Topic: Tomorrow's Collector Cars

[Mitlov]

Well a cult classic doesn't mean collectible.  A cult car is one that is loved by a few die-hard.  A collectible is a car loved by most any auto enthusiast.  I think the Supra is also an example of this....Though I don't think they're going to be a collectible either..

I don't agree with your definitions.  I don't think something has to have to appeal to everybody (or even a majority) to be a "collectable."  I would call an R34 Skyline GTR "collectable," for example.

But if I use your definitions, then I agree that the GTO will be a "cult car" but not a "collectible."

[rrocket]

^^Where have you been anyways??? 

[Mitlov]

^^Where have you been anyways??? 

Hunting bison.  All Americans have to kill a bison with a bowie knife to earn the right to vote.

[rrocket]

Hunting?  You?  I would have never guessed....

[Mitlov]

Hunting?  You?  I would have never guessed....

That's me in the dashing red shirt:



(EDIT:  In case you can't tell, I'm kidding.  The only "hunting" that Jetta owners do is for the hottest fall fashions.  You should know this).

[rrocket]

Hey man...I only know little about you from this board.  For all I know you could be down with killing big game...

[ovr50]

I see Chev is doing 500 special Corvettes for Hertz. Called the Corvette ZHZ (or something like that). The Shelby Mustang done for Hertz in 1966, and the current ones are definitely collectibles. This Corvette could well be a collectible item, especially among Vette enthusiaists. No/Yes?

[rrocket]

^^Vette only comes with an auto tranny?  Tough sell for collectors I would think....

[ovr50]

^^Vette only comes with an auto tranny?  Tough sell for collectors I would think....

Agree to some extent; but...many of today's automatics are pretty responsive and sophisticated, not the dull old autos of yesteryear. The new DSG, SMG, Tiptronics, Steptronics, etc are pretty neat trannies, and carry few to none of the disadvantages of the old autos. I think the absense of the manny tranny will be of less concern to collectors in the future. Juat my opinion, obviously.

[barrie1]

Many of the new Auto trannys are actually faster then the standard shift ones in a qt mile race. I have a TH400 in my truck with 4 extra clutch packs and a BMW 2600 stall convertor which will take a lot more abuse then any standard tranny of to-day altho some of the new are extremely well built as well. They also take the abuse many owners put them thru. 

[rrocket]

For sure....but the die-hard collector's seem to prefer manuals...

[Leviathan]

I'll bid a Miata but raise you the PRHT version 

[My Old Buick]

Low production#'s limited availability will push some cars in collector status, always have and always will. As frightning as it is to me, Honda Civic's and integra's (type R, Sir, ) will be collector cars. I'm 30 and it's amazing how many people in my age group and younger are import lovers. If I was an import lover i'd ziplock a 350Z and a S2000 If these are the cars they're driving today, after wife kids etc it looks like those willl be the cars they go back to to grab their youth at midlife crisis time. Hopefully that will be good news for me (drop the price on domestics) as I can get my collector car, a 1987 Buick GNX, low mileage ones are going for just under 100k  I know i'm dreaming but, it keeps things fun. But there's a good article in RPM magazine about collecting, that stresses to buy what you like..

[Mitlov]

Low production#'s limited availability will push some cars in collector status, always have and always will. As frightning as it is to me, Honda Civic's and integra's (type R, Sir, ) will be collector cars. I'm 30 and it's amazing how many people in my age group and younger are import lovers. If I was an import lover i'd ziplock a 350Z and a S2000 If these are the cars they're driving today, after wife kids etc it looks like those willl be the cars they go back to to grab their youth at midlife crisis time. Hopefully that will be good news for me (drop the price on domestics) as I can get my collector car, a 1987 Buick GNX, low mileage ones are going for just under 100k  I know i'm dreaming but, it keeps things fun. But there's a good article in RPM magazine about collecting, that stresses to buy what you like..

The GNX isn't just cool.  It's frozen.

[Angry Chicken]

I vote for my 1989 Honda CRX Si !  Great car which, in many ways, created a new segment.  Cheap, fast, 2-seat sports cars for the masses. 

For the same reason I would also vote for the Mazda Miata though my heart is with the CRX, mainly because it can carry a heck of a lot more than a single golf bag along with its two passengers and it's not a fairweather companion like the Miata.  I don't drive it in the winter anymore, but when I first purchased it 12 years ago it proved itself a nimble little companion in the winter too.

/Eric

[DriverJeff]

that gto will never be collectable.   its too damn dull looking. ick reminds me of the 80s.   if you think of all of the 60's cars that made it as collectables, they were either pure sports car   (eg all british 2 seater convertibles), full on muscle cars (2 door, massive engine, who cares about anything else including what the transmission is) or full on exotics (porsches, high end mercs, aston martins, jaguar e types, ferrari etc) also, the cars that can be modified easily attract the enthusiasts.   when you move to four doors, the lower end cars rarely make the collectable list.    as for cult classics.  the first that comes to mind is the vw van but is that considered collectable? 

The GTO isn't a 4-door.  Like the original muscle cars, it's a 2 door with a (relatively) massive engine, etc.... Was watching a repeat of the highlights of the '08 Barrett-Jackson auction and found it interesting that one of the big sellers was a 70 Chevelle... not an SS, but a real, plain, ugly, sleeper.  The recent GTO sold in few numbers but was special for (as pointed out above) being the last non-retro muscle car.... right before this current "Fuel Crisis".  I think it's a good candidate.

Interestingly, yesterday at the gym, I noticed another patron was getting into a gleaming black Saab 9-3 X Aero.  Due to their being only X produced and very few in Canada, this guy bought the car as a hoped-for investment.  He drives it only on weekends.  While it was a really, really nice car, I just don't see it appreciating in value, especially given Saab's recent depreciation woes and relative unpopularity in the N.American marketplace.
 

[Triple Bob]

New camaro. Remembered for the time when no one could afford to drve them.

[Snowman]

Chevy Volt

[gottarondo]

OK, the definitions are starting to sort themselves out in my mind, and the confusing issue is that not all collectibles, cult or otherwise, actually increase in value, especially not above their new purchase price.  Arthur's "new" VW bug, for instance, is very collectible but still not expensive (though not always quite as cheap as he got his!), so someone who bought one new as an investment probably still can't cash out for much. 

I mean, sheesh, how many purchasers of the 70 Chevelle were thinking investment?  That's how unpredictable this question is.