Kruse International is one of the world's leading auction firms and the largest collector car auction company, selling more vintage cars than all other firms combined. It auctions more than 13,000 cars in more than 30 events and dozens of real estate properties each year. In addition to collector cars, the company has auctioned distinctive real estate, vintage aircraft, collectible tractors, mobile homes, collectibles, rare oil paintings, factories, islands, zoos, railroads and three entire towns.

 

Together, the Kruse family has broken more than 250 world record prices in the collector car industry. Dean Kruse cried his 5,000th auction at the annual Houston sale in August 1987 and became the youngest man ever to attain that goal. His auction total is now well over 6,000 auctions.

 

The Kruses were the first to sell a car for a documented $1 million in cash -- a 1934 Duesenberg SJ La Grande long wheelbase dual-cowl phaeton. The Duesenberg was sold to Tom Monaghan, founder of Domino's Pizza and then owner of the Detroit Tigers. Another widely publicized sale was the sale of  30 muscle cars for $1 million to baseball great Reggie Jackson.

 

The Kruse family is noted for conducting the $41 million sellout of the famous William F. Harrah automotive collection. The sale of this 1,000-car collection was dispersed over three auction sessions. The Kruse family is also renowned for selling Homer Fitterling's 40-year collection for more than $13 million to car collector Ed Weaver, owner of Diamond Carpet Mills in Dalton, Georgia. In October 1990, the Kruses sold the collections of Gene Ponder and the late Sam Vaughan for $10.6 million. They then proceeded to sell out the Ed Weaver car collection in 1995 that featured 22 Duesenbergs and nearly 200 other great collector cars - all at No Reserve! More recently, the Kruse's have sold the multi-million dollar collections of Andy Granatelli, Roy Warshauwsky, Herbie Livingston, Mark Martin and many others.

 

Kruse International conducted the world's first annual consignment collector car auction in 1971 with its Auburn, Indiana auction. The Auburn extravaganza, held each Labor Day weekend, is the world's largest event of its kind and annually draws 5,000 collectible vehicles for sale. More than 150,000 people annually attend the auction and the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Festival. It is the fourth largest spectator event in Indiana, behind only by the Indianapolis 500, the Brickyard 400 and the Indiana State Fair.

 

Russell Kruse, Dean's father, established the family real estate/auction business in 1952 when he teamed with his father-in-law, Lester Boger. Boger had been clerking and contracting auctions since 1929. Dean Kruse joined the family business part-time in 1956 and full-time in 1959.