In last week’s Market Monday, we covered the results from Bonhams Cars’ Audrain and Zoute sales. This week we’re recapping the performance of RM Sotheby’s Hershey Auction in Pennsylvania, which just wrapped up on Thursday, October 10th.

The East Division of the Antique Automobile Club of America has held its Eastern Fall Meet in Hershey, Pennsylvania for nearly 70 years. Events include a car show, for-sale car corral, literature sale, and more. As one of the largest automobile gatherings in the world descended on the streets of Chocolate Town USA, RM Sotheby’s held its Hershey Auction at the elegant Hershey Lodge. Reflecting the makes, models and generations of the vehicles attending the show, RM Sotheby’s Hershey 2024 sale focuses mostly on cars built prior to 1970 and on pre-war cars in general.

RM Sotheby’s brought 162 consignment lots this Autumn event and it could have been called the “Hershey No Reserve Sale,” as nearly all cars were offered at no reserve. As such, the sell-through-rate was 99%. 4 cars were unsold after crossing the block, but 2 of those cars were sold post-auction. Dollar volume for the sale was $16.4 million in total, with an average sale price of $103,553.

Based on a cross-section of sales from categories including Pre-war, post-war and modern classics, the results seem to be pretty solid despite the no-reserve nature of the auction. Each grouping included a fairly even split of cars that beat, missed or met expectations (at least in terms of the house estimates). Credible data for cars built past 1980 isn’t as reliable as there were only 6 lots from the modern classic genre.

Last month, I suggested there could be some potential bargains at this sale given its no-reserve nature and the focus on antique metal. Was I right? Let’s look at the three more modern cars I pulled out from the list.

What I said: “Not too many of these cars show up at auction, as the base cars and turbo-charged and fuel injected cars seem more prevalent. Both cars are guided at $30,000-$40,000, which I find optimistic given their condition.”

RM Sotheby’s did not stream the event on October 9th and I did not attend the sale, so I’m not sure what the vibe was in the room. Both these Roundies sold for $38,500 when factoring in buyer’s premium. I’m going to call these well sold.

What I said: “This car, with its 5-speed transmission, metallic red paint and worn original interior needs some refreshing mechanically. Even so, a manual V12 Ferrari with 6 Weber carburetors for under $100K is an exciting prospect. Even better, this car is offered at no reserve, so it could sell for even less than its low estimate of $75,000.”

And sell for less it did, though not by much. This honest wedge-shaped Ferrari sold for $68,750 including buyer’s premium, or over $6,000 less than the low end of the range.

Auction houses are marketing engines in addition to sales businesses, and choosing the right cars to sell at the right venue is paramount. A few impressive sales from Hershey show that when this is done well, even supposedly “dying” generations of collector cars can still bring the money.

While only a few American pre-war cars light my fire, this car is undeniably beautiful and truly captures a bygone era of American automotive excellence. Estimated at $75-100,000, this car sold for $209,000. Based on historical sales of similar Fleetwood Sedans, this isn’t really far off from pre-pandemic pricing for these cars.

Hagerty’s 2024 Bull Market—an entertainment-based guess at which cars will appreciate the most in the future—included a woodie convertible. In that case it was the 1947 Chrysler Town and Country. There was, in fact, a 1948 for sale in Hershey but it didn’t reach the low estimate. In contrast, this pre-war woodie blew the doors off its estimate of $50-65,000 by hammering for an impressive $84,700.

For an iconic blue chip muscle car said to be on the decline, this Superbird did quite well against its estimate of $125-175,000. That said, I think the estimate was set a bit low, perhaps because RM Sotheby’s felt the TMU status of the car hurt its value. Bidders didn’t seem to care, as this car sold for $245,000 including buyer’s premium, which is almost bang-on average price for the model.

Given the cars on offer were well-matched to the venue and the audience, it’s tough to say that the positive sales from RM Sotheby’s Hershey 2024 auction contradict the prevailing belief that pre-war and muscle cars are declining in interest and value. In my opinion, Hershey’s results do at least indicate there’s still a strong fan-base for what most of us think of as “classic cars.”

Wolf and Mare provides car finding, appraisals, and auction services for buyers and sellers of collector European cars. If you’re interested in acquiring an overseas car, give us a call or drop a line!