IN SOME WAYS, the New England Auto Auction isn’t your typical collector-car auction. For one thing, it’s produced entirely by the staff and volunteers of the Owls Head Transportation Museum in MidCoast Maine, with proceeds supporting the museum’s operations and initiatives. As a once-a-year event, it takes on a festival atmosphere, with the same buyers returning year after year to socialize and — maybe — buy a car.
But in other ways, it’s entirely like virtually any other auction you might attend. The house works hard to get top dollar for every lot, aided in the past few years by their association with Proxibid, which lets anyone with internet access take part in the bidding in real time. About 200 cars cross the block each year, and there’s generally as much variety as you’d find at one of the higher-volume auctions.
Total sales during the August 25-26 event added up to $4.36 million, including memorabilia and several no-reserve vehicles sold Friday night. That’s off from last year’s total of $5.7 million, when the auction featured a run of 26 exotic cars from an estate sale. “Prices were very good overall, especially at the higher-dollar end,” development director
