MBCA Member News – First Person Report
Ron Varley is Shell Oil Ultimate Enthusiast
As our chauffeured limousine neared the Barrett-Jackson auction grounds in Scottsdale, Arizona, on the evening of January 13, 2014, to take us to the annual auction kick-off gala, all I could think of was the movie “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” The landscape was shrouded in dust churned up by the hundreds of cars filing into an unpaved parking area. Light from mercury vapor lamps produced the same kind of hazy surreal scene we all remember from that film. Somehow this seemed a fitting climax for a wondrous few days in Arizona.
I had been awarded this trip to Arizona’s Auctions Week as one of three finalists in the Shell Oil Ultimate Enthusiast Contest. We three finalists and our wives had already been to the inaugural Arizona Concours d’Elegance at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel, designed in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright, with over 80 magnificent classic cars arrayed on the elegantly landscaped lawns being enjoyed by an appreciative crowd of equally elegant people. We thoroughly enjoyed the show, which included a number of the most desirable Mercedes-Benz classics such as a gorgeous pair of 300SLs, a Gullwing and a Roadster. Best of show went to a 1925 Hispano Suiza H6B Cabriolet de Ville. We were honored to meet Keith Martin, the host and emcee for the event, editor of Sports Car Market Magazine, and the spiritual leader of all car enthusiasts.
On our arrival at Barrett-Jackson, we were escorted into the newly finished Barrett-Jackson pavilion by our host Elizabeth Hudson from Shell Oil. The gala is the prelude to the biggest collector car auction week of the year. And it was here that the Shell Oil Ultimate Enthusiast for 2014 would be named.
The crowd of over 3,500 people was treated to the throbbing sounds of Bret Michael’s rock band, along with food and drinks. Car enthusiasts and celebrities alike were wall to wall in the giant auction arena. Craig Jackson, CEO of Barrett-Jackson welcomed the crowd and the three of us were ushered onto the stage. Remarkably, we each represented different generations, and distinctly different experiences with the car hobby. But what brought us to this stage was most certainly a common passion – and a willingness to take a shot at an essay contest. Each of us could feel the adrenaline pumping in the moments before the big announcement.
To my ultimate delight, I was named the grand prize winner. The first thought that rushed through my mind was that my wife and I would be making our long-anticipated trip to Italy. Moreover, I would now be reaching my once seemingly unreachable dream of touring the Ferrari factory. When Craig Jackson gave me the award plaque and he asked if I wanted to say a few words, I could only thank my wife and daughter for their support and encouragement and the Shell Oil Company for this incredible experience, and say that to win this prize and to receive it in this setting, was as good as it gets for a car guy.
For a car enthusiast, and I now have the certificate to prove I am one, the Arizona adventure can be summed up in three words: ultimate sensory overload. I can’t wait to experience Italy.
Ron Varley