Donations at the automotive lifestyle event were gathered through the sale of 18 collector vehicles, crowd donations and fundraisers during the Opening Night Gala. Barrett-Jackson, which routinely waives buyer and seller fees on charity vehicles, has helped raise over $6.1 million for charity during the 2008 auction season.

"Over 40 years ago, my father Russ Jackson and his partner Tom Barrett presented their first automotive event with one goal in mind – to raise money for the Scottsdale Library," said Craig Jackson, Chairman/CEO of Barrett-Jackson.

With the help of Ford Motor Company, the abundant crop of charity cars sold in Palm Beach was led by the KITT Ford Shelby Mustangs from NBC's "Knight Rider," which sold as a pair for $300,000 to benefit Ford's Salute to Education program.

Salute to Education, which awards college scholarships to high school seniors in South Florida, received an additional $264,000 from sales of four other cars, including $135,000 for a 2008 Ford Mustang Roush P-51A fastback #151.

"Ford stepped up to the plate once again and brought some unbelievable cars to auction in Palm Beach," said Steve Davis, President of Barrett-Jackson. "Last year, Ford joined Carroll Shelby on stage to unveil and sell the first Shelby GT-H convertible. And they delivered again this year with the KITT cars, a stunning one-off ROUSH P-51 Mustang and several other exceptional, one-of-a-kind vehicles."

The exceptional charity total in Palm Beach comes just two months after Barrett-Jackson helped raise $5 million during the 37th Annual Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Event in Scottsdale, Ariz. American automakers Ford, GM and Chrysler led the way by auctioning their latest performance vehicles to gather nearly $2 million for respective charities.