Market now seems flooded with higher end E & B body cars.

[Madmax440]

I personally don't think that you can sit there and compare old vs. new muscle. It is like comparing apples to oranges. The drives are totally different and both may have the same amount of appeal to the same person. I love driving my Corvette and the new Viper (although I have to admit I like the feel in the Viper better - the lines are way cool), but driving my Challenger is a totally different drive. I will get in one or the other depending on  how I feel that day and where I am going. Hell sometimes I would rather just jump in the  Ram Truck.

Although, I will be glad when the prices drop back to reality. The other day I had a guy offer me his wife (and he was somewhat serious - just not to keep) and beleive me I didn't want his wife.
 

[Blackcuda]

I believe the market has begain to level off, but that doesn't mean the prices are going to drop off. If I could buy a super rare Cuda, I would for an investment.
With the housing market tanking, muscle cars are still a great investment.

[Madmax440]

That is one thing that I stay clear of - Investments. I have never made money off of a car in my entire life.

[DAYTONA]

That is one thing that I stay clear of - Investments. I have never made money off of a car in my entire life.

...I've never lost money on a collector car in my life.....quality cars are far better than money in the bank

[Super Blue 72]

So your saying that the passion of the Young Guns is less than a Baby Boomer, it has and will be enstowed into generations until the cars dont exist. the Passion for these cars isnt going to die soon.  and prices are still going to be high, but the 20k junk will put people in there place.

Mopar ON

I'm just stating what was said by this couple as an opinion.  This has nothing to do with the passion of the Young Guns but moreso pure numbers.  There is a huge number of baby boomers that are older, established, and may have more free income to spend on these cars. 

I have no hard numbers to share but they are the ones who are financially able to make the majority of the muscle car market what it is today, again that's just an opinion.  I would guess that the majority of the people bidding on cars at the B-J/Kruse/etc. auctions are baby boomers.  Again, just my opinion.

Even look on TV.  Marketers are cashing in on commercials aimed toward baby boomers because they make up a large segment of the population that has money to spend or has needs.  ( Advil anyone?)

I never said that the passion for these cars is going to die soon, I'm sorry if you took it like that.  There are PLENTY of younger guys/gals that have awesome cars.  I think it's great that the younger crowd is into these great cars and I encourage it everytime I'm able to speak to a younger person about not just Mopars but muscle cars in general.  I'm planting a seed already in my kids and telling them about "the old days" when these cool cars were on almost every block, used as daily drivers and not in a garage somewhere.  Or like in my autoshop in highschool there would be a '67 Cutlass, a '67 and a '72 Chevelle, '69 GTO convertible, and a '70 Cuda all at one time being wrenched on by the autoshop.

The passion itself for these cars may be greater in the Young Guns, we old guys just don't have the energy  like yourself or the likes of Goody on this website.

Heck, the muscle cars that are actually getting any mileage around here are driven by highschool kids, which is awesome. 

Muscle cars, in my opinion, is part of the great American landscape.  If you took out muscle cars, hot rods, customs, a great part of American history (again in my opinion) would be missing.  That's why, there will NEVER be an end to the passion for these cool cars

So I can admire the ferver that you have for these cars and I think that's cool! 

[Jacksboys]

Heck, the muscle cars that are actually getting any mileage around here are driven by highschool kids, which is awesome.

The bad thing is that many of the young muscle car owners have Fords and Chevys because they are cheaper to upgrade and easier to find.  There are a few young Mopar owners (ex. PixieDuster, Goody, etc.), but due to lack of replacement body parts and price, Mopars are usually a second choice for the youth. 

[DMZ73]

(This is just my take)
What you have to remember is that these high dollar cars were nest eggs for the generation previous to the baby boomers. They sat on these cars for 10-20 years and with the way the job market and real estate have gone, well that nest egg seems to look like a quick exit out of the rat race. Of course, the bottom always seems like it is going to drop, but it really does not. Not with Mopars. Low production numbers help keep up the values, and having cars optioned differently makes somerarer than other cars.

Since we are fortunate to live in the information and communication age, we (as car collectors/restorers)  have spread  urban legends and amazing stories of investment vs. profit potential with incredible  results. We have reached the far corners and cmainstream of society, and now our secret is out - Everyone thinks that you can make money on a Mopar. People that are not car saavy study like hell to find a "rare" Mopar. Then they pay a premium for it. It drives prices up, and up and up.....People with more money than knowlege. ( no offense- It's not all of them )
It's kinda cool when you think about it, but it makes us little guys struggle like hell to keep up  with the big dogs.

I could not get the car that I wanted ver batim (Year and model), but I was pleased as punch to find a good enough E-body to build and customize and not feel bad about wandering too far from the fender tag.

I see a new trend. People snapping up the rare 72-74s. Wait till those hit the blocks. Who knows in a couple of years, the stripped down 6 cylinder column cars could be worth a premium.


So, in 20 years....Who knows.

Dan

[Super Blue 72]

The bad thing is that many of the young muscle car owners have Fords and Chevys because they are cheaper to upgrade and easier to find.  There are a few young Mopar owners (ex. PixieDuster, Goody, etc.), but due to lack of replacement body parts and price, Mopars are usually a second choice for the youth. 

Yup, you hit the nail on the head.  Fords and GM stuff, atleast around here (Massachusetts).  Poor ol' Mopars didn't fare too well with all the salt in the winter! 

There weren't that many to begin with and the salt didn't help the situation either!

[Blackcuda]

I don't have a crystal ball, but the next big thing in muscle car prices will be the cars from the 80's. The GN turbo Buicks, 89 Turbo Trans am and GTA, GMC Typhon, and Cyclone trucks, IROC Z28, 5.0 Mustangs coupe ext. I may have forgot a few but you get my point.
These were low production, just like our e-body cars and it's getting very hard to find good ones.  It may take another 10 or 12 years, but they will be up for big $$!

[Cuda Cody]

As we are both multi viper owners and surely we aggree that they will all be collectable some day I can't aggree with the ACR's being the next Hemi Cuda.  If any viper is going to follow the hemi cuda path it will need to have much less production.  I see the ACR kinda like the six pack cars.  Rare, but not very hard to find. 

If you want a viper that will preform dollar wise like the hemi cuda, go buy a 1998 GT2.  They already can't be had for under $100,000!  I can buy ACR's at $55K all day long.

I'm up to about 3 cents now.   

...a decade from now, people will be looking for the elusive VIPER GTS/ACR ...with around a thousand built and many raced to death, we will have the HEMICUDA all over again.....

[DAYTONA]

As we are both multi viper owners and surely we aggree that they will all be collectable some day I can't aggree with the ACR's being the next Hemi Cuda.  If any viper is going to follow the hemi cuda path it will need to have much less production.  I see the ACR kinda like the six pack cars.  Rare, but not very hard to find. 

If you want a viper that will preform dollar wise like the hemi cuda, go buy a 1998 GT2.  They already can't be had for under $100,000!  I can buy ACR's at $55K all day long.

I'm up to about 3 cents now.   

....there were about 750 HEMICUDAs built in 70-71....best I remember, there are only about 900 or so ACR Vipers in 4 years....not much difference at all...HEMICUDAs sold for about $1,000 in the mid seventies during the first oil embargo....I turned down a mint low mile HEMICUDA(gas was up to .50 cents a gallon) for $1,200 in Texas in 1973....

* 98 GT2....still one of my favorite Vipers and a sure collectible ....these will be the 71 HEMICUDA of the future
* all ACR Vipers will be 1970 HEMICUDAS in the future
* all other Vipers will be the 440 6 PAK cars and the ragtops will bring big $$$ too, although I don't see them surpassing the GTS value wise...
* some of the more famous "tuner Vipers"  will be the Yenko, Nickey, and Grand Spaulding (Mr. Norms) cars of tomorrow....

...food for thought...

...a Viper ACR for $55k is still about 60% of MSRP...

...a HEMICUDA for $1,200 was about 30% of MSRP...

1970, population was about 200 million....today it is 300 million.....the Viper ACR is really more rare per head of population that the HEMICUDA was in 1970....

 ...really doesn't make any difference to me....at my age, I don't even buy green bananas anymore....

ps....bump your 3 cents up to a nickle....

...CODY.....not trying to argue with you....I really appreciate your input, thought and time to respond....we are on the same track ....and the really important thing is enjoying the auto hobby, the friends, the cars, the travel to shows.....it has been a great run for me during the last several decades....I hope you have as much fun as I have playing with cars in your lifetime...

pix...my last Panther Pink T/A (had 4 of them)....one of the nicest I ever found

[Madmax440]

I have to agree with Black Cuda, I think that in 20 years the generation that grew up when the IROC Z28's were so popular are going to be in the position to afford themselves some luxuries like the car that they always wanted. I think that there are mainstays in this market and they are the profiteers investing and flipping. Then there are the next shift of people coming of age and position.

[Madmax440]

Can you imagine paying $50,000 for a 1987 Dodge Shelby Daytona We can probably all think of models that were hot in the 1980s and they will probably be the ones selling for big bucks in the year 2026. 

[MEK-Dangerfield]

Can you imagine paying $50,000 for a 1987 Dodge Shelby Daytona We can probably all think of models that were hot in the 1980s and they will probably be the ones selling for big bucks in the year 2026. 

I doubt that. The early 80's to early 90's was kind of a dead era for horsepower. The V-8 engine almost died out then.  This was not a good era by any means. I could be wrong here, but the only car I see bringing $$$ back from the 80's is the 1987 Buick Grand National.   

  Mike

[Blackcuda]

I doubt that. The early 80's to early 90's was kind of a dead era for horsepower. The V-8 engine almost died out then.  This was not a good era by any means. I could be wrong here, but the only car I see bringing $$$ back from the 80's is the 1987 Buick Grand National.   

  Mike

There were a few hot cars and trucks that came out of the 80's, most of them were GM. I remember reading in Hot Rod Magazine a road test of a new GMC Syclone truck. They had the truck for a day and it was raining. They took the truck to a drag strip, and ran in the high 13's in the rain! Syclones were AWD, which helped but in the late 80's that was amazing.