A mid-60's Shelby is my dream car. Or a '32 Ford hot rod.
Posted on 03/11/2015 8:49:51 PM PDT by super7man
That's about it. See 62.
The younger generation can't even dream of that. It's why ya see mostly see these old guys in their late 60s, and well into their 70s driving those types of vehicles, as they try to impress and recapture their long lost youth.
Compared to the 50s, 60s and early 70s, hot rodding, and really nice custom vehicles are pretty much dead for the younger guys....
In fact we just saw a guy last week driving what appeared to be a Shelby Cobra...he had to be 80 years old and seemed to have difficulty driving it.
All antiques/collectibles cycle to some extant as those with living memory of them fade away.
Things like wind-up Victrola-type record players or treadle sewing machines decline in value as generations that remember them actually being in common use die off.
Certain examples of old stuff will always have value, but become more and more the province of a smaller number of very specialized collectors as time goes on.
Good post.
A top collector sales guy told me long ago that when people become “mature” they lust for the cars of their youth.
When I was a kid in the 50s, car guys liked Model A Fords.
Now 60s muscle car iron is craved by boomers.
But the 80s was called the “malaise era” for vehicles, they weren’t very exciting.
So there’s a generation that probably won’t view them as desirable.
Right. Eighties and ‘90s, eh, who cares?
We might be actually better off with more recent vehicles, with newer hot Mustangs, Camaros, Chrysler products, etc. All those European brand hot rod versions will have their fans for a couple generations. How could something as quirky as the factory hot rod Volvos not be collector items?
I’m always amazed at how many vehicles are available with well over 400 horsepower. They’ll be keepers.
You make an interesting comment on the 400 hp.
Technology has advanced so much it’s pretty easy to have big hp these days.
Way more than a lot of folks have the skill to handle.
I know the first Dodge Hellcat was wrecked on the first day it was bought.
My buddy who used to race Camaros in SCCA says 500 hp is the limit on the street for anybody, and dangerous for the unskilled. He has a kit Cobra with a 500 hp small block.
AMX Javelin. Excellent taste.
Is it over? I don’t think so. The hot rod scene was always just the gear-heads. Not everyone loves to turn a wrench. Maybe your kids just didn’t share that interest with you.
I’d add the Jeep XJ (1984 style Cherokee, updated in 1997 and dropped for the Liberty in 01 or 02) as an exception to the “1980s Sux” rule.
XJs are one of the top go-to vehicles for off roaders because they are (despite Cash for Clunkers) still plentiful and easily modifiable.
A mid-60's Shelby is my dream car. Or a '32 Ford hot rod.
Those Frenchies produced a heck of a package, didn’t they?
(I was one of those who said the unibody would never work, LOL)
Actually, I thought that most of the engineering on the XJ was done before Renault obtained a controlling interest (1983). However Renault did contribute enormously to the development of the 4.0 litre straight six introduced in 1987.
My parents had an ‘84 with the GM V6 and it leaked oil like crazy. And 0 to 60 was measured in minutes ... trying to get it up to merge speed on highway onramps was terrifying. I have a mid-90s stocker (orginal owner) and the difference provided by the I6 is still striking to me.
Yeah the AMC engine had lots more torque, which cubes will give you (258 vs 173).
As one guy told me the 2.8 wouldn’t pull a wet noodle out of a duck’s @ss.
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