Top 10 collector cars for 2019?

[ddub]

Haggerty had an article today with the above title. Here is a link: https://www.hagerty.com/articles-vid..._9_HagertyNews

I guess I am not in the car hobby. Nothing on the list interests me. I think I am in the Studebaker hobby (required Studebaker content).

[jrlemke]

The only one I would even consider is the Buick, 'cause Buick was my car before Studebaker caught my attention. The only way I would accept any of the others is for quick resale!- Jim

[Dick Steinkamp]

I must be getting old, but with the exception of the 70s BMW, they all seem like interesting used cars to me....not collector cars.

[sals54]

I had to catch myself lately. I've been busting on all the shows that are still drooling over the 70s Chevelles, Novas, Fastback Mustangs, etc. till I realized that the guys building the cars are of the generation following me. It inspired me to think of it that way cuz its not that different from when we were younger. We loved and hot rodded the cars that our parents were glad to throw away. I'm now seeing the latest fads in a new light. Not that I'm as infatuated with them as the young guns are, but I can understand why they are in love with these cars. Now we're moving into the next generation from them. These are the cars they lusted after, but could not afford. Now they are coming into thier own and looking for the cars of thier youth. The only one on the list I'm not too crazy about is the MR2. I never liked them just cuz they were soooo small. All the others are pretty cool. Even the big wagon. There's a local guy who has one which is really nice, low and loud. Dare to be different isn't just for Studebakers any more.

[Jessie J.]

I must be getting old, but with the exception of the 70s BMW, they all seem like interesting used cars to me....not collector cars.

Same here, The BMW and I'd add the Boxter, but the rest .....so much forgettable bleah.
But then I recognize that my Studes don't even register as the least blip on this generations scale of desirability.
And I'm fine with that.

[8E45E]

Here I thought they would supply a list of 1994 cars that not qualify for antique plates, such as the first Neons!!

Craig

[JRoberts]

Not much on this list that I would be interested in even if I had the money. The Subaru WRX/STI would be an exception. If I made such a list for me personally it would include a BMW 2002 tii, an original Mini Cooper (not the new BMW mini), a Saab Monte Carlo, a Javelin/AMX, a pre-1968 VW van (the more windows the better) and a 1941 Studebaker Champion. Naturally there are more, but this is just the beginning of my automotive fantasies.

[8E45E]

a pre-1968 VW van (the more windows the better)

The more windows, the more $$$$ they cost!! https://www.barrett-jackson.com/Even...DOW-BUS-109474

Craig

[E. Davis]

How can these be collector cars ? I thought age and style had something to do with collector value . Don't see either in any of these. Just getting old and senile I guess.

[studerex]

What a sad list. Not much of a car guy wrote this garbage.

[Metman]

The article is "2019 Bull Market List: 10 best collector cars to buy this year". Per Larry Webster, editor for Hagerty's newsletter/ magazine, "This is our second annual assessment of cars we think are good buys right now".

This article is all about numbers.

Larry goes on to say in his 'Driving Passion' (Editor's Note) of that issue, "Among some members of our editorial staff who produce the magazine, however, there is a concern that our cover story is too focused on the numbers. The point of our hobby- they point out to me any chance they get- is, after all, the joy of cars and the personal connections they foster. How do you put a price on that?" There's more to his "Editor's Note', but thought those comments might be of interest for this topic.

They even go on to say in the captioned article, "Is our Bull Market List just a lot of bull? To be honest, we don't know, as we're only in our second year of doing it..." They go on to show that the predictions for the nine vehicles they chose last year, did all go up in value (by various percentages).

I also question how some of the cars might really be labeled as "collector cars", but just saw the article as their staff picking cars that they believe will go up in value.

Of interest, in the same issue is an article by Colin Cramer where he revisits a 1972 issue of Esquire that contained an article called "Instant Classics" that tried to predict cars that would increase in value. In Cramer's follow up he includes the return on investments on several of the cars, including the 1957 Golden Hawk, 1963 Avanti and 1953 Commander from 1972 to 2018. He says, ".. the Ferrari 250GT Tdf and the Mercedes 300SL were great investments, but the Pontiac GTOs and Studebaker Golden Hawks weren't too shabby, either."

[fastjohnll]

The guys at Hagerty may be car guys but they do not seem to be "old American car guys". Their latest magazine has lots of foreign and newer cars in it.

[voxnut]

I'm always a little perplexed when something like this is published and folks decry it. While none of the cars on the list are ones that I'd cross the street to look twice at, I totally understand it. Car collecting (and I submit that if you have an obsolete car that you own for pleasure rather than strictly transportation, it by default is a collector car) is largely a generational thing. A specific era might span a couple generations depending on the environment folks were around - what their first used car was, or if they grew up in an old car family. But when guys don't relate to why a younger person would want an 80's or 90's car, I have to ask them why they don't collect stock Model Ts, or REO Speedwagons, or other brass era vehicles? I know usability might be one answer, but the other is probably that you think they are neat on some level, but not the object of your dreams.

I've seen other articles that basically say that interest in 1946-59 era cars is rapidly declining, which makes sense. Most younger folks have never had these cars on their everyday radar, so they can't relate to them. As with all eras, I think there will always be people interested in them, but just not at a 1:1 replacement ratio after folks either age out or head to the big grease rack in the sky.

I always wonder how much longer there will be any sizable interest in old cars. Is your average 16 year old going to want anything automotive when they are 50?

The times they are a changin'...

[sals54]

The guys at Hagerty may be car guys but they do not seem to be "old American car guys". Their latest magazine has lots of foreign and newer cars in it.

This is an interesting observation, but we need to remember what was going on in the late 70s and 80s. The import car scene was running rings around the "old American" cars. That means that kids of that era, are now in their 40s. Does anyone remember the impact of the Honda Accord and the Toyota Corolla in the 70s and 80s? They were the cars that most folks were buying and passing on to their kids. If the kids are driving those cars, then that is what they're going to remember fondly from their youth. Add to that, the performance versions of those cars, or the upgrades, i.e. the BMWs, etc., those are what will stoke the fire of desire in them now.
A friend of my son's is big into cars right now. But he drives an 80-something Toyota Supra. He loves that car and hangs out with the car crowd of younger guys who go to all the impromptu car meets that the younger crowd do these days. Around here they call them "Vape Meets". They are organized on the fly via smart phone and social media on the night and hour of the event. You won't find them in your printed car show flyer. But these young guys are as into cars as we are. Just in a different manner and via different means. If you were to go to one of these meets with your Studebaker, you'd be as accepted as anyone else. That's just how they are. It's awesome. Lamenting the "good ole days" is not going to bring them back and will not engender sympathy from these young guys either. They're too busy having fun with their cars. Hagerty is just catering to the next generation of car guys. It won't be long till they're the ones spending $50,000 dollars on a Toyota Celica at Barrett Jackson while the Muscle cars go unsold.

[voxnut]

This is an interesting observation, but we need to remember what was going on in the late 70s and 80s. The import car scene was running rings around the "old American" cars. That means that kids of that era, who are now in their 40s. Does anyone remember the impact of the Honda Accord and the Toyota Corolla in the 70s and 80s? They were the cars that most folks were buying and passing on to their kids. If the kids are driving those cars, then that is what they're going to remember fondly from their youth. Add to that, the performance versions of those cars, or the upgrades, i.e. the BMWs, etc., those are what will stoke the fire of desire in them now.
A friend of my son's is big into cars right now. But he drives an 80-something Toyota Supra. He loves that car and hangs out with the car crowd of younger guys who go to all the impromptu car meets that the younger crowd do these days. Around here they call them "Vape Meets". They are organized on the fly via smart phone and social media on the night and hour of the event. You won't find them in your printed car show flyer. But these young guys are as into cars as we are. Just in a different manner and via different means. If you were to go to one of these meets with your Studebaker, you'd be as accepted as anyone else. That's just how they are. It's awesome. Lamenting the "good ole days" is not going to bring them back and will not engender sympathy from these young guys either. They're too busy having fun with their cars. Hagerty is just catering to the next generation of car guys. It won't be long till they're the ones spending $50,000 dollars on a Toyota Celica at Barrett Jackson while the Muscle cars go unsold.

Yes. Exactly.