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Classic Cars What Will Be a Future Classic?
588 messages, Last post on Sep 06, 2009 at 3:54 PM
You are in the Classic Cars Forum. Your Host is mr_shiftright
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Replying to: reallandyacht (Jul 09, 2006 10:15 am) Lets just say that the gas situation gets really bad (6 or 8 dollar gas) in the next 20 or so years. Something as common as a V-8 F-150 or Hemi 300 may be worth big buck because the represent a bygone era just like the muscle cars do today and the Cord's and Duesenburgs did before that, when they were the gem of the collector market. What if it goes the other way and alternative fuels are found, cars become more effiecient and there is no longer a need for Prii, Fit's etc? Do they become collectible? Shfty is right (as usual) in that small production numbers, buzz at the time of launch and power usually bode well for a car's future collectability. Problem is, in the car manufacturers zeal to make money, there are few and far between examples of that situation anymore. My guess is that there are a few that have always had a following (Vette, Mustang) and will continue, but none of those will fetch a few million at the 2035 Barett-Jackson. Could be lean times for the car collector hobby in the not so distant future.
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Replying to: au1994 (Jul 10, 2006 6:08 am) Sounds trite but rings true. If fewer and fewer people want Model Ts in the future, then they will go down and down in value to the point say, of old farm machinery---you'll have a few collectors who have the old barn to store them, but their value will stagnate and eventually, the families (inheritors) will be pulling their hair out deciding what to do with yet another old Model T or tractor. Remember they made 15 million Ts at least and there's still a good aftermarket. Abundance + loss of interest do not bode well. The Hemis of today could be the tulips of long ago Holland---one day, people might just wake up and say "Hey, wait a minute, a Plymouth isn't worth one million dollars"--and boom, the whole thing collapses in a heap in a matter of weeks. Maybe some of these collectibles are indeed "works of art" but they are big smelly, leaking works of art filled with gasoline that need constant repair and maintenance. Last of all, people get tired of seeing the same cars over and over again....I think only truly unique automobiles can capture people's imagination over the course of time. My predictions for which OLD cars will retain value? 1. Capable of driving on modern roads 2. Somewhat reliable 3. Parts supply/aftermarket support 4. Retention of the mythology surrounding the car (what was its STORY?) What's the story behind a '54 Studebaker 4-door? Pretty obscure to most of us today, totally lost to someone ten years from now----but a Hemi still might have a mythology.
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Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Jul 10, 2006 6:35 am) I know whomever ends up having to liquidate my estate when the time comes probably won't be pleased. Presuming I still have them, I guess the DeSoto and Catalina might be worth something. Probably the junkyard for the rest of them though. Unless by some off-chance someone rights a story about a possessed 1979 5th Avenue in a shade of red that wasn't offered from the factory that kills people and falls in love with its teenaged owner, and then a movie gets made about it, and there ends up being a rush of people who want a 1979 5th Avenue bad enough that they're willing to snatch up regular NYers, St. Regises, Newports, etc and try to make them look like that particular movie car. 
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Replying to: reallandyacht (Jul 10, 2006 3:58 am) Compare it to 20s cars 20-30 years ago. Many can be bought cheaper now than then. From the old magazines I have, it seems a nice Model A roadster was more in 1981 than today. You want a good investment? The old standby...property.
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Replying to: andre1969 (Jul 10, 2006 4:52 am) Funny about the estate thing...I plan to have my fintail forever anyway...I am sure that won't have any heirs fighting. |
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Replying to: fintail (Jul 10, 2006 7:12 am) That's true. Land is one thing they can't make any more of, and the population is going nowhere but up. I had thought about maybe buying the place behind my grandmother. It sold in 2003 and the owner started fixing it up, but then slowed down and it sat empty forever. A family just moved into it about a week ago. They're doing the rent-to-buy thing. The buy price? $375,000! He paid about $143K for it 3 years ago. I tried to buy it back then, but my agent said it needed so much work to not offer any more than $100K for it. The biggest strike against it was that it was hooked up to a septic tank of questionable reliability. And it was about 400 feet off the road, which would have cost a ridiculous amount to hook up to the sewer! I also don't think it would have been quite as easy to put a 4-car garage on its half acre lot, either. 
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Among the common brands (neglecting rare cars such as the Lotus Elise, Acura NSX, etc), these are the closest to classics that I can think of since about 1990: 1. Ford Mustang Bullit model (2001-?) Pros had limited release, common name, movie association Cons not particularly fast among Mustangs - some of the SVT Cobra models will likely be more sought after 2. Toyota Supra Twin Turbo (1994-1997) Pros limited availability due to price shifting with later Supra models, good reputation among racers - already seeing high prices Cons might have been some turbo reliability issues since Toyota is out of the turbo market now 3. Honda Civic SI (1999-2000) Pros moderate availability, however, very few are left that haven't been trashed by teenagers Cons not particularly fast 4. Chevrolet Typhoon and Cyclone (late 1980's early 1990's) - not sure of the production dates - might be earlier than 1990
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Replying to: john500 (Jul 10, 2006 9:21 am) The reason I ask is that if a car is still dormant, price-wise, after 15 years, it's not going anywhere. We live in the United States of Amnesia, and if people haven't been bitten by a "bug" for a certain kind of car after 15-20 years, that means they've forgotten about it.
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If you traveled back in time to yourself in 1996 and said, "Hang on to that 5-speed AE86 Corolla. People will be beating your door down for it." your old self would have thought you were insane. The AE86 was just another '80s econobox, and 'drifting' was some obscure form of reckless driving practiced by Japanese hoodlums.
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Replying to: bumpy (Jul 10, 2006 11:27 am)
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