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Future Collectibles--Make Your Prediction
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I think with the modern pony cars that it will be the trend-setters that people will collect, and those with the most powerful engines will be further desirable. So, you know, a Cobra has a much better chance than a base Mustang V-6.
By the way, as long as I'm on the Volvo subject, what about those 1960's Volvo sports cars as collector's items?
It has some value, certainly, but has been rather stagnant for years...they seem to peak out at $5,000-$7,000 for nice ones and can't manage to appreciate in value beyond that point. I must presume that the supply is sufficient for the demand for these cars and that's what's keeping them barely even with inflation.
They are a sturdy car, a Swedish version of what a "sports car" is, but the questionable styling (tail fins?), noisy engine and rather leisurely performance, as well as the very weird seating position (buried way down on the floor, with the window ledge at your ear level)--all these things work against the car. Also not cheap to fix, with an expensive and irksome overdrive transmission and very precious chrome pieces. But still tough as nails as far as sports cars go.
They have their charm, really, but speedy and agile they ain't.
I myself much prefer the later "sport wagon", the 1800ES, with a more harmonious body and fuel injection. I think these ES models have a better chance of hitting the $10,000 mark soon.
I'm afraid there were references in the past, but not good ones. The cars, though formidable in performance, were apparently of dubious quality and left a very sour taste in most owner's mouths, judging by their comments left here. I believe there is an archived discussion on these cars in
>
Go to that conference on the link above, and then click on "Archived Topics" at the top of the page and look for the Daytona Shelby topic.
If current values are any indication, there is not much interest in these cars as far as the current collector car market is concerned, One would be fortunate to get $3,000 for a very nice one, hardly the price of a good paint job.
There have been a number of interesting cars made that were marketplace failures and for that reason always carry a bad reputation, whether deserved or not. This "rep" keeps them undervalued because collectors like cars that have some kind of prestige or history attached.
My own personal impression of the car is that it was 75% marketing scheme and 25% rather hasty engineering to get performance out of a small engine. So it's a rough little car that didn't win any respect.
I still wish I had bought one back in late '84 when I got my first new car, but it was after the '84s were gone and before the gen II '85s came out.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Or a Rolls Royce? I'm pretty sure these will be collector cars in 30 or so years, and both of these marques rate WAY higher on general desirability than MB or BMW ever dreamed. I think a Rolls will be a collector car regaurdless of the number of doors it has.
The '00 Bird will be a cabriolet as I recall (??), and in limited numbers and a big hit (hopefully)...if those three criteria are in place, it might be a collectible, yes, I'd tend to agree.
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Foreign Products:
1. Porsche Boxster.
2. Porsche 930 (or whatever the first water-cooled model is).
3. BMW Z3 with the six.
4. Landrover Defender with the V8.
United States Products:
1. Viper.
2. Prowler.
3. Corvette LT-4, ZR-1, and aftermarket speciality corvettes, i.e., Calloway.
4. Dodge Ram Pick-up w/ the V10.
5. Impala SS 94-96.
6. Buick GNX.
7. Mustang Cobra.
8. Camaro SS.
Finally, have any of you folks heard anything about Chevy coming out with an Impala SS or BMW coming out with a retro 2002?
I still think if you let a Rolls get old enough, (say, buy one today, & wait til 2060 or 2070) it'll be worth something. Just think what a 1930's Rolls in mint condition would fetch. I check some classifieds on the Jags, though. Early & mid eighties can be gotten for about what a Used Taurus can! Jaguar or a Taurus, Jaguar or a Taurus? My what a hard choice!
I think rarity is a *crucial* factor in collectibility, as is *demand*. Either one (or both) factors must be in place for collectibility.
So, IMO, in 25 years you're going to have a lot more 90s Impalas around than people who want them, whereas by comparison you have a lot of 60s Mustang convertibles around, but also a lot of people who want them (giving them modest collectibility value) and a very few 1963 Split-window Corvette coupes with fuel-injection (giving them much higher value).
But I guess it all hinges on what we mean by "collectible"--to me, this means more than just a few people...it's more like a craze, almost an "artificial" value---so I can see a Viper doing this or maybe a Prowler (after many future years of depreciation), but never a Dodge pickup--too utilitarian....but even Cobras, yes, they will probably behave like 60s Mustangs...valuable but not very valuable, collectible certainly due to demand and "legend", but still too plentiful to hit the really high numbers.
So collectibility varies a lot in definition, I can only say with assurance that mass-produced 4-doors are hopeless as collectibles, but might be fun to drive around anyway in 30-40 years, if they are even allowed on the road!
Second, with all due respect, I must disagree with your statement that there are no truly "collectible" four doors and/or pick-ups. In my opinion, the 1996 Impala SS (and the slated Mercury Maurader) will make the classic grade. To date, a nice '96 Impala runs approximately $25K. Further, old pick-ups (Chevy and Ford in particular) have a huge rabid following. By way of example, a nice 50's - 60's truck can easily command $25K.
What contemporary vehicle would you recommend buying today, for under $45K, with the belief that it'd become a future "classic"?
But you will see that these high dollar "modern" cars from the 50s-60s-70s, are to a car all specially optioned and very rare cars, and all are roadsters, converts or muscle-car 4-doors (you are buying the engine and the extreme rarity, not the body!). As for the pickups, again I was referring to mass-produced models. The older pickups are valuable because there are so few of them left. But modern trucks, just by their design, will survive in far greater numbers. But again I could see a few rare-optioned pickups being worth money, like the Syclone...but a run of the mill Dodge Ram, I don't see why anyone would care myself.
Actually, you can buy a '31 Rolls for around $30,000, the reason being that although rare and coach-built, fewer and fewer people want them...again, supply and demand rules the price.
I think collectors of the future will seek out those 1990s cars that are very rare, hi-performing and extremely...*extremely* popular right now. So this excludes any 4-doors right off on all counts, IMO. But I think cars like Viper, Porsche Turbo, Saleen Mustangs, perhaps some limited production convertibles, things like that...but not your average Miata or Camaro....they will go into the "affordable collectible" category like the 289 stock 60s Mustangs are now...worth some money, but not huge amounts like the 60s muscle cars.
But even the special cars of today will first have to go through depreciation before climbing in value, so "socking a car away" is a VERY longterm investment, and for most people who try it, it doesn't pay off. Better to invest in stocks and then use that money to buy a classic in 25 years.
So any modern sedan would be a "cool car" in the year 2044, since it will appear very quaint to those modern eyes.
I doubt cars from the 80's would get quite the same reaction in 2044 as cars from the fifties do today, but I was thinking there's more to being collectable than being worth a boatload of money.
Take a 57 Bel Air for example. Unless you get one restored to Concourse condition, they're not hideously expensive, and yet they are very popular cars. Why, I don't know, but people seem to like them. On a side note, you mentioned rarity as a condition to make it an expensive collectable. I know a man who says few, if any of today's cars will be around in fifty years because the manufacturers are making them to wear out sooner, and they'll all be junkyard heaps. He says all of todays cars will be extremely rare by then, and anything will be collectable (even a Camry!) Wether or not he's right, only time will tell, but for the sake of my T-Bird, I hope he's wrong.
I know that sounds a touch snobbish, but I'm holding firm here not to say that money buys the best cars (I believe, in fact, that there are still worthy and wonderful old cars out there that money-mad collectors often overlook)--but I'm trying to give some meaning to these words
"collector car" and "classic", otherwise they are worthless words for communication.
Fact is, some cars are far more treasured and desired by the general population, and some cars are far more beautiful than others, and perform better, and are rarer than others. Like it says in Animal Farm (Car Farm?)"all cars are created equal, but some cars are more equal than others
".
Also, I think your friend will be proven quite wrong...modern cars are ten times better than old ones and will last much longer--that in fact, is one of the reasons most modern cars won't be collectible--there will be far too many of them around.
I've established my Grand Marquis has a market value of about $5, but just out of curiosity, what will a 95 T-Bird, not original color (That pearl white is hideous, and has to go-I'm thinking forest green), be worth in 50 or so years?
So I'd say your car has everything against it for being a collectible, not to say it isn't a nice car, just not rare enough or distinctive enough...and also not an open car, which is another minus.
I'd say drive it, enjoy it, use it up, and let it go when it's worn out, that's the best thing.
the GT350 you mentioned was a "real" car...I mean, it wasn't just racing stripes with the words "special edition" or "type R" in chrome on the decklid somewhere. Collectors really like cars that can really do what they claim in appearance. Look at the difference in price between similar Corvettes depending on HP options.
One new factor that might come into play is horsepower (always a factor in collectibility), since cars of the future might not even been gas-powered and may not be very fast, either. So having a 1990s monster V-8 might be worth something.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
One of the big three make the vehicle I'm referring to in post #186. Any other ideas ...?
As shocking as it sounds, in recent history, it was the first(most famous)mass produced modern electric vehicle to be offered to the American public (and the world) to be used as a street legal commuter device.
It may be recognized as generating a revolution...
If nothing more...you'll see 'em in Museums....bet ya.!
It is connected to the 2-Spd Powerglide.
Does anyone know the worth?
Anyone interested in it?
I can be reached at
[email protected] if you want to call or have me call you.
In some sense they were right, but producing a 6-cylinder automatic street rod all in the same basic shape and color will hurt future values I think. But it's certainly different enough to remain a curiosity and a lower-level collectible in the future, yes I think so--given a lot of time for the usual depreciation cycle of course. I predict it will be like the old Kaiser-Darrin or Frazer-Nash or Avanti or some such...not big buck collectible, but of interest to a cult following.
I personally can't ever see a Honda or a Camry or evena Baretta ever being collectible. They're a dime a dozen, and unlike sedans of the 50s, not even distinct from any other make. Also, F-bodies with 6 cylinder automatics aren't going to cut it either.
I'm not even sure that as many people will be interested in cars in the future. It seems that the upcoming generation is far more interested in computers. How often do you see kids working on cars in the street...oh, you see them, but percentage wise I don't think the interest is there like it was in the 50s and 60s. And remember, the bulk of collecting is done by those people who collect the cars of THEIR generation, their youth, their memories.
We should try a survey of ages and what car you wanted you senior year of high school.
I graduated in 1988 and wanted a Buick Regal GNX. I had no desire for a corvette those years and actually owned a 71 plymouth Sebring and 70 chevelle at the time. Now 12 years later I could own a regal GN but want a 71 Sebring, go figure.
As for 4-door mass produced cars being worth a lot of money, I guess nobody can say for sure, but it would go against 75 years of historical trends in car collecting and somewhat against common sense, which does point to the fact that 4-door cars are always produced in greater numbers than 2-doors and convertibles. So even if you overcome the aesthetic objection to 4-doors with better styling, you still have the patterns of history and the "laws" of economics (supply and demand) to work against......unless by "collecting" you mean like on the Beanie Baby level, and well then, sure, anything goes. Sheer cultural madness is unpredictable.
"Maybe we should be hanging around the baseball stadium finding out who's thinking about getting a new car..."
Can I have dibs on Sammy Sosa's ride?