KISSIMMEE, Fla – Mecum Auctions, one of the world’s largest collector car auction companies in the world, has consigned more than 4,200 cars for this year’s Mecum Kissimmee 2023 event.
Let that sink in. Over 4,200 cars.
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According to David Morton, manager of communications and event marketing at Mecum, the company’s first auction in Kissimmee, way back in 2004, had a mere 400 cars up for bid and generated $4 million in sales. Fast forward 19 years (to 2022) and Mecum came with nearly 3,500 consignments and generated $217 million in sales. At 4,200 cars on the auction block in 2023, Mecum is on-track to break last year’s record.
For Mecum, Kissimmee is just the start to a very busy year. The company has 14 events planned in 2023 including a second stop back here in Central Florida from July 6-8.
Operations for the 2023 Kissimmee auction take up almost all 200 acres of Osceola Heritage Park with cars parked under massive tents, in outdoor lots, and snaking through the main hall on their way up for bid. Two-hundred acres of cars? Not quite, but on a rainy Thursday, I did log some 17k+ steps -- over 5 miles of walking -- checking out what Mecum had to offer.
My plan was simple: with so many cars on hand, was there something unique I could find that would define this year’s auction? In 2020, Mecum auctioned off Steve McQueen’s 1968 Mustang from the movie Bullitt in Kissimmee for $3.74 million. In 2009, a 1965 Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe sold at Mecum in Monterey for $7.25 million. Was there a big car story for 2023?
Yes… and no.
Instead of finding one big story, like the 4,200 cars at Mecum, there were 4,200 individual stories!
Easy to say, but very true. Mecum Kissimmee 2023 features muscle cars, classic cars, exotics, trucks, motorcycles, tractors, artwork, and yes, even a plane (we’ll get to that in a second).
If there was one major theme, it was this: if you like cars, go to Mecum. You don’t have to buy anything (although there are very affordable cars at the auction), but if you have a love and appreciation of cars, take a day and head on over to Kissimmee. The event runs through Sunday.
As for 4,200 stories, that’s not happening (at least not here). However, check out the slide show below for a quick glimpse of more than a dozen examples of what you could find for auction at one of Mecum’s marquis events.