The Authenticity Era
Hi Friends!
A couple of weeks ago, while we were all still wrapped up in crazy colored Ferraris, car shows, car weeks and everything else that goes on in a packed January each year, something really, really significant happened in this space and it’s very likely that it could serve as the snowball that starts an avalanche if not appropriately approached. This event did receive coverage, but it seems like that mostly broke down to reel based blurbs and smaller competitors pointing and laughing and I’m not sure that the real importance of this was really underscored thoroughly enough.
Originally appearing on January 18th, Bring-a-Trailer posted for sale, a 1999 Cadillac DeVille. Immediately, a bunch of abnormalities appeared in the accompanying media and it was obvious that something wasn’t right. The long and short of it was, although it did seem to be a real car, the photos were pretty heavily gone over with AI, resulting in what could ultimately be viewed as a humorous set of highly questionable edits (cobblestone floors, multiple gear shifters, blatantly, incorrect engine and taillight components, etc). Of course, Bring-a-Trailer’s ever vigilant comment section spotted this pretty quickly and the spin was on.
Initially, I think BATs response was a little lackluster, but ultimately pretty fair. They gave the seller an opportunity to present additional, unedited photos but then under exceeding pressure, stopped the listing entirely. Many were screaming for them to immediately ban the seller (somebody with one previous comment and no previous listings), but I think BAT was right to give due diligence and provide the seller with the opportunity to write their wrong. Additionally, to their credit, they also went through the comments section and addressed people’s concerns properly, but it seems like the overwhelming criticism coming out of this was that BAT has gotten too big, that corporate “enshitification” has taken the wheel and that the once sacred enthusiast shrine that the site has ultimately been pretty much since its inception has flipped over to the dark side and is only interested in volume.
While I do think there is some validity in these concerns (and the fact that it was a 1999 Cadillac probably wasn’t doing them any favors here either), I think the real issue has somewhat been swept under the rug: This is not an isolated incident, this will happen again and it will get far, far harder to catch when it does. So, the question is, how are we supposed to trust online listings moving forward?
At this point it’s impossible to deny how fast AI is changing the game. It’s very easy to try and say that this isn’t really an issue now and we’ve got time, but I don’t really think we do. You talk to anybody who deals with this kind of stuff in any real capacity and they’ll tell you almost universally and across the board that although there are a lot of bugs to work out still, AI is progressing far faster than anyone would really care to admit. As a result, we’re much closer than we think we are to waves of fraudulent behavior originating both here on our shores as well as coming in from more difficult to manage locations elsewhere and the collector car enthusiast community is a pretty juicy target.
Part of why Bring-a-Trailer is so far ahead of everyone else in this space is due to the trust instilled by their comment section. As a buyer, you get a lot of peace of mind from the peanut gallery coming in and tearing apart every little detail of every car that shows up on the site. This alone has pushed the bar of what is acceptable as far as media on listings is concerned up significantly. We see it all the time in real world results too. A great car, with pictures and/or video that are unsatisfactory to commenters, just flat out don’t perform as well on the platform. Ultimately, this failsafe is what caught this situation initially as well and so their system continued to work here. It’s not always going to be this way however.
Some industries, like real estate for example have pretty openly started to embrace the understanding that what you see online maybe not what you get in person. You can cut into just about any real estate professionals’ portfolio somewhere at this point and you’ll see AI edited images and video and they aren’t doing a whole lot to hide it. In fact, many openly advertise their AI capabilities as a means of attracting sellers.
When you really break it down, there’s not much difference in value between somebody’s dream home and a Carrera GT either (the Porsche in most cases probably costing more). Although, there’s certainly exceptions, the difference I think, tends to be that people generally and openly accept that they need to visually inspect buildings and properties first. Of course, this happens frequently with cars too (BAT Partners/Dealers, etc), but not always. On the real estate side however, in a lot of (most) places, pre-purchase inspections are required by law regardless of the value of the listing. I find it difficult to believe that we get to that point from a legislative standpoint, but it may certainly increase the relevance of live auctions as a result (at least you can verify that a car’s actually real that way). It also may open the door for adjacent firms (or online auction platforms themselves) to provide services that replicate this. You have to ask though, at what point does that become a juice versus squeeze scenario? A huge percentage of this hobby exists under the six-figure mark and a huge piece of this marketplace (and insurance will certainly verify this) is enthusiasts who are just trying to buy one cool hobby car to personally enjoy, not dozens to enrich their portfolios.
We tend to throw the word authenticity around a lot in this hobby. We commonly consider things like Marti/Massini/Govier/MacNeish/etc documentation, NOS parts, restoration binders, factory certifications, etc, but I think we are headed into an entirely new era, where this term gets a much more significant meaning. I also think it extends beyond just buying and selling, but into events and across lifestyle in virtually every category in general. We are entering into a world where pretty soon everything is going to be fake and this goes against our biological design tremendously. The fact is, people are going to get to a point much sooner than we all think we are where authenticity is going to be seen as an incredible luxury and it’s something we’re all going to crave significantly. The ability to go out and physically experience something, put your hands on things and verify reality will become much more important than just the convenience of a solely digital experience could ever be.
Obviously, these auction platforms are big dollar machines and they are now majorly incentivized to stay in front of this, but there is going to come a point where that’s going to be easier said than done and the availability of unique and exclusive vehicles may no longer be the primary value proposition. We may be entering into an era where real world trust leads everything.
I think it’s inevitable. This is the starting point of where everything becomes different.
The Authenticity Era has unfortunately arrived.
That’s it for this week……
Darin Roberge