Winner: 2024 BaT Video of the Year—Shervinator and the Bell System Van!

WINNER’S ANNOUNCEMENT:

The votes are in, and while it was the slowest subject among the finalists, the ex-Bell System Ford Econoline display van established an early lead and never looked back. So congratulations are due to Shervinator for writing, directing, producing, and co-starring in our 2024 Video of the Year!

The imaginative video, presented by Shervinator, started with a 1970s-style epilogue, and then guided us into a brief history lesson on Ma Bell, which included period footage and the story behind the vans themselves, with an interesting aside about Saul Bass’s iconic logo and branding design. Of course, the van was the star, and Shervinator included an engaging overview of its condition along with an archeological paint dig of great proportion. Commenters loved the creativity and noted that, even at length, the production was attention-grabbing—prompting folks to come back for seconds. We’ve definitely watched it through a few times ourselves.

It wasn’t just the BaT community who noticed; our friends over at the Petersen Automotive Museum caught wind of the video and offered Shervinator an Associate Curator role. Talk about post-auction success!

Congratulations, Shervinator! We’ll be in touch shortly to coordinate your prize: a new set of Michelin or BFGoodrich tires of your choosing, courtesy of our generous friends at Michelin USA!

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FINALISTS ANNOUNCEMENT:

Okay! We’ve tallied up your nominations, and your three finalists for Video of the Year are below. Leave a comment below to vote for your favorite. We’ll announce the winner on Thursday, January 16!

Leading the pack this year is this video presented by Shervinator from his ex–Bell System 1974 Ford Econoline E-200 display van project auction, which was listed here in January 2024. The beginning of it will have you thinking you’re watching an infomercial from the 1970s, and the film has long since immortalized itself into BaT watch history.

Next is this onboard footage—included in an auction from FantasyJunction in May 2024—of Tommy Steuer doing battle in a C2 race car at Laguna Seca. No fancy angles or editing here—just an awesome car and an able pilot showing us what it can do.

And finally, we have another ride-along video, this time from gblue putting this 1985 Mazda RX-7 Group B rally car through its paces. This particular example may have missed its Group B debut, but gblue’s flip-flop-ed footwork on Hawaiian backroads conjures up an alternate reality that we wouldn’t mind living in.

These are your four finalists for Video of the Year! Vote for your favorite in the comments. We’ll announce the winner on Thursday, January 16.

ORIGINAL POST:

The Video of the Year award, now in its fifth year, honors those with a gift for capturing impressive vehicles doing what they do best—moving. Last year, DougP took home the prize for his Alpina B6 video, which also happened to give audiophiles a sonic representation of what a proper BMW inline-six is supposed to sound like.

Our sellers continued to raise the bar in 2024 with captivating onboard footage, rad genre riffs, detailed equipment demonstrations, and more.

What was your favorite BaT Video in 2024?

Make your nominations in the comments below – be sure to note the specific video and link to the listing it appeared in. This results page shows nearly every auction from the last calendar year (starting from today’s date) and features plenty of filters to help you find what you’re looking for. Honorable mentions are welcome, but please be sure to cast an official vote for only one listing. Nominations are open now!

Please note that previous winners are not eligible for this year’s award. We want to spread the love around!

We’ll start tallying the votes on the morning of Monday, January 13, and the top three will move on to final voting. The winner will be announced in this post on Thursday, January 16, and will receive four new Michelin or BFGoodrich tires of their choosing.

Cast your vote now! And be sure to vote for all your other favorites in this year’s BaT Awards categories:

• Success Story of the Year
• People’s Choice Listing of the Year
• Most Valuable Commenter
• Photo Gallery of the Year
• The Cognoscenti Award

Check out our BaT Awards Announcement for the full schedule and rules.