Many historic and rare cars will be offered at this year’s Arizona Classic Car Events. To see over one hundred of them gathered in one place, head over to RM’s “Automobiles of Arizona” display at the Biltmore Resort in Phoenix.

If a trip to the South West on January 16th isn’t possible, then we suggest you surf over to RM’s website to see pictures and detailed descriptions of their full line up, and some of their featured cars on video – it’s the next best thing to being there.

RM has arranged videos of what we’ll call their “magnificent seven” and posted them on their website. Check it out: RM’s Featured Cars on Video

This time last year, we remember thinking that the down-turn in the US economy would surely put a damper on car sales at Arizona’s Classic Car Auction week…but it didn’t. There was definitely a well deserved correction in pricing, but sales numbers were strong.

Naturally we were thinking that with the economic data from 2008, which proved financial woes and unemployment hikes were likened to that of after WWII, we had to see classic car sales go down. Surprisingly, first day results were up from last year.

On Tuesday, January 13, 2009, Barrett-Jackson sold 136 cars for a total of $3,536,245. That means they sold one car every 7 minutes for an average of $26,000. Compare that to the prior year's first day results of 120 cars sold at an average of $20,833 totaling just over $2,500,000.

Typically the cars that roll out on Barrett-Jacksons first day of the Arizona auction aren’t your million dollar babies. Last year the highest selling car hit $68,000. This year three cars sold for over $100K – the 1925 Chevrolet House Car, a 1997 Monte Carlo “Intimidator”, and the 1989 Corvette ZR-1 Coupe. It was a good night for Chevy.

If Barrett-Jackson’s first day of auction block sales is any indication of what’s to happen all week for the auctioneers, the celebrations will be many.

You can catch the Barrett-Jackson Auction live starting Thursday, January 15th on SpeedTV.

On Monday January12th, Barrett-Jackson began their Arizona Auction week by treating “Invitation Only” guests to an evening of eating, drinking and dancing in Westworld’s main tent – the area of the complex that’s used for their six days of auctioneering.

To reach the main tent on any day or night, visitors must first pass through the 100+ vendors selling a variety of goods like auto memorabilia, vibrating chairs, furniture, clothes and jewelry. Barrett-Jackson’s auctions always have something for everybody, even at the Gala Night celebration.

There were plenty of food stations and “No Cash Bars” set up for guests to frequent during the evening, which we noticed many did. We stayed especially closed to the food table sponsored by Alice Cooper’s Cooperstown Sports Bar and Grill which was serving, among other things, their tasty Hunky’s Chunky Chicken Quesadilla.

The main tent got rocking and rolling with a Motley Crue tribute band which was quite good. After hitting the refreshment table a few too many times, three female guests over looked the band’s bad wigs and we’re sure they thought “the” Vince Neil was serenading them personally. It was great fun!

Many of the evenings attendees, like us, went to get up close and personal with the real celebrities of the evening including the first production Ford Thunderbird, and the only surviving Camaro Don Yenko personally sold for use in NHRA racing.

We’ve put together a photo gallery of Barrett-Jackson’s Gala Evening for your viewing pleasure here.

Ron Van Kregten began his career as a gas station attendant before going on to start a very successful automotive trade school for mechanics, and assembling his collection of cars. In addition to a passion for cars he was also an avid collector of motorcycles and significant aircraft that included war birds such as the P-51 Mustang, Steerman Bi-Plane and the late Howard Hughes’ Sikorsky S-43 flying boat.

Although he came from humble beginnings, Van Kregten had an intuitive interest in mechanics, a unique character, and a respect for history that is reflected in his absolutely stellar collection. By the time of his sudden passing in 2002 he had locked away a virtually unknown and rare collection that has never been publicly viewed in its entirety. (registration required by Gooding & Company to view links)

Gooding & Company will present the Van Kregten Collection at their 2009 Scottsdale Auction Saturday, January 17th. The star of the twenty cars in the Van Kregten Estate is the 1960 Ferrari 250 GT Short Wheelbase California Spider. The Italian sports car par excellence is one of only 54 Short Wheelbase examples and one of only a handful of cars fitted with the coveted covered headlights from the factory. This car is exceedingly original, complete with the factory hardtop. The sale of this California Spider is an opportunity that collectors dream of.

Another Van Kregten Ferrari that will be available at the Scottsdale auction is a 1961 250 GT Pininfarina Cabriolet, the most expensive Ferrari model produced at the time. This car is also very original and one of only 200 ever built.

Other rare cars in the collection include a 1964 AC 289 Cobra, originally delivered to a Ford executive before joining the Van Kregten collection in the 1970s, a 1953 Allard J2X, a 1950s British sports car that possesses a high horsepower and top-of-the-line Cadillac engine, and the 1937 Cord 812 SC Phaeton, one of the few supercharged models built.

You can view the full line up of the late Ron Van Kregten collection on Gooding & Company’s website.