We took a quick look around the Mecum Auction at Kissimmee, Florida this morning...and we heard a few words from auction boss Dana Mecum himself.

If you thought there would be a light turnout for Mecum's Kissimmee (FL) auction, for one reason or another, you'd be wrong.

As of this (Friday) morning, just after the event opened for the day, they reported that they already had more than 2,400 registered bidders--up a bunch from last year. Plus, the line of bidders-to-be who were registering on-site was beginning to stretch out the door (again, that was as of the time that the event got underway this morning)

Before then,  Dana Mecum spoke to local reporters, and noted that they get more people who not only inquire about their first-of-the-year auction in Florida, but are changing their plans and going to Florida instead of Arizona (and not to any of the five auctions that take place in and around Scottsdale).  "For years, people west of the Mississippi have gone to the Southwest for the winter, and people east of the Mississippi have gone to Florida for the winter," he said. "Our statement is: There are collector cars east of the Mississippi in January." Dana added, "With the weather that the Kissimmee convention bureau provided us this year, and the poor job that the weather people in Arizona did this year, I’m sure we’ll get a larger crowd next year!"

The storm damage in Scottsdale during the big Arizona winter-auction weekend last weekend--especially at Russo & Steele's auction grounds--was on the minds of those on hand, including Dana. "I really don’t have a comment about their tents blowing down," said Dana, who noted that his first collector-car auction endured bad weather. "We got hit by a tornado," he said. "It’s not a fun thing, when that happens to you in this business. It’s the one thing, as an auction promoter, that you have to take extra, extra care with in set-up, safety, and so forth."

 After hearing from Dana, we went out and took a look at some of the Vettes that are going up for bids...including four that'll cross the block tomorrow with no reserve. Stay tuned for those, and be sure to visit www.mecum.com for complete Kissimmee auction info.

 (By the way, how do you like that old "OK Used Cars" neon sign above? It's a vintage Chevy dealer item that lit up a long-ago used-car lot...and is one of the big neons that is not only up for bids this weekend, but is also a set decoration for the HD Theatre broadcast of the auction.)