[RegulatorCountry]

Oh, it may very well be, once it’s media blasted, missing body panels replaced, mechanicals refurbished and restored inside and out. One thing many people don’t seem to realize though, is that desirability and collectability comes and goes with age cohorts. The “hot” collectable cars of today are not those of yesterday, or tomorrow. There was a time when the ‘57 Chevy or T-Bird were stratospheric. Not so anymore, a perfect example still isn’t cheap but they’re not where they were. Same will be true for this. Baby Boomers won’t always be the dominant force, they’re fading already. Cars from the 70’s are starting to take off, for instance the boat tail Riviera, C body Trans Ams, even first generation Cadillac Sevilles. It comes and goes, in other words. Not a good idea to buy the hot collectable car of today for top dollar and hold onto it, in other words.

[wally_bert]

My dad has a late 70s Seville in fair shape.

It may still run.

[Moonman62]

Oh, it may very well be, once it’s media blasted, missing body panels replaced, mechanicals refurbished and restored inside and out.

...

I think the real value is the VIN plate. Very little will be original after it’s restored.

[Wyrd bið ful aræd]

80s and even some early 90s cars are getting into classic status. The last of the muscle cars -- the C4s are going from being just old Corvettes to classics in their own right. My brother is refurbishing an 89 Firebird and it has some of the vibes that the older cars did.

That's as new as the classics are going to get for the most part, I think. Mid-90s cars on really just have no soul. That 89 Firebird growls and rumbles and smells like gas and you can work on it. When will anyone want a 40 year Prius? "Wow, listen to that low-pitch hum! And just look at that lithium battery!"

We live in a use-it-and-throw-away society theae days. Cars are not exempt.

[Fireone]

Don’t tell that to folks who bought and held Porsches from the ‘50’s, ‘60’s, ‘70’s, and ‘80’s. They might laugh at you.

[Yardstick]

That’s true. I’d like to see a graph of the average sale price of a ‘57 Chevy. It probably peaked a decade ago and is now trending downward. 57Chevy used to be the holy grail classic car but now is so old that fewer people can relate to it.

The peak has shifted to late ‘60s early ‘70s cars, which was the absolute zenith of American car greatness and so will persist inordinately. You don’t have to be part of that generation to appreciate those cars. But even they’ll trail off at some point for the simple reason that there won’t be enough people around who can relate to them. Hard to imagine but it will happen.

Funny how there are these sweet spots in auto history. Nineteen thirties (almost no forties), then mid fifties (but nothing around sixty), then mid sixties to early seventies. That’s sort of the end of the classic era but I think there’s another sweet spot shaping up in the mid to late ‘80s. That period had distinctive angular styling plus the hugely simplifying wonderfulness of early electronic fuel injection.

[FreeReign]

One thing many people don’t seem to realize though, is that desirability and collectability comes and goes with age cohorts. The “hot” collectable cars of today are not those of yesterday, or tomorrow. There was a time when the ‘57 Chevy or T-Bird were stratospheric.

They haven't made any desirable Bel Airs or T-Birds in a long time. So the collectibility of the classic Bel Airs and T-Birds wane as their fans die off.

However, I think that the classic Mustangs and Corvettes will maintain their value because they continue to make interesting new ones. New generations of Mustang and Corvette drivers will still have an interest in those original classics.

[SkyPilot]

Oh, it may very well be, once it’s media blasted, missing body panels replaced, mechanicals refurbished and restored inside and out. One thing many people don’t seem to realize though, is that desirability and collectability comes and goes with age cohorts. The “hot” collectable cars of today are not those of yesterday, or tomorrow. There was a time when the ‘57 Chevy or T-Bird were stratospheric. Not so anymore, a perfect example still isn’t cheap but they’re not where they were. Same will be true for this. Baby Boomers won’t always be the dominant force, they’re fading already. Cars from the 70’s are starting to take off, for instance the boat tail Riviera, C body Trans Ams, even first generation Cadillac Sevilles.

Agreed. I have a British classic car, and I like the British cars. The club I am in has a great variety of both owners and autos. Great people. We have lots of events, and I enjoy the scene. It's all about what you enjoy.