Bear market in Classic American Cars?

[roccaas]

http://money.cnn.com/gallery/autos/2...une/index.html

This article's focus is on 50's cars, and how their value (auction prices) have not recovered from the post 2007 highs the way European values snapped back over the last few years.

I get the feeling that our A's are also in a bear market.

It all seems to come down to the fact that not enough young folks are stepping into our shoes to keep these cars running; and increasing in value.

Buy what you love, not what will help fund your retirement?

[neds29]

The majority of cars at the big auctions here in Phoenix are late '60s and '70s muscle cars rarely do you see Model A's anymore, but I guess that's understandable since those are the cars that generation grew up with (not that boomers parents drove Model A's! but the hot-rods of our day were mostly A's). Most people don't even look at my A pick-up as I drive by. No interest, not that I care but.... A's are still my favorite whatever anybody else says!
BTW, when I was at Tech in the '70's (gratis the Army) the car was a Model A coupe, not a roadster.
Ned

[mhsprecher]

Car and Driver had a similar article in the most recent issue. It probably was what prompted the CNN story. I have been trying to find it on line, without success, so far.

[Bruce Adams]

I think it would help if the National Clubs concentrated on advertising in AARP Magazine and promoting A's to BABY BOOMERS who are looking for a hobby.
Youngsters seem to not have an inclination towards mechanics as opposed to APPS as I have seen when displaying my car at Colleges where the Day Care Mothers and charges have an interest in the cars, but the college students just walk by, eyes glued to their PDA's.
BABY BOOMERS is the group with both money and leisure time to get into our hobby in my opinion.

[lookin-backtexas]

When you consider what the Milennials have grown up with, no wonder they are more interested in their PDA's and social networking on Facebook than they are with cars. (Millennials, or the Millennial Generation, also known as Generation Y, are the demographic cohort following Generation X - those individuals with birth years from the early 1980s to the early 2000s).

Everyone can relate to the cars that were popular when they grew up. When we were in high school we had no such distractions as iPhones or PDAs and when a Model A Ford or a '32 Coupe, a '58 Impala or a '64 GTO went by, they were head-turners - think the movie "American Graffiti". Considering that the majority of young kids now grew up riding to school in their soccer Mom's minivan and watching monolithic plastic Japanese jelly beans go by which all look the same, why would they care about cars?

[ronn]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

You are right-Hemmis were fetching 300k 6 years ago, when houses were shooting to the moon. Was it justifiable? no.............. (you can buy a nice one now for 125k)

Germanys economy is still flourishing as the number one exporter in the world
consequently, 356 porsche, mercedes 300sl and 280sl cars are going up up up.
supply and demand to your nations interests and money supply mean a lot
whoever thought housing was going to go straight to the moon 6 years ago, needs a lesson on economics-at least some understanding.............
The demand for A's is dropping and many of the younger folks have "rat rod" on their minds-just punch in model A ford on ebay-not 50% are "true" A's, just chopped up cars and projects by the wayside.

[Arlen]

If it makes you feel any better, there are still a few of us generation Y'ers out there who would much rather play with A's than phones (although I have done both at the same time before).

[700rpm]

Advertising in the AARP magazine is a great idea.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

I would also add that folks need to look at the Demographics both of the past and present. 'Hemi' cars back when they were new were rare and only a select few folks with deep pockets could/would step up and pay the price. Therefore most people purchased the lower cost vehicle without the Hemi. Compare that mindset to a Model-A buyer back during the era, and the attraction of the Model-A was towards the common working class that would/could not pay extra for a 'higher class' automobile.

Next, compare that type commodity mindset with any other type of collectible and you will see the same trend. If you collect China or dishware, the type of dishware (i.e.: common utilitarian style) that everyone carried back then does not fetch as high of a price as what the rarer type dishware does. This is not to say folks won't collect the common type, --it's just that the common type collectible does not command the higher ROI. This is the same with about everything that I can think of too.

Now to address the OP's comment about not enough younger folks stepping up, ...all my life in this hobby I have heard this comment made over and over, --and we have discussed it here in length. Just as with any investment portfolio, you do not look at short term spikes (sharp rises or falls), but you look at long-term trends with it in the marketplace, ...such as a 10 year cycles. It sure seems to me that Model-A's as a whole are bringing more money now than they did in the year 2000, and more then than in 1990, -or 1980, -or 1970, -or 1960, and so on. Therefore it sure seems to me they are increasing in cost. If I am wrong on these prices, please point it out but the bottom line is Model-A's are collector cars, --not financial investments. IMHO, the only people trying to justify their purchase to a spouse or friends would ever consider calling a typical Model-A a "financial investment".

.

[Terry,NJ]

Another aspect is that the schools are "Propagandizing" against those Dirty, polluting brown (as opposed to "Green") machines. I've met kids who say they hate cars and we should all ride buses and trains. My own grandson doesn't care if he ever gets a DL. This astounds me! Anybody else notice this?
Terry

[leo]

One more thing, I've heard that many young people don't care much about even getting a drivers license. Could it be that the american love affair with the automobile is over? I believe that the cell phone and related technology has replaced everything else that young people think about......

[BlueSunoco]

What Leo and Terry said,,,BIG TIME. More and more, teens today could care less about driving a car. You see it nationwide. They Smart Phone their way to communicate with their friends, where we used to hop in the car and go see our buddies and have fun. Not today. And with the driverless cars that are going to come out eventually, we'll have a generation of people who will be totally lost when the grid goes down, people who will be helpless. Not only can't drive a stick shift but can't operate a vehicle, period.

At least I sure wish electric Interurban trains would make a comeback and all railroading in general.

[bikejunk]

Always viewed model a 's as a driving enjoying fixing and going kind of car not an investment grade vehicle -

[freak]

I think for most loving cars and loving to work on them (in some fashion) go hand in hand. But these days there is no industrial arts taught at school like wood shop, machine shop, welding. Kids for the most part aren't interested in this type of work. Maybe any work at all. I had a large and nice (cheap but nice to me) set of tools by the time I was around 13. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a kid who has tools these days.

[chl]

kids tools today are personal care and beauty products.

[Ron W]

As Brent says, true muscle cars are relitivly rare but street legal in all states. That affects thier value. The Model A is fairly common among antique vehicles thus thier price is more afFORDable. For some of us, that's a good thing. Ron W

[Stretch Cab]

My 12 year old grandson asked me the other day which old car he gets. Seems like his 14 year old sister and he can't wait to drive as they bug me all the time to let them practice. I think Kaleb has his eye on the roadster! I gave Kaleb a tool set for Christmas but I'm afraid the xbox still takes too much of his time.

[BudP]

Erector sets and crystal radio kits make great gifts for grandchildren. Spend some time with the grandkids assisting them in these projects and see what interests develop. From there you can move on to tools and other kits. The pleasure of building never ends. I just completed building an Irish Mail (four wheel handpumped vehicle) for a grandchild. FWIW as a child I used to love to take apart old clocks and old typewriters just to see how they operated. That led to my own little tool box. Get them interested in working with their hands and in figuring out how to solve problems with their analytical and judgment processes (this is where you come in) and they will progress into autos, speed boats, etc.

[mhsprecher]

My son just turned 27. I have always been a fixer and tinkerer, but he caught on late. He has become a car guy and wants an old sports car. He likes my Model A and has driven it once, but he lives across the country from me and doesn't get the opportunity. He will likely get a collector car at some point.

When I was growing up there were more "car guys" then than now because you could actually fix your cars. Nowadays, we may need to do more outreach to younger generations. One way to do that is to drive our cars often, so others see them , befriend youngsters in the neighborhood and do more outreach. I plan to get involved with my local club to attract younger members. Is my car an investment? Probably not, but I do get a pretty high personal ROI.

[boomerusmc]

While not a GenX-er (I was born in 69), I'm surprised how many folks my age have no interest in hands-on stuff like wrenching on cars. I know I got my itch from my grandfather, who always had some contraption or vehicle to work on (all either named "Hez" or "Hesitation"). He always made it fun, so I learned without realizing it....maybe that's the answer to getting some younger folks interested.