The 2008 Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction in Scottsdale, AZ is winding down today. Accepted as the price barometer for the new year, B-J 2008 certainly lived up to its reputation.  Saturday was one of the most exciting car days of all time. Just to give you a small sample of the super excitement, try the sale of Carroll Shelby’s 1969 Shelby GT500 Convertible, a car he had specially assembled in 1969. The beautiful Candy Apple Red dream machine closed for $675,000, plus auction premium.  The much ballyhooed “Rondine” Pinninfarina 1963 Corvette concept car sold for $1.6 million. The largest mechanical robot, 40 foot long “Robosaurus” closed at $575,000.It is estimated that it would cost $5 million to develop and build today. A 1967 Shelby Cobra 427 sold for $625,000, a 1969 Camaro RCR car sold for $575,000. If that isn’t enough 2008 Shelby GT500 KR sold for $550,000. A trend from last year continued this year. Early M-B SL convertible are rising in value.A pretty 1961 M-B 300SL sold for $525,000. A 1959 M-B 300SL sold for $435,000. Hot domestic muscle cars remain hot, just maybe not quite so much. A 1970 Plymouth Hemi Cuda went for $245,000 followed by a 1969 Dodge Hemi Charger 500 for $165,000. The LS6 Chevelles were off some, most selling in the $80,000 range, but a Saturday car, a 1970 Chevelle LS6 454/450 sold for $177,500 giving heart to the bow tie boys. There were some disappointments, an obvious one being a 1969 Pontiac GTO Judge Ram Air IV Convertible that could only muster $110,000, about $125,000 less than last year. In conclusion, B-J confirmed that prices had declined in general during the last year, something most collectors already had a feeling for. The strength is in the real market, the Baby Boomer marketplace. The market is alive and well and we are all having a good time.