-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Feibusch [mailto:rfeibusch1@...]
Sent: Monday, January 22, 2007 4:35 PM
To: Brirish Car Network
Subject: Motorhead 101 - Response on Journalists vs. Barrett-Jackson
Auctions
Subject: Motorhead 101 - Getting Booted
Original posting:
Collector-car writer ejected from show - by Bob Golfen
Veteran collector-car writer and publisher Keith Martin was stripped of his
media credentials and escorted off the WestWorld grounds of the
Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction this week after he made what auction
officials called disparaging and damaging public statements about the event.
*(Full Story at bottom of page)*
Dear Readers,
I think that the future of the hobby/business might be shaken by the outcome
of this rift. Is a media conglomerate cross between a Wild West Medicine
Show, NASCAR, SEMA Las Vegas, and a tent revival meeting (Remember Nascar
and Speed Channel are both owned by Fox Broadcasting) able to overide a
questioning press? OR, Will everyone make apologies, end discussion and let
a very powerful tail continue to wag the dog.
Will BJ start to publish their own Market Motor Magazine and cross promote
it with all of Fox/NASCAR/Speedvision/s cable viewer base ....... The BJ
show is amazing! - kept me glued to the screen all weekend - Is the great
show worth the eventual monopoly and a future of manipulation? .........
Film at 11:00 Are we ready to throw the money changers out of the temple
yet? Or does anybody out there really care .........
These are some of the responses:
Best,
Rick Feibusch
British Car Network
Motorhead 101 Info List
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"Television is an invention that permits you to
be entertained in your living room by people you
wouldn't have in your home." - - David Frost
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R E S P O N S E S
Rick,
You know, Keith Martin is, in sense, "unapproachable". However, that said,
he's right on the money about BJ and the ludicrous inflated values that are
caused by this media circus. It's nice to know that he has the spline to
call a spade a spade!
Keith, if you ever see this message, I applaude your efforts on behalf of
the collector car hobby.
Jim Perell
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Rick: I wish I had been there, to see it live! Thanks,
Gary McKillips
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It sounds like he stepped on the wrong persons toes. Is this one of those
"He who has the Gold makes the rules things"?
Mike C
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These car auctions are interesting from an entertainment standpoint, but
little else. A friend of mine refers to them as lotteries.
They don't represent the real world. Some of the bidders haven't completely
examined the vehicles on which they placed bids, other bidders/buyers bid up
lesser cars to high and/or above market values because their real focus is
the super expensive cars and their
wife/girlfriend/son or daughter expresses interest in the "low-priced"
$100,000 car. It's all relative.
There are exceptions, of course, where a car trades at true market value or
only slightly above or a true bargain is secured. But again, those are the
exceptions.
The real fireworks will be the auction with the entry of a factory Bugeye
with a trunk lid and the Sprite Mk II without one. BTW, I'm tracking down
the elusive factory Sprite with the Ford V8.
Barrett-Jackson / Michael Jackson. Both fantasy. Just of different sorts.
Sweet dreams.
Jay Fishbein
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Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2007 17:30:35 -0500
From: Ted
Subject: Re: [TR] BJ Auction
It has always seems so obvious to me on TV that the BJ team are a complete
group of less than professional hucksters. Their intimate TV coverage about
the behind the scenes just lends credence to Martin's remarks.
You certainly have to give it to them, as they have hit the sweet spot where
most Joes go to impress their friends. 10% on both ends, hell if you can
get it, stick it to them, that's the price of entertainment with a little
capitalism rolled into a cigar.
RM and other auctions are where the real connoisseurs sell their cars,
especially foreign cars.
Unfortunately most of the US cars they auction rarely get my blood racing,
but that's their market really, US iron, they have done a good job promoting
that indeed.
Ted L
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'Bout time somebody said something about the bad guys in Az
Delmar J Boscacci
HighwayOne Classic Automobiles
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$5.5Million, yeeow that removes the hobby from nearly everyone's budget. It
brings a new definition to the words "investment vehicle", let's see a
Picasso or a Cobra.
Chris Williams
Venice, CA
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Dear Rick.
As far as Speedvision's interminable coverage of the Barrett-Jackson
Auction, it is one of the FEW times of the year I do not watch Speedvision.
It goes on ad nauseum, and seemingly forever, and I for one think it is
about as exciting as watching paint dry, or the NFL's player draft.
Quite frankly, I wish they would just get over it, and show more of the
other shows they do in the off season like their automotive legend shows, or
better yet, videos or films of the old days of racing like they used to
before FOX bought them up and they became ALL NASCAR ALL THE TIME (when they
are not doing Barrett-Jackson).
I mostly watch them for F-1 coverage, and some of the MC racing (and of
course some of the legends shows previously mentioned). I do like Keith
Martin's work, and it is too bad that he was stripped of his press
credentials. He is apparently a bit of a gadfly to them, sort of like
Michael Moore was to Roger Smith in 'Roger and Me'.
Sincerely,
John McDonald
(one of your Brit car owners)
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Thanks for forwarding this; I missed the whole scandale. Wonder what'll
happen to Martin now? He's right, in a way; a lot of the bidding feels a
little shady, and some of the prices are pretty absurd. I forsee another
crash a-comin'.
But Martin is also fairly enamored of Being Keith Martin. And that's gotta
make him some enemies. Plus you don't get invited to a party and then slap
your host. Wonder if Keith Martin's Sports Car Market is for sale?
Best,
John Voelcker
New York City
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I don't know about that. If Martin was doing what they say -- making
disparaging public remarks about BJ right in their auction site -- he
deserved to be tossed out. If somebody walked into my business and made
remarks like that to my clients, they could expect the same. I'm just
surprised they let him back in as a spectator.
Larry Daniels
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What he did was DUMB...like showing up and sitting in the "black hole" at
the Oakland Coliseum to talk shit about the Raiders. It's BJ's event, their
turf, they're paying the bill... he's a GUEST. He has the whole rest of
the planet and the rest of his life to talk shit about BJ...so WHY did he do
it there and then? Because he doesn't understand BOUNDARIES, or he thinks
his "credentials" allow him to run his big mouth. I'd tell him he's
persona non grata permanently.
He's lucky he didn't have his legs broken. Dumbass! A classier way to deal
with him would be to RUN OVER him with a high priced collector car. Wait,
that might damage a perfectly good car, har har.
And nobody is forcing anyone to go to a BJ event, let alone bid on the cars.
Let the buyer beware, anywhere, not just BJ.
Tom Reier
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I have noticed that SPEED CHANNEL has had the "BJ" aution for like 15 hours
straight the past several weekends .... almosts appears to be a paid
informercial for BJ rather than TV coverage of an auction.
I don't know who is right in this situation, but it seeeeeeems that BJ and
S/C are getting a little tooo 'Motor Trend'ish cozy with this whole auction
coverage thing and that Keith Martin is *probably* in the right.
JOMO; ICBWrong
Jeff "Dennis Miller" Kay
SoCal
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And ..... This was also overheard at Scottsdale from reliable source;
Barrett-Jackson stopped OLD CARS WEEKLY from distributing sample copies at
the auction because the original issue that was shipped was displayed until
a BJ official saw that it had a competitor's advertisement and contained no
story about BJ, though BJ WAS on the front page of the next issue which was,
appropriately, dated to coincide with the BJ sale.
They did allow OCW to overnight ship copies of the next issue to distribute,
done at great expense, so the advertisers would get their ads seen at the
event. It is understood that OCW people looked at their vendor contract with
B-J and found that there was no stipulation concerning the editorial content
of sample issues to be distributed, but BJ would not listen.
Controling a journalist is one thing but "leaning on" vendors to tailor
editorial content is starting to look like the next big ol' Lincoln to cross
the block should contain Robert Stack as Elliot Ness!!
Best,
Rick Feibusch
British Car Network
Venice Beach, California
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"I have spent half my life trying to get away from
journalism, but I am still mired in it - A low trade
and a habit worse than heroin, a strange seedy world
full of misfits, drunkards and failures."
- - Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
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Collector-car writer ejected from show
by Bob Golfen
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 19, 2007 12:00 AM
Veteran collector-car writer and publisher Keith Martin was stripped of his
media credentials and escorted off the WestWorld grounds of the
Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction this week after he made what auction
officials called disparaging and damaging public statements about the event.
Wednesday's ejection of Martin, well-known as the former auction commentator
for Speed Channel's live coverage of Barrett-Jackson, comes after a blowup
with the auction regarding recent columns and coverage in his Oregon
publication, Sports Car Market, which covers collector-car auctions in the
United States and Europe.
The disagreement resulted in Martin being fired as commentator by Speed and
Barrett-Jackson, which partner in the coverage, said auction President Steve
Davis. advertisement
In the latest situation, Martin was "holding court" in the Scottsdale
auction's media center before dozens of media people and auction goers,
Davis said, telling them that Barrett-Jackson is rife with problems and
irregularities and they should instead attend one of the competing auctions
in Scottsdale and Phoenix.
"He was holding a seminar on why you should leave Barrett-Jackson," Davis
said. "It came down to him advising people that you need to go to Russo and
Steele and RM (Auction), and that Barrett-Jackson has, at best, just average
cars."Davis called Martin's behavior "journalistically unethical.
"Martin, who was also covering the event for the New York Times, said he was
unjustly targeted by Barrett-Jackson because of his prior columns, which
focused on what he described as shady bidding tactics and what he calls the
hyped-up values of the popular muscle cars that are fetching high prices at
auction.
"My business is talking about the value of collector cars and not getting
into (altercations) with an auction company," Martin said. "They had three
goons come up to me who said I was making disparaging remarks about the
auction and I had to leave."Martin said he would purchase a regular
admission ticket and cover the event as a spectator. Davis said he had no
problem with Martin attending as a regular customer.
Submitted by Robert McGarvey
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