Why are "muscle cars" worth a lot of money?
 

I know it's all supply and demand, but (to me) a muscle car that's selling for over $100K is not much far removed from a Chevy Nova that I had and that I wouldn't give you $200 for.

I mean they made a butt-load of Mustangs (etc..) and IMO the old ones are worse than a modern Mustang you can buy for ~25K; let alone what you can buy for long green such as a C6 Z06 or 911S etc..

I can see some cars b/c they had such a rare engines, but in general I don't see what the hype is about. My neighbor has 2 Chevelle convertibles and I wouldn't give the car more than a second glance except its odd to see such an old car being brought back to good shape.

Mind you I'm not complaining, but I once owned a 76' Chevy Nova, and I can't see the allure to such ill mannered cars.

Why are so many collectable things worth anything? Ever watch PBS's Antiques Road Show?

I would say it's a combination of things. Some guys will plop down piles of hard-earned cash for one of these cars because A) said car is REALLY rare, such as a ZL-1 Camaro, B) because they want to relive their youth, C) because they weren't alive back then or were too young to drive what became American icons, D) because they want a classic project to work on with a son or dad, and in outside cases E) some want a piece of time, and will buy an original-condition car much like a media mogul might purchase a 1930s Maybach or Rolls: sure the new ones are 1000x better, but they want the cars that created the image.

To offer you my perspective, I'd love a 63 split-window Corvette or Stingray convertible; I think it's the single most beautiful car America has ever produced. Is it slow and rickety compared to new cars? Of course it is, but even the C6 can't look THAT good.

imo, it's all about the emotion. Just think of the kids who grew up lusting over a car and now that they've grown up they can finally have one, albeit at a substantial markup.

My example is the NSX. I can actually remember seeing my first one back in 91 as an eleven year old. To this day, sure there are better performing cars that cost less but it's that dream you work up and maybe one day it will be mine. Who knows, maybe when I can actually afford a next gen NSX, I'll still be looking for the oringinal just because that was the "it" car for me

Most of the cars selling at those prices have the following characteristics:

1. Limited production, rare option packages
2. Pristine, museum condition (restored ok, original cond really jacks up price)
3. For many of the buyers, it represents nostalgia (e.g., kids from today paying crazy money for a mint 2006 Z06 in 2040; when they could just get the latest 1200HP X20 Hydrogen & Plasma Core Rocket Car for 1/4 the price).

almost all of these cars are trailer queens for show and see very limited use (lest the buyer kill the value of their considerable investment).

There are still plenty of old muscle cars out there at bargin prices, but 1) they won't have matching numbers, 2) they won't have rare options, and 3) they take a lot of time/money to get into show condition.

:iagree:

[QUOTE=acuraintegraman,Jan 5 2006, 11:48 AM] imo, it's all about the emotion.

People who have money do all sorts of things people without money will never understand.

mint condition g. i. joe "cobra commander" figure
costs as much as $7000 these days,
fyi...

:)

If I were lacking such a thing, and were working at Google, I might consider buying it.

As I mentioned in some other topic, you have the baby boomers now in the prime of their pre-retirement (or first-retirement). . . seeing cars of this era going for that much is not news to me. Give it 10 years, and the 512TR (the dream car of my demographic) prices will start climbing back up massively, methinks.