Which Old Muscle Car is Going to Collapse in Value the Most?
Ducati Minor
With high fuel prices and a weak economy hurting consumer confidence, the old muscle car has seen values and interest wane. Whether that's due to oversaturation in media, the environment, financial matters, or just the fact that many of these "premium market" big-block machines aren't really any fun to drive is up for debate. Which of these mass-produced "rarities" is going take the biggest hit in your mind?
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Mena
Hemi Cuda's. Massively overpriced to begin with. I think they'll take the brunt of the drop. Hell, they've already dropped quite a bit since just a couple of years ago. Don't get me wrong, I like them and they were a breath of fresh air to decades of Vette's and Mustangs but I think they took them too far.
Old 911's, especially S and RS models, are getting REALLY popular (and expensive). Even clean 911T's are over $30k. I expect to see those raking in the big bucks in a few years.
JWBrothers
Mena - You beat me to it, The Cudas with the Hemi or the 440 six-pack are way overpriced and will come down. The bubble will burst on the 69-70 Chevelle SS 396. These are going for $35,000-45,000 in driver condition. Same with the 66-67 GTO 389 Tripower and the GTO Judge.
It's about time for the nostalgia cars to start coming down in price too. My theory doesn't have anything to do with gas mileage. People in their peak earning years tend to buy what they aspired to in their youth. I am 56 and have always loved Corvettes, especially the 66 and 69 models, but 54-60 Vettes don't have the same allure. 55-57 Chevys command high prices from those 10 years older than me. When they retire or die off, so will the demand for the cars, and the prices will fall.
Many Thanks
Jim
Mena
"My theory doesn't have anything to do with gas mileage."
100% right! Gas mileage has nothing to do with the classic car market. These are pleasure toys, nothing more. Most (95% plus) of these cars aren't even driven!!! They sit in someone's climate controlled garage until the next show or auction then they're trailered to those events. LOL! Waste of a car, if you ask me, but I can understand the need to preserve them for historical purposes.
Ducati Minor
Y'know, that's a common point, but the market (below the high-end muscle cars) does see hundreds of thousands of lower-end small through midsize coupes driven in everyday use with quite a few young folks because they're passed down from older relations.
Mena hammered the point: there's no energy in auction market. The Hemmings group, Hot Rod segment, and Sports Car Market (as well the Speed and Spike TV networks) have had a big stake in massive consumer interest in these markets because they've devoted either most or a very large part of their energy into them.
The big-block Mopar segment is going to take nosedive. I do believe, however, the bad press Chrysler is currently having and the green push have some part to play in that. Even if one does not think 8 mpg dissuades any prospective buyer, the green theme of efficiency in engineering (which, to some degree, is better lived up to in the leaner and sleeker European cars of the period) makes a brick-shaped 3,700 lb. 18 ft. long two-door less appealing.
My pick goes with the big-block C2 Sting Rays. These have become eyesores in the TV auction scene, no longer impressing anyone. Duntov prided himself on the nearly perfect weight distribution on the '63 (though had no care for the split-window and fake hood vents). The 427 C2s and 454 C3s aren't wooing anyone for $200,000.