Future First Gen Values

[IZRSSS]

The B.J.'s sales totals for the last five years were;
 

• '06-100 Million
• '07-112 Million
• '08-88   Million
• '09-63   Million
• '10-68   Million

Many of us have absolutely no intentions of ever parting with our cars. For many of us, the price really isn't that important. We own our cars for their sheer pleasure and everything else is purely secondary. Many of our cars will remain with family members, and a warning...If you ever part with this car I will pay you a visit from the other side.

Obviously there are many known and unknown variables at play, but I was wondering if anyone would care to speculate as to where this hobby is headed. Including the values of our cars...Say, 40 to 50 yrs from now.

Thanks

[lakeholme]

If you want your Camaro to still be in the family 50 years from now, make sure one of your grandchildren loves old cars and give it to him/her before you die, along with lots of money for storage and parts.
As to future value look at Pre-War cars, some have risen in value, but in terms of current, real dollars many have not.

[77thor]

It's anybodies guess as to where the prices(values) are heading....
I would like to think that they are going UP.

[IZRSSS]

If you want your Camaro to still be in the family 50 years from now, make sure one of your grandchildren loves old cars and give it to him/her before you die, along with lots of money for storage and parts.
As to future value look at Prewar cars, some have risen in value, but in terms of current, real dollars many have not.

You bring up and important point...Prewar cars is a perfect way to began. From a percentage stand point, how many Baby-Boomers have you actually seen showing an interest in these cars? From my prospective, not very many. The next time you go to a car show that has a mixture of cars (Prewar vehicles, Musclecars, Mods & your basic Euros), take a look at the people each one attracts. Very seldom do I see younger kids spending time looking at Prewar vehicles and very few showing a real interest in Muscle Cars and Mods. As much as I HATE to admit it, most of these kids are drawn to the E word.

The Musclecar craze peaked in '06 & '07 and we (Baby Boomers) were responsible for this incredible feeding frenzy. Problem is, who's going to fill in once we're gone?  On a positive note...I think the move by the Big Three Automakers to once again bring these cars to the forefront has secured their place for years to come.     

BTW-Excellent point ...grandkids

[Dusk_Blue_Z]

I've been thinking a lot about this topic lately. I'm 29 and am just getting involved with Muscle Cars. None of my friends (either from High School, College, or work) have any interest in collector cars. To me, that's worrisome. I don't think this hobby would ever completely die, but I do feel it will lose a lot of interest as a particular generation gets older.

Maybe the 'feeding frenzy' will end (like Marty pointed out), but that might not be a bad thing. Hopefully a lot of the fraud you see will subside and  prices will come down. The pure enthusiasts will always be there, through good and bad.

Luckily for me (and my son), my dad has a 69z

[67L78]

I think the value of our first gen. camaros will continue to go down. The average small block good cars will fall sooner than the big block or Z cars. Everybody agrees that the younger guys are just not into the muscle cars. I only know of a few young guys that own them in my area. I don't think this will happen for awhile maybe 5 to 10 years but you can bet on one thing for sure, all of us will feed our familys, pay our mortage and taxes before we'll let a hunk of steel set in the shop and collect dust. I,ll get rid of mine in a heartbeat before it comes down to that.

Richard

[tom]

MY opinion only. These are hot now because they are the cars we had or wanted in the day. The next generation will want and drive up the price of cars they had or wanted in their day.Those cars will peak until the next generation wants to collect the cars they had or wanted in their day. Yes that implies that future collector cars will include rice rockets with outrageous body kits and fart pipes. Sure hope I'm wrong.....

[lakeholme]

The youth program coordinator in our region gets some criticism for using less than 25 year old muscle cars to draw kids in. But he has a great response, "These cars will be classics by the time they decide to restore one. And most of them will want the car that caught their eye while they were still a kid."
Think about it. Beyond serious collectors with deep pockets most of us have our first gens because we always wanted it!  At that point I agree with Tom!

So, the next time you get a chance, let a kid sit in your car.  Or better yet, give him/her a ride!

[IZRSSS]

I don't think this could have been scripted any better if it had been outlined. DBZ & Richard thanks for your comments. I appreciate your prospectives & hope more guys of your age group will hone in. Tom, could not have said it better, "Rice rockets & fart pipes". Phillip...you nailed it, "Let a kid sit in your car. Or better yet, give him/her a ride"!

I've owned my car now for about 6yrs. Early on I was approached by several clubs. I stayed away from them for a few yrs until I let this one guy talk me into attending one of their meetings. Long story short, before I left I was voted VP (hook-line-sinker). THIS WILL NOT SIT WELL WITH MANY OF YOU SO I'LL APPOLOGIZE AHEAD OF TIME...One of my first observations is that the avg age was 60 to 90yrs, and us guys that were suppose to carry on this tradition were into our 50's. My first move was to come up with ideas on how we could lure young folks into one of the most prestigious clubs in our state...w/o stepping on anyones toes. Both the newly elected Prez & I had the perfect plan, to maintain quality and not discriminate because these kids didn't have deep pocket books. My intentions were to simply introduce them to this "high dollar hobby", and offer advise on how to prepare for shows. Another long story short...it met with heavy resistance and shortly after I resigned and left this club.

As much as we hate to admit it, many of us are partially to blame...

[lakeholme]

Marty,
Sounds like your car club was a common interest (CI) group and not a common purpose (CP) one.  The days when any volunteer oriented group like a car club was both CI and CP started declining  about 20 years ago as the Great Generation started leaving us. BTW, it's not solely an issue of age, it has more to do with attitude.
Those of us who want to preserve the hobby are looking for a "go and do" crowd, not just a "meet and eat" club!
In today's world if you're looking for a club with purpose you need to answer three questions before you join:
What have they actually accomplished in the last few years?
What do they value in their purpose?
What do they plan to accomplished over the next year?

The vast majority of the members of my club are over the age of 60, but we will put over 400 volunteers on the field for 4 and a half days at the spring autofair! And a hundred kids will participate in the Saturday youth program.

This year I've traveled to a dozen other places across the country where other clubs are doing fantastic things!

[IZRSSS]

Phillip,

I have never been to one of your shows, but God willing it will happen one of these years. I have seen several photos of the Charlotte AutoFair and it is absolutely mind boggling the size of this event. It is also encouraging to know there are several high profile clubs such as yours that does not discriminate its youth. The sheer number of volunteers and youth puts things into prospective.

I think I need to clear the air...Most of the members of the club I referenced supported our efforts to draw in younger members. However, there was one bad apple who also happend to be a "heavy weight", that ruined it for the rest of us. I am not really sure if I can even begin to explain what this persons motives are. Suffice it to say they are self motivated. Please keep in mind that aside from this individual, the members are absolutely incredible and have done wonderful things for our community. Many of which, remain close personal friends.

You are absolutely correct...age has nothing to do with it. Its all about attitude...

Appreciate the advise!

[68camaroz28]

Many feel as the baby boomers pass on certain cars will diminish and I agree with that. It does not mean that there will not always be a market but the peak has or was already met. Look at model A fords, etc. The market will rebound but not sure it will hit what it was except for maybe later on inflation that would drive up prices on everything. A lot of younger people are also drawn to the newer high performance cars that kick our butts in overall everything. My grandsons love the newer mustangs (Shelby) so maybe that will be their later dream car. I go to many of the Carlisle events and yes the baby boomers are a large intricate part of that population as well but there are a lot of younger folks attending. Bottom line, there will always be people fascinated with automobiles, its just each generation has somewhat different taste. Some of my older than me friends still just love those 55-57 Chevy's cause they grew up wanting one. For me, it was the later 60's and I lived it and have had muscle cars since 1967. One of the things that helped maintain the level of interest in our beloved cars was they stopped for so long, i.e. by mid 70's everything was a dog. But not today as there is just a host of great running cars. Gee, my pick up truck has more hp than both my 1st gen camaros

[IZRSSS]

Thanks Chick,

The consensus seems to be the same for everyone;

• Our Gens will one day lose their flame
• Younger Gens will seek out their own passions

However, I think we have an obligation to educate the next generation and let these young folks know where it all began. Hopefully, this will keep the spark going just a little bit longer!

[mopar346]

Ya'll make me feel like a young buck. I wasn't born until 65, but muscle cars were the used cars when I turned 16. I spend a lot of time at shows and there are many youngsters that spend days at it and even have a significant amountof knowledge. My son is 17 and has several freinds that go with us and spend days at the shop just playing. Now I realize that the have a connection or an influence through me, bu they have an interest and in some cases a passion. The beauty in the market is that it currently will allow a youngster to purchase a muscle car or at least the same body. The reproduction world has come around to a high quality standard and cars other than Camaros, no disrespect. AMD has made virtually any car restorable. Again, the beauty of the current market is that we can drive these cars and beat the crap out of them like they were designed be driven. I always said I would never own a car I couldn't drive and there came a time when I had to think about beating on a 100k AAR, I don't worry about it so much now that is worth 60k. Did I loose value, maybe, but since I only have about 22 in it and don't plan toi sell it I don't guess I care about paper value. There will be a market for the best and rarest cars in the future and they will always damage a price, me more common stuff will be affodable and create interest for the rare, so its kind of cylindrical.

[IZRSSS]

Enjoy it while you can...the years & body aches creap up on you quicker than you think . Nice to know you are doing your part to influence the next generation. I honestly feel these kids are interested, but very few people are willing to give of their time.

Best of all..."beating the crap out of the AAR" !  Wish it was mine...