The future of muscle cars
- Thread starter maximus
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No. Anything worth having will just end up in a collection somewhere. And then at the dump.
It's likely to go the way of 'antique' furniture. Anything worth having is held by the wealthy, and the rest of the crap will just end up at the dump, unless it can be repurposed some way.
Most old shit is really not going to go down in value as much as it will simply one day have no value (kinda like getting old!).
Young people just don't have the disposable income to support many markets or they simply don't have any interest in old people's crap.
The big value in older cars is in those that haven't been violated in some way. Or they are rare in some way. And tastes change: not that long ago a fox body Mustang was a joke ... now it's worth money.
So best I can say is that there may come a point where that muscle car you covet drops into your price range ... and then just drops right past it because there won't be anyone behind you to buy it when you decide to sell it.
I was just having this conversation the other day , do they still teach mechanics in high school ?
Are there going to be courses you can take to become a “EV Mechanic “ kind of an oxymoron .
I grew up in a “race -track “ muscle car neighborhood but it seems like the passion starts as young guys
( mostly ,some girls 💕) in schools, every Saturday night at the racetrack 🍾, I guess a “gas run” mechanic will end up being a specialty. Poor old cars. Love the Rumble 😎
Are there going to be courses you can take to become a “EV Mechanic “ kind of an oxymoron .
I grew up in a “race -track “ muscle car neighborhood but it seems like the passion starts as young guys
( mostly ,some girls 💕) in schools, every Saturday night at the racetrack 🍾, I guess a “gas run” mechanic will end up being a specialty. Poor old cars. Love the Rumble 😎
I attend the car shows and have this discussion with other old folks who bring out their cars.
What happens when our generation passes away? What happens to these cars.
Some of us can pass it on to our kids, but it doesn't have the same value to the kids. It's just an old car that dad drove. It's cool, gets a lot of attention, but the kids don't value it like we did.
I do see the value coming down in the next 20 years, because that generation doesn't have the nostalgia. These cars weren't featured in pop culture for their upbringing. They'll be dreaming of tuner cars, if at all.
What happens when our generation passes away? What happens to these cars.
Some of us can pass it on to our kids, but it doesn't have the same value to the kids. It's just an old car that dad drove. It's cool, gets a lot of attention, but the kids don't value it like we did.
I do see the value coming down in the next 20 years, because that generation doesn't have the nostalgia. These cars weren't featured in pop culture for their upbringing. They'll be dreaming of tuner cars, if at all.
My dad has some muscle cars he has worked on himself and is proud of. He wants me to take them over one day. Meanwhile I've got a project of my own (not a muscle car though) rusting away behind my shop, and a couple exotic cars I drive < 2000km per year sitting hooked up to trickle chargers at another garage. My own garage at home is packed with our daily drivers. I already dont have the time to drive and appreciate what I have, let alone my dad's toys. It's also a pain to find parts for anything and I'm not a handy mechanical guy like he is either. Not sure what I'll do as I love my dad but without the space and ability to store or maintain a fleet of cars the reality is we may just need to sell all our toys for someone else to enjoy. Inevitably though, everything will end up at a landfill or scrapyard; buy a new Ferrari today and in 100 years it will be scrap metal. As much as my son seems to love cars now, as an adult, he may not care as much. The value to us is just the nostalgia, and I guess at some point we have to learn to let it go.
Muscle Cars Yes - All of the Above. However there are several collector cars that at least maintain their value, and sometime gain in value over time. These are cars that are limited edition, or small production line cars. Its might be a mid life chrysies to own a 72 Chevvy SS, its easy, there are thousands to choose from, BUT a BMW Z8 - try and find one... I just looked 5 in all of Canada. Base price in 2001 $128K USD. Now used ones are $200 - $375K. It is an investment one can play with. ...... And usually run rings around any muscle car.
There was a perception when we were growing up that muscle cars were fast.
We talked of 0 to 60 in under 6 seconds, and quarter mile times of under 15 seconds. 14 seconds was considered insanely fast.
Today, a Chrysler minivan does a quarter mile in 15.1 seconds. My personal family sedan does 0 to 60 in about 4.5 seconds. Yes, it's electric, but not from the moron.
The muscle cars could be modified easily and cheaply to go a lot faster, and most of us did that. And when you do, it sounds incredible too. But only in a straight line. A Civic could beat my high powered car on a track that has a few curves in it, I'm well aware of my limitations.
Cars aren't investments. Maybe some cars kept in "collector grade condition" could have value to some enthusiasts, but there are still ongoing costs for insurance, maintenance, and opportunity costs. As those enthusiasts age and pass away, then your market shrinks and one day, nobody will care. Doug Demuro has a good video on this.
I also can't stand comparing cars just on "performance" and raw numbers. I've owned a ton of nice cars, and there's always some clown who says they make more HP with their modified pos Mustang, blah blah, or they go on about track times as if they could even get 90% of the performance out of a Honda Civic at the track.
Cars are for enjoyment and there are many ways to enjoy them. I wish people focused more on ENJOYING THEIR CARS, rather than talking about cars as investments and measuring their dicks via spec sheets and theoretical lap times.
I had a 68 Camaro since high school,finally had to part with it when i went thru a divorce.It was a full time job trying to keep it on the road even if you only drive it once a week.I do miss the sound of the 327 with headers and the 650 Holly and Turbo 400 Tranny,not super fast but it turned a lot of heads and you could hear it a mile away. When all the dust settled from paying off the ex i bought a 2014 2SS convertible with the 6L that puts out 456 hp.The previous owner redid the exhaust and put strait pipes on it and a fresh air system in so it is probably close to 500hp.It is a dream to drive and i have put no time in repairs other than oil changes and filters in the 9 years i have had it.The classics are beautiful but no thanks to the maintance and repairs.
I really do enjoy my collector car. He and I attend many car shows during the summer. We also go out for a spin around the block often during the winter. I ask you though is it not an investment when I paid 22K for my car 25 years ago and I can easily sell it tomorrow for 70K??
That's not an investment. It was also never bought with the intention of being an investment. If you put the same money into stocks or real estate it would have grown to far more than 70k over that same time period. It's only worth that right now because the generation who loves these types of cars are looking for them right now. Once they're gone, what's it worth? Also how much money have you put into maintenance, parts, mods, insurance, etc.? And your own time and labour? When you do the math, it's definitely still a loss, but that's not a bad thing because it's not an investment, it's a hobby that you enjoy. The price appreciation makes it cost a little less, which is nice.
I bought a modded, driver's Ferrari 360 once for a good price, around 90k plus GST and PST of around 15k. Did some minor repairs and maintenance, kept it for two years, sold it for what I paid for it, so at the end of the day I was out the GST, PST, above, plus 2 years of insurance, and repair and maintenance costs, of around $10k, to bag around a Ferrari for a bit. Total net "cost" of 25k. But if I put the same 115k towards an investment property during the same time period my cash would've doubled and I'd have ~$200k in the bank instead of just my $90k back. Friends think I got to own and enjoy a Ferrari for 2 years "for free" which was definitely not the case. From a hobbyist POV however, i basically leased a fun Ferrari for $1000/mo with no mileage restrictions. Even if I sold it for a "profit" there's still no way it would have made sense as an "investment".
I see too many dudes going into debt over cars they view as an "investment", but they're really financially draining themselves. Cars are a money pit.
I recently bought a car for the enjoyment of driving it. One of the joys that I hadn't thought about when shopping for a newer vehicle was noise. I have tinnitus and discovered that driving an EV is nearly heaven! I get back into an ICE vehicle and realize how much noise they make even when they are bone stock. I sold one of my other cars when the 'noise' that the engineers decided to pipe into the cabin to reduce engine noise was triggering my tinnitus.
I'm sure there are luxury vehicles that are super quiet, but my mid-range EV is quiet and quick enough to be fun to drive and a pleasure to enjoy for the noise its not making!
