The Saratoga Automobile Museum is zooming ahead with plans for its 2019 Saratoga Auto Auction. The museum has announced that this year’s auction will take place on Friday, September 20 and Saturday, September 21, and feature around 350 classic, rare and collectible automobiles up for bid. A car show on Sunday, September 22, has also been added to the auction schedule. Automobiles that didn’t sell during the auction will be part of the car show on Sunday, and there will be a post-auction sale for any potential last-minute buyers looking to turn their dreams of classic cars into a reality. “Collectors can enter and bring their own cars to the show and then see and maybe even make an offer on the ones that didn’t sell [at the previous days’ auction],” says Carly T. Connors, Executive Director at the Saratoga Automobile Museum.
Now in its third year, the Saratoga Auto Auction, which is held onstage at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), has quickly become one of the premier auto auctions in the Northeast, drawing car collectors and enthusiasts from across the country. Last year’s auction saw nearly 200 classic and rare automobiles bid on and sold (including a few interesting collectibles such as vintage gas pumps), and raised more than $6 million dollars in just two days. This year, the auction is aiming to have even bigger returns. “Last year we had about 300 cars for sale, and that’s why we’re going to bring it up to about 350 this year,” says Connors. “We hope to have it keep growing from there; we’d love it to be one of the biggest national auto auctions one day.”
Proceeds from the Saratoga Auto Auction support the Automobile Museum’s safety program for distracted driving. Each year, this program reaches more than 15,000 high school students across the Capital Region by offering educational resources, driver training and public awareness campaigns. There are even driving simulators at the Automobile Museum that test an individual’s abilities to operate a (digital) vehicle while impaired or distracted. The idea is to simulate how easy it is to crash or harm others while texting or talking and driving.
It’s still too early to know just what type of lineup of cars will be offered this September, but the Automobile Museum will have more on what to expect (and save up for) come February or March.
