Future classic/collectibles..which cars have the right stuff? What say you?

[Mark IV]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

Don't the AC MKIV's seem cheap too?

Yes,

Wanna buy one?

[REAL 1]

I think that to become collectible the model has to be out of production or at a minimum if the car is still being made it is superceded by something substantially different, i.e. Porsche 993s superceded by 997s which were now water cooled or even better the manufacturer has to have gone the way of the Doe Doe bird ala DeLorean. This is just stating the obvious though. However, I think initial desireability is likely the most important ingredient. The DeLorean while limited in number and no longer being manufactured in any variant was never really a desireable car and still isn't. DeLoreans are still rather cheap. I don't see them far removed from the Bricklin. Limited in number, not being produced any longer in any variant but still not very desireable.

Jamo mentioned the Shelby Series 1. I had also thought of the Series 1 as having collectible status in years to come for a number of reasons.

Yes my intitial question really focused on production cars not really customs like Boyd Coddington Hot Rods.

[twobjshelbys]

I think the Kirkhams will climb up the tree. They really are works of art. If I lived in a part of the country that you can drive into hail on the way home from a car show (see my story elsewhere) I would have considered one. I'm not that much into the brushed/polished look so mine would have been painted. Whether it was a Kirkham Kirkham or a Shelby Kirkham would have depended on the circumstances. But aluminum doesn't get along with hail. Even fiberglass gets whacked, so I think my carbon fiber was the right choice for here. Time and location might have changed that.

[twobjshelbys]

Regarding Series 1s. I think they deserve a spot in this discussion. They certainly qualify on the "rarity" metric. The question is whether they'll find a real following. So far I think they are doing OK but not great. I personally liked the silver 'vert I saw. Plus the parts are readily available. I'd put it in the middle .33-.67 bracket.

[Rare Iron]

Think of it this way, what if you found an '87 Buick GN, or an 87 Mustang GT local to you for sale, & it had all orig. paint, & it was all factory original - a real cream puff that had like 23,000 miles on it & was basically like new & garage kept all it's life. In my opinion, THAT would be a very desirable car to own, & of course if the price was reasonable - say around $8,500.00. Now compare that scenario with finding an '86 Ford Tempo or Taurus the same way - mint low miler. In my book, the GN & the Mustang would be waaaay more desirable - they would be very collectible in that condition. Same would go for a Porsche, an '88 Turbo Coupe Thunderbird, a '95 Impala SS, etc. Cars like Toyota Corollas & Renaults are just not collectable to most - there's no pizzaz. It's got to have some nice style & some muscle.

[twobjshelbys]

These are a little before our threshold, but they certainly meet the "collectible" criteria:

[Gatorac]

How "desirable" was the Shelby Cobra when they were on dealers lots? How about 10-15 years after production stopped?

Panoz AIV Roadster.

[SPF2245]

1995 Chevy Impala SS (completely stock)
1996 Viper GTS Coupe in Blue/White (completely stock w/ less then 5K on the clock)
2008-10 911 GT3 RS (the few made which are not tracked and blown up will make this a prized item in 20 years like the 'ol RS Americas)

[gene giambona]

Since the Buick GN was already mentioned, does anybody remember the '87 GNX car? I believe only 547 were made and they made a big splash with the automotive journalists of the time. GM advertised HP at 275, but many thought it was grossly underated. I also seem to recall the car had some sort of speed governor as well.

The GNX was considered to be an instant collectible due to their limited production and many buyers simply tucked them away for safe keeping. I did see one or two at the local drag strip, but it was mostly the standard Grand Nationals that were out there in droves competing against the Mustang 5.0.

I also remember a local Buick dealer that had one on the showroom floor for something like $50,000.....that was a considerable chunk of change then! It seemed like this car sat on the showroom floor forever since I would pass by the dealer nearly everyday after school. I later found out that this particular dealer actually had another 3 or 4 GNX cars hidden away and would entice the customer into believing he only had the one car in the showroom around......a little easier to do considering the cars only came in black.

Here's an example of a low mileage car that popped up for sale in '07

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/04/29/e...es-on-the-odo/

[twobjshelbys]

Originally Posted by gene giambona

Since the Buick GN was already mentioned, does anybody remember the '87 GNX car? I believe only 547 were made and they made a big splash with the automotive journalists of the time. GM advertised HP at 275, but many thought it was grossly underated. I also seem to recall the car had some sort of speed governor as well.

The GNX was considered to be an instant collectible due to their limited production and many buyers simply tucked them away for safe keeping. I did see one or two at the local drag strip, but it was mostly the standard Grand Nationals that were out there in droves competing against the Mustang 5.0.

I also remember a local Buick dealer that had one on the showroom floor for something like $50,000.....that was a considerable chunk of change then! It seemed like this car sat on the showroom floor forever since I would pass by the dealer nearly everyday after school. I later found out that this particular dealer actually had another 3 or 4 GNX cars hidden away and would entice the customer into believing he only had the one car in the showroom around......a little easier to do considering the cars only came in black.

Here's an example of a low mileage car that popped up for sale in '07

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/04/29/e...es-on-the-odo/

There was a '87 GNX at Barrett Jackson Oct '09 that sold for $132K ($120K+10%).

Linky:

http://www.barrett-jackson.com/appli...&aid=303&pop=1

[tkb289]

Another way to look at cars of this type is based on ...

Horsepower, Handling and Heritage (all relative to the car's era)

Many fine examples are listed above that fit this category quite well. If you have a car with all three of these attributes nicely fulfilled, chances are it's fun to drive and may become desirable someday, especially if production was somewhat limited.

Over the past 15 years or so, Horsepower has gone back up and Handling has vastly improved since the 1960's. The last attribute, Heritage can be greatly enhanced by a long or illustrious racing history for the particular marque.

Last thought ... car's don't necessarily need to be rare to still be desirable. Case in point (and these go way past the last 10 years), the Model T, Model A, early Mustangs ... millions made, a lot still around relatively speaking, and some examples are very desirable, depending of course on options and condition.

- Tim

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by Mark IV

Yes,

Wanna buy one?

I'm thinking about it. I'm letting it simmer in my brain.

The low prices right now make them an intriguing purchase.

[poseur]

How about low mileage '89 Indy Pace Car Turbo Trans-Ams with the Buick V6...the rare non T-top versions? Still one of the fastest T/A's, and relatively still reasonable.

Any truck fans? Ford Lightning or Viper powered SRT 10 Ram pick-ups?

Also, when The Old Man passes, I think the Shelby Series 1 will be the sleeper. Should be many ultra-low mileage ones available, though...when was the last time anyone saw one on the street?

[Silverback51]

Originally Posted by poseur

How about low mileage '89 Indy Pace Car Turbo Trans-Ams with the Buick V6...the rare non T-top versions? Still one of the fastest T/A's, and relatively still reasonable.

Any truck fans? Ford Lightning or Viper powered SRT 10 Ram pick-ups?

Also, when The Old Man passes, I think the Shelby Series 1 will be the sleeper. Should be many ultra-low mileage ones available, though...when was the last time anyone saw one on the street?

I had a SRT/10 pickup prior to buying the Cobra. Great truck as long as you did not try to modify the engine to much. They do not react well to large HP increases.

Right now you can pick them up fairly cheap.

[Trevor Legate]

Going back to the BMW Z8, prices are on the rise in the old homeland - a dealer in London has two for sale and they are now hitting the £100,000 mark ($166,000). I saw one recently at a Coys auction and it was mint in every way - sold for £75,000 + buyers premium.
They do shift nicely - I followed one off the ferry as it arrived in France and tracked it for a while before it disappeared into the distance. I was in a Ferrari 355 at the time...... Grab one now!!

[RodKnock]

Part of the "collectability" problem with the Ford GT is of the 4,000+ produced, less the alleged 10-15% that have been destroyed, the remaining 3,000+ are garage queens. At any one time, there are anywhere between 5-15 for sale on eBay.

Ditto the Z8, except that BMW built almost 6,000 of them. There are 13 of them on eBay right now.

Nonetheless, I love them both dearly and wish I owned both. I want one of each, because they're very collectible, but I doubt that they'll be worth any more than their MSRP's.

[zzmac]

What are your thoughts on a low mileage (Year) 2000 Honda 2000? My bro has one and is thinking of selling. Sell or keep?

[Jamo]

Originally Posted by Trevor Legate

Going back to the BMW Z8, prices are on the rise in the old homeland - a dealer in London has two for sale and they are now hitting the £100,000 mark ($166,000). I saw one recently at a Coys auction and it was mint in every way - sold for £75,000 + buyers premium.
They do shift nicely - I followed one off the ferry as it arrived in France and tracked it for a while before it disappeared into the distance. I was in a Ferrari 355 at the time...... Grab one now!!

I fear we're already a bit late.

I had the pleasure of a couple of hours with one (a friend's)...magnificent, lusty, user friendly.

[acmjg]

I'd like to add the 03 Mustang Cobra- specifically the 10 Anniversary of SVT edition. Very limited numbers (2003 total). Nice 2 tone leather interior and one of only 2 years with the stock supercharger.

[RodKnock]

1987-1991 Callaway Corvette Twin Turbo with Aerobody, plus the Speedster and the Sledgehammer.