The joke goes that you can tell when it’s fall in the American Southwest because all of the license plates change color. Flocks of snowbirds descend from points north as the oppressive summertime heat lifts, their vehicles’ individualistic, alphanumeric plumage adding color to the relentless sunbaked natural beige of what lies beyond the pavement.
You also can tell it’s fall in Las Vegas when Mecum comes to town, hot up against the annual automotive aftermarket orgy of the SEMA trade show. Mecum’s extravaganza in the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center in November 2022 took in a record $27.5 million over just three days. If you’re keeping track, it topped their previous Vegas high by nearly 10 percent, and last year topped the ’21 event by a whopping $5.2 million. The action was hot enough that anyone approaching the auction block could be mistaken that it was still summer in the desert.
With a total of 796 lots available over the long weekend, the house saw a reasonably healthy 74.25-percent sell-through. The average sale was north
