Classic Cars extinction event

turkeydance

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The collector’s car market has lost some steam recently, with a confluence of cultural and demographic trends seemingly working against it, and unless a new wave of interest rolls in, the lessons gleaned from the vehicles may soon be lost in time.

Low Tides
BuickLimited.jpg

A 1940 Buick Limited ferried American glitterati about during WWII.
Perhaps the biggest problem facing the collector’s car market is the lack of collectors.

The ultra-expensive vehicles by far have found their biggest audience in baby boomers, who owned 58% of the nation’s nearly 5 million collectible cars in 2014. But that number has little—if any—room to grow, as the boomers age out of the population

link:
https://www.dmv.org/articles/decline-of-collectible-cars
 
They'll still get collected......the few interested collectors will simply have larger collections afforded by falling values.
 
Free markets and all that jazz... prices are to high currently and are sure to face a major correction.
 
I have had spaces at the Autofair since the 1980's. I have watched the crowd get older and fade out(friends included RIP)
There are not a lot of younger people taking an interest in the hobby. Yes, the hobby almost priced itself out of the reach of the upcoming younger collectors, but I think the market is turning around. I have seen the car prices level off somewhat with project cars going for affordable money. There will always be a market for high end and sure enough collector cars. Still, more of the younger crowd doesn't know how to do anything with their hands thanks to the removal of shop classes from most of the High Schools. Time will tell I guess. I should have sold a few of my cars when things were booming. Hindsight and all that.
 
Been in this scene a while with my dad and several others. We actually restored a 40 buick sedan similar to the pic above when I was in HS, and several others.

I hate to say it but check out the collector car trends have changed since the Baby boomer projects. Slick paint has been traded for flat primer or clear coat patina. Rat rods and Mad max mobiles have taken over from the original restores. It's fascinating to see the creativity put into these vehicles, but they have now become art projects instead of original restores.

I have come to realize that a vehicle has stages as it goes through the years. The values are very subjective as to what the potential buyer wants to do with the car. I wouldn't pay 40k for a custom show vehicle that I wanted to drive regularly.
New
Beater
Restore (enjoyed by the generation who were young or couldn't afford the vehicle as new)
Customized (people who enjoy the looks of the vehicle but want another level of performance or aesthetics to cater specifically to them)

I tend to agree classic car markets and trends are changing, It can really be compared to firearms. There are fewer and fewer that prefer the Milsurps to the new AR and AK variants.
 
I wonder if this is part of why we’re seeing more such cars on TV by way of comedian collectors like Jay Leno and Jerry Seinfeld? An effort to inspire a younger generation?

Note that regardless of what is being collected, the problem is rarely described as the prices being too high, that might scare current collectors who think of their collections as investments, but rather as a lack of collectors.
 
The price of a clean vintage vehicles and restored vehicles skyrocketed and priced everyone out. Was a huge craze with a lot of hot rod shows, etc.

That's why people got int0 rat rods: they could afford to build one.

The chopper craze was sort of a microcosm of that: lots of TV and people like OCC and JJ getting 150,000$ for one.
But 5 years later you couldn't give one away. Poof......gone.

People will get back into vintage cars when they realize a '68 C10 in decent condition isn't 40-60G anymore!
 
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New cars becoming collectors items may play into this too. I've got a few friends my age (early 30's) who are into 1980's cars. As those 40's-60's cars become unaffordable to younger guys, they'll find new cars to get into until those old classics come down in price again.
 
I hate to say it but check out the collector car trends have changed since the Baby boomer projects. Slick paint has been traded for flat primer or clear coat patina. Rat rods and Mad max mobiles have taken over from the original restores. It's fascinating to see the creativity put into these vehicles, but they have now become art projects instead of original restores.
I have had show cars and original restored. Show car are too much trouble. You are afraid to drive it and enjoy it because it gets dirty.
The current trend with car guys, myself included, is to drive it and enjoy it. Restore it to a mechanical degree of reliability and not worry so much about the "purty" factor. I enjoy nice wheels and
slick paint and I appreciate all the work that goes into getting it to that stage. I will restore some cars to that standard. but I will also fix/repair/update/upgrade others to drive and enjoy.
I restored my Hudson years ago back original, but it is now time to redo it. The paint and chrome has faded some, and under hood detailing in kind of rough. I plan to update the brakes to more modern safety standards(single to dual chamber MC)Add turn signals and upgrade the splasher engine to a full pressure system. Will also change the rear to get some better gears.
All this to make it more enjoyable to me.
My point is, when it is sold at my sale, It would appeal to a broader range of buyers.
 
I am a part-time professional classic vehicle inspector and most nice cars are leaving the country. Germany, Norway, Sweden and Greece are scooping them up. Good luck finding a real GT350H in the US anymore.

The prices for many 1950's classic cars have dropped due to the age of the people who wanted them already having them and now passing away.
Guys that are now in their 50's and 60's that may have some extra cash are looking at the cars they wanted in high school. 60's and 70's cars. It is a price wave that keeps aging up the cars.
When I was a kid, people loved Model A and T's. Now the demand and price is low for them.
With so many people now living paycheck to paycheck and many underemployed working for the same salary or less then what they made 15 years ago, it is difficult to afford a classic car.
I am in that boat now. I sure miss my Hurst Olds.
 
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I sure miss my Hurst Olds
I have a '69 442 Convertible waiting to restore myself. Bought it right after High School.
It's true what you said about the cars leaving the country. Every autofair I have a group of guys stop to visit me. They are from Sweden, and have a list of parts that they are looking for. They are
usually for 40's and 50's Chevys. They have a shipping container that they fill with parts for their cars and also buy what they can resale. Money is never an issue, they always pay a fair price for what they want. They will buy at Charlotte and then go to Carlisle and Hershey.They ship back a full container. Been doing this for years. They keep wanting to buy my old Shovelhead Harley FLH, saying they are in big demand in Sweden.
 
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Nice car. Classic Olds in Clemmons is a good source for Oldsmobile parts and for knowledge. My friend just restored a 71 442. I had a 71 Cutlass convertible. That was a nice car.
Sad about the cars leaving the country.
 
You can somewhat see and understand the change the newer generations care and grew up with everything electronic( video games and tablets) not actually helping dad tinker on a car so they never gained the love for fast cars or the hobby. I see it even in industry the new generation doesn’t want to or have the knowledge to troubleshoot machines unless it has a computer involved. Besides the new generation is professing its love for tide pods.
 
not actually helping dad tinker on a car
I grew up working in a "service station" where we pumped gas for the customers and checked under the hood. How many people now a days have ever even seen a full service station?
I remember when dads brought their sons to the station to show them how you done things. Then the sons would return when they got there drivers license. There all closed up after the gas crisis in the late 70's. I know this is where my love for car was born. I worked on 72 Chevelles when they were new cars!
 
Nice car. Classic Olds in Clemmons is a good source for Oldsmobile parts and for knowledge. My friend just restored a 71 442. I had a 71 Cutlass convertible. That was a nice car.
Sad about the cars leaving the country.
I have spent a lot of money with him. Before we all got displaced at the spring autofair, his spaces were right behind me. I was row HHB and he was GGB.
I finished a white/white '68 442 Convertible and sold it a few years back. It stayed around Charlotte/Concord for awhile and then went to Tenn.
The one I still have is a '69 400/4 speed/3.91 posi car. Its been tore apart off frame since 1985 or so. Other projects keep getting in the way.
 
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