Lots of good opinions here... and more than a bit of wishful thinking. 
The market is going down, and has been for close to a decade. This truth really hit home for me on Saturday when I watched a 1969 COPO Camaro sell at Barrett-Jackson for $120,000. That sounds like a lot, but I remember back when Reggie Jackson bought his and paid a whopping $800k or so and all the buzz was how the COPOs were going to be the first million-dollar Camaros. Then just after 2010 when he sold it, I recall it barely brought in $300k, and now we're seeing COPOs struggling to bring in $100k. It used to be owning any Superbird was a license to print $300k, and I just saw a 440-6 car struggle to get over $100k, while a bunch of late 80s Mustangs and Camaros were going in the mid $30ks. A few years ago, they were struggling to get $5k.
Purchases for cars like ours have always been driven by investment and emotion. The investors are leaving, thank God, and now the emotion buyers are getting control back, but as has been pointed out, there are fewer and fewer of us who have an emotional connection to these cars. Yes, there are some younger folks who like them, but there are nowhere near enough of them to replace us as we die off or drop out of the market. These folks want cars they have an emotional connection to, like the 80s and 90s rides, or they want an old school look with a modern ride, which is what's driving the restomod market.
But the big question is, as the market continues to tank, and collector car prices get lower and lower, will those lower prices induce more younger folks to want an older car? I would love to say yes, but the other side of the issue is I grew up in a time when every guy, and a lot of gals, took auto shop class. Working on cars was natural to us. Now we have more and more kids who think "Go to Jiffy Lube" is how you change your oil, tune ups... what are tune ups?, and who can live without A/C, cruise control, and a video display screen in their car. Totally different mindset and priorities from what us older guys have.
The market is going down, and has been for close to a decade. This truth really hit home for me on Saturday when I watched a 1969 COPO Camaro sell at Barrett-Jackson for $120,000. That sounds like a lot, but I remember back when Reggie Jackson bought his and paid a whopping $800k or so and all the buzz was how the COPOs were going to be the first million-dollar Camaros. Then just after 2010 when he sold it, I recall it barely brought in $300k, and now we're seeing COPOs struggling to bring in $100k. It used to be owning any Superbird was a license to print $300k, and I just saw a 440-6 car struggle to get over $100k, while a bunch of late 80s Mustangs and Camaros were going in the mid $30ks. A few years ago, they were struggling to get $5k.Purchases for cars like ours have always been driven by investment and emotion. The investors are leaving, thank God, and now the emotion buyers are getting control back, but as has been pointed out, there are fewer and fewer of us who have an emotional connection to these cars. Yes, there are some younger folks who like them, but there are nowhere near enough of them to replace us as we die off or drop out of the market. These folks want cars they have an emotional connection to, like the 80s and 90s rides, or they want an old school look with a modern ride, which is what's driving the restomod market.
But the big question is, as the market continues to tank, and collector car prices get lower and lower, will those lower prices induce more younger folks to want an older car? I would love to say yes, but the other side of the issue is I grew up in a time when every guy, and a lot of gals, took auto shop class. Working on cars was natural to us. Now we have more and more kids who think "Go to Jiffy Lube" is how you change your oil, tune ups... what are tune ups?, and who can live without A/C, cruise control, and a video display screen in their car. Totally different mindset and priorities from what us older guys have.
