice. Bless her heart, she continually tries to keep me in-line and focused, not an easy task

by any measure. Okay, back on track we go and this means back to hangin' with Mike at the

Russo-Steele Classic Car Auction in sunny Scottsdale AZ.  I know, some of you car nuts are

freezin' yer ...'s off, can't help you man, should have come to sunny Scottsdale for a brief (get it) thaw.

     But you didn't, so I'm here to share some of the Barrett-Jackson and Russo-Steele auctions highlights.  Let me assure you guys and gals, they were aplenty, you know like those sugar coated things we used to buy

Meet Ken Rooke

      Ken Rooke is an employee of Insignia Automotive Group, which is based in Erlanger, KY. Mr. Rooke resides in Northern California, with Mallory.  He has raced motorcycles at Daytona and Pocono Raceway

Everyone at Insignia Auto Sales is sure busy!

     Hello car freaks, gear heads and all the rest of you cats that just love cars, got a lot going on these days around the Insignia Auto camp. So, let's get rockin',fire that bad-boy up and and smoke 'em til you're just spinnin' on the steelies!

     When I left you last week I was just a few miles from the Sky Harbor Airport just off I-10 East in Phoenix, AZ.  Trying to get to the Delta terminal to pick up my partner in crime, Mike Stinson, and the Sky Harbor airport is not an easy place to figure out on your first go round, no, that place has (4)terminals and each of those has a north and a south, meaning of course you only have (8)choices for which to make a wrong choice. Well, I made several of those as I burned laps around the harbor in the sky. I made several calls to Mike too, "where the he.. are you Man? Ah, finally we connected and all was good, so off to the Sleep Inn on Scottsdale Blvd., and to the concierge to check-in, easy enough, thank you Patrice.

     You may have caught Mike Stinson's blog from this past week, as he kind of took you on from this point and onto the Russo-Steele auction just up the road from our motel. Mike mentioned

Mike Stinson, First visit to Barrett Jackson, Scottsdale

     My first experience at traveling out west to Arizona. I had been to Arizona once before but my stay was limited. In 2002 , I had the opportunity to fly my plane that I sold (Maule M7-235C) to a gentlemen at the Deer Valley airport. My stay was limited at the Airport , because all I did was to fly home and look for another plane. Which I later purchased a Twin Baron. But this time, I got to enjoy the sights with my compadre, Ken ROOKE, Mr. Wikipedia on classic, muscle, European sport, hot rods, you name it, he walks, breathes,  sleeps (only after his elixir) Fine AUTOMOBILES. Arizona, what can I say, can I move there. Such an incredible atmosphere. 

   

Ken arrived at the airport after his journey driving in from Cali. We wasted no time, checked in at the hotel and went straight to the Russo and Steele Auction. That was Thursday evening. I was impressed with the non authentic cars going for 25-45k, they looked the part and I am sure made they sellers happy. The car that stole the show briefly was a 1960 Convt. Caddy. It brought 50k. and was gorgeous. I was shocked. The buyer was in his late 20s but

Road Trip to Barrett Jackson, Scottsdale AZ

  

The 44th annual Barrett Jackson Scottsdale Classic Custom Car Auto Auction was over the top "custom-diculous".  There were so many outrageous vehicles on display and up for auction, many offered at no reserve.  Some sellers would not gamble with their prized possessions and therefore chose to offer their cars for bid with a set reserve.

     In the end it really didn't matter that much, as thousands of buyers came to the desert with pockets bulging and various brands of sunscreen. The drive was gorgeous, not just sunny gorgeous,but even the air and the mountains  reaching up into the pristine skies above the valley were as well.  It's no wonder so many professional major league baseball franchises have chosen the greater Phoenix area (including Glendale, Peoria, and Scottsdale) as their spring training homes away from home.  It was breath taking!

I'll give you a personal recent experience of just how gorgeous it was in Scottsdale during "Auctions" week..... but first I have to get there!

Who went to Barrett Jackson?

We were there! Wow what an event. 

Our guys will be telling you all about it in our next blog...see you back here in a couple of days!!

Check out the HISTORIC HIGHS FOR THE 44TH ANNUAL BARRETT-JACKSON SCOTTSDALE AUCTION