The dip reflects softening values in some parts of the collector-car market but also shows how the auction is changing its focus, auction President Steve Davis said.

"The event that we just experienced was one of the most successful Barrett-Jackson ever had in its 37 years," Davis said. "Less cars, no multimillion-dollar consignments, no rock-and-roll memorabilia, more hobbyist-level consignments, all by design. And with a shaky economy, at best.

"With all those things, we still ended up with the third-highest sale in Barrett-Jackson history."

Auction experts were predicting a down year for the Valley's major collector-car auctions held last week because of a yearlong decline in the previously inflated prices of American muscle cars, which made up the fastest growing niche, and because of increasingly uncertain economic conditions.