Musclecar value question

[TimG]

Being a Corvette fan and owning a bunch over the years, I think that most folks can't relate to the Corvette from when they grew up.
The "everyday" cars such as Mustang, Camaros, Cudas, Chevelle, all were in the high school parking lots across the country. We sure didn't have Corvettes in our parking lot at school, but all the other cars were there. You take the cars the guys saw while growing up and then dress them out with the ultimate engine and you have prices going through the roof. My red '66 Shelby got more attention than any Corvette because people thought of it as a Mustang, and everyone could relate to a Mustang. Same with any Chevelle or Camaro I've owned.

[njsteve]

Remember that rare does not necessarily equal valuable. The hemi cars are in such demand today because they were what the high school kids pined for back in the day. A Corvette would have been a pure fantasy for an average kid back then but the hemi was an $800 option on just about any B-Body Mopar in the 60's and early 70's and at least was a foreseeable dream for a kid. You could have bought one for under $4000 back then. (that's why you see a lot of the cars with manual steering and manual drum brakes...because the other options cost so much back then.) You also could have loaded them up with so many option that they surpassed a Corvette's sticker too.

[Dave Rifkin]

So the difference in prices would be directly connected to the fact that people who grew up that era, and have made it big financially, are buying what they wanted but, could not afford back in the day?
Seems like a plausible explanation; they wouldn't be my first choice if I had that kind of money but, they would certainly be on my list.

[rich p]

Just watch Dased & Confused and that pretty much sums it up for most of us!! I didnt see any Vettes in the movie. Just some Killer Muscle cars and a Killer soundtrack...

Muscle Cars,Girls & Beer

[mockingbird812]

[ QUOTE ]
Just watch Dased & Confused and that pretty much sums it up for most of us!! I didnt see any Vettes in the movie. Just some Killer Muscle cars and a Killer soundtrack...

Muscle Cars,Girls & Beer


[/ QUOTE ]

Lead in song for the movie: <font color="blue"> SWEET EMOTION! </font> Now, if that don't get you pumped!!!!!!!!!!!!

[442w30]

I still am not seeing some opinion that agrees with mine, so I'll go into detail a bit more. Of course, it's an opinion and nothing more, and I could be full of it.

Chevys have always demanded top dollar in the hobby. Even when 1000s have been built (like the LS6 Chevelle), they have always been on the higher side of the market. Look at 10 years ago . . . weren't LS6 cars about equal to Hemi cars? But they made a lot less of Hemi cars. They've always been strong and in demand, but the LS6's status of being a Chevy always kept its value elevated. Of course, it having the highest rated hp ever helped a bit, right?

But, today, look at the marginal difference in price of a Hemicuda and an LS6 from 10 years ago. The Mopar has changed a lot more than the Chevy. Even the hallowed LS6 ragtop, once purported to be among the rarest musclecars, has lost its luster. Most high-dollar collectors know it's not as rare as once was thought, and documentation is a lot harder to come by than Mopars, which have the data plates under the hood with all the options. Of course, these have been forged, which elevates the value of documented Hemis because collectors are willing to shell out the dinero for examples whose pedigree is beyond reproach.

So, back to one of the premium comments . . . the complaint about "on the disproportionate values placed on these Mopars compared to other, sometimes rarer, musclecars" is sour grapes. The Buick guys think the GS Stage 1 ragtop should be close to the price of the creme de la creme of the hobby. The RAIV Judge ragtop guys don't understand how their car - just about the rarest out there - is worth less than a Chevy. And Ford guys have it tough except for some Mustangs. At least the Marti Reports have helped buffer Fords' values, but in many cases they lag other, equally fast and rare Brand X vehicles.

[Dave Rifkin]

442W30; it was I would made the comment, not a complaint, about the disproportionate values placed on these Mopars compared to other, sometimes rarer, musclecars and I can assure you it is not a case of "sour grapes" since I don't own any of these super valuable cars.
I simply don't understand why the Mopars, particularly the Hemis, are valued so highly when they aren't the rarest, the fastest or the best looking of the musclecars. In my original post I used the L88 Corvette as a comparison; here's a car that's rarer than most of the super valuable cars, performs as well or better than most, has a real racing history behind it and in my opinion is one of the better looking cars of their time. Yet, with all of this going for it, the prices still lag behind many of the Hemi cars.
Some have tried to explain the huge differences in values due to supply and demand while others seem to think it is because the Mopars,as well as other musclecars, represent the cars that most could afford back in the day so they relate better to them. The Corvette demanded a premium and was not something most young men, or women, could afford so these Mopars and other branded musclecars are more familiar and therefore more in demand.
These explanations I can see as making sense but, I can assure you there isn't a case of sour grapes here. I love all musclecars and I can safely say that each manufacturer built at least one car that I would truly love to have in my garage so I have no strong ties to any one brand or model.