Auburn auctions deemed a success

AUBURN, Ind. (AP) - The new owner of a long-running classic car auction in northern Indiana considers its first edition of the traditional Labor Day weekend sale a success, a company spokeswoman said.

Auctions America by RM bought the former Kruse Auction Park in Auburn in July and said more than 25,000 people attended the weekend event, during which sales topped $13 million.

"There's a shared sentiment across the board that it was very positive," company spokeswoman Kerrey Kerr-Enskat told The Star of Auburn. "The event this year went very smoothly."

Ontario-based RM Auctions bought the Kruse International auction park and pledged to continue the early September sales that have drawn thousands of people for nearly 40 years. The auction park's future had been threatened by former owner Dean Kruse's financial troubles.

The company spent more than $1 million in the past month on improvements such as repaving parking lots and repairing buildings.

Bill Caugherty drove from North Carolina to attend the auction and said he was impressed with what RM has done.

"They've really cleaned up the place in about the same amount of time it takes me to clean my garage," he said.

Two other auctions held big sales of classic cars in the area over the weekend while the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Club held its annual festival in the city about 20 miles north of Fort Wayne.

Worldwide Auctioneers tallied sales of just under $10 million over the weekend, spokeswoman Jo Snyder said. Its sales included a 1935 Auburn boattail speedster that changed hands for $400,000, and a 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz sold at $365,000.

"It was probably the best Auburn auction we've ever had," she told The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne. "Auburn was traditionally where the great cars traded hands and that really was the objective."

Classical Event Auctions canceled its Saturday sale because of a lack of bidders, but then sold a 1932 Model J Duesenberg Derham Tourster went to an undisclosed bidder for $1 million, said Ayron Reeves, the company's marketing director.

Auctions America's sales included a 1934 Duesenberg Model JN for $875,000 and a 1929 Duesenberg Model J 7-Passenger that sold for about $320,000.

Kerr-Enskat said RM Auctions officials who ran the auction will meet this week to discuss changes and improvements for next year.

"There's always room for improvement, but we're very pleased with the last two months and what we accomplished," she said.