Yeah, I see it as apples and oranges myself. I love the new and the old and I recognize the new stuff out today is superior in every single way. I drive a newer car as my daily driver for that reason. The old cars I love though have style that cannot be duplicated.
When I drive my older cars around, I can't go five minutes without a wave, a nod, a thumbs up, etc. You won't see that with new cars when they crank them out by the millions and anyone with credit can go get a newer better one by signing an agreement. I'd still like a new Challenger someday but I don't expect anyone to ooh and ahh over it when I take it out.
I do believe prices of classic cars will go back up at some point, probably as home values nationwide start reaching new highs many years from now. Just an opinion.
I have been watching eBay auctions on old classics of all varieties, including the 71 Cudas that sparked this discussion and very few cars are actually hitting their reserve marks and changing hands. What I am seeing is that sellers generally are not willing to sell their cars at lower prices and buyers are generally unwilling to come up on what they are willing to pay. This means very few cars are actually selling. Very, very few compared to a few years back.
Someone in here mentioned that the cars are only worth what someone is willing to pay. I responded with my opinion that there was another side of that coin where the car is only worth what the owner is willing to sell it at. Since this discussion began, no 71 barracudas or Cudas have sold on eBay that I have seen. There are limited numbers of numbers matching 71 Cudas out there so it seems those that have them control the values until a new source of them becomes available. Old Mustang notch backs by the way are selling for pennies but that makes sense since they made two million in the first few years alone. There will always be enough motivated Mustang sellers to keep supply high and price low.
I will own a 71 Cuda someday and I am willing to pay the kind of money most people spend on a new car because it is worth it to me. Since these cars are not selling, it might seem they are worth a lot to the people who currently own them as well.