The Voice of MECUM Auctions

Raised in auto-obsessed Los Angeles during the 1960s and ‘70s, our guest spent his youth hanging around the dealerships where his dad sold cars. This experience bred a lifelong interest in both the cars and the business of selling them. He enjoyed a long and successful career first as a sales manager for retail auto sales, and later shifting gears to work in aircraft sales.

Joining the Mecum team in 2006, John Kraman served as the co-director of consignments for Mecum Auctions alongside Frank Mecum. Beginning in 2008 and continuing today, Kraman has been the commentator of Mecum Auctions broadcast on NBC Sports Network, MotorTrend TV and others. And he’s here to tell us all about his fascinating career journey in the world of classic cars and broadcasting. 

Check out the follow-along notes, transcript and more details for this episode at GTM

On this episode with John we chat about… 

• Growing up a California native and spending your formative years there, you have to have been exposed to a number of spectacular cars – what are some that you’ve owned, what are some favorites from that era? what are some of the dream cars, and why those cars?  Tell us about the worst cars?  What do you think the ugliest car ever built might be? 
• Working with Frank Mecum, you were DoS, what did that job entail? How did that transition come from DoS to voice of Mecum?  That sounds like a very drastic shift in roles.
• When you’re at an auction cars are coming on and off the blocks, and if you watch the MECUM broadcasts, it’s almost like watching a baseball or basketball game and you are the sportscaster… You must have encyclopedic knowledge on all these cars? How can you speak to each one that goes by in detail? How do you do it?
• Let’s focus on some of the different Auctions you cover. You’re traveling all over the country going to these events. How do you make them unique or emphasize them when you’re there? How do you differentiate (or highlight) them.
• Evolution of Auctions? (John has been there nearly 20 years); what has he seen change? What has shaken up the auction world? Was it mostly the introduction of online sales?

and much, much more!

John Kraman is a man with a real passion for classic and collector cars, he holds his personal collection near and dear, with some of his favorites being a 1964 Pontiac GTO, a 2014 Mustang GT and a 2010 Corvette C6. Outside of his work with Mecum and cars, Kraman enjoys spending time with his wife Christine, four grown children and five grandchildren as well as connecting with his rock ‘n’ roll roots playing guitar and singing in a classic rock trio called “Redline 7000.”

To learn more about John, you can connect with him at www.mecum.com or on social media @carkraman on Twitter, or on LinkedIn; and don’t forget you can tune in every 2 weeks for a new episode of “MECUM on the Move” Podcast hosted by John. 

Get Pro Auction Tips from John Kraman!

This episode has been brought to you by MECUM Auctions the world leader of collector car, vintage and antique motorcycle, and Road Art sales, hosting auctions throughout the United States. The company has specialized in the sale of collector cars for more than 35 years, now offering more than 22,000 lots per year and averaging more than one auction each month. Mecum Auctions is headquartered in Walworth, Wisconsin, and since 2011 has been ranked No. 1 in the world with the number of collector cars offered at auction and is host to the world’s largest collector car auction held annually in Kissimmee, Florida, as well as the largest motorcycle auction held annually in Las Vegas. Mecum’s Road Art and Mecum On Time divisions offer a wide-variety of collectibles for live and online auctions.