future of mopar collecting

given that there are only so many collectable mopars [there is a fixed number ] sooner or later the most desired cars will end up in collections or museums . this will leave so many to remain in public hands. I know there are plenty left for us now , but more are being restored every day and the cost to restore them is far and away greater than their worth. where do you see the future of this hobby going ? long terms?

This question comes up multiple times per year and the answers fall into a few categories:
The values will plummet as we get older and nobody wants these cars
Who cares, I've got mine
They'll always be worth money
Etc.

Yes, there is a finite number, but still enough cars for the people who want them even though some who want cannot afford. The truth is that those of us who have been in the hobby since the 1970s or 1980s are fast reaching an age where wrenching on them just won't be possible or enjoyable. The truth is also that there are younger folks who also want these cars and some of them have plenty of money. Prices on mid-range cars (like my GTS convertible) may fluctuate some, but I believe its rarity will always equate to some value. Low end cars seem to have much higher asking prices these days than I would expect and these cars (some of them) seem to be moving. I see plenty of younger folks with an interest in these cars. What far too many fail to realize is that WE are a small percentage of boomers who still have these cars.

I think the hobby is fine. I don't find myself worrying about the value of my cars as they will go to my sons at some point in the future.

thanks ! I was not thinking so much about worth in money terms . just where it goes from here . the world seems to be changing so fast that I wonder how long before it has a bigger impact on things like this. each generation has their own style!

For all the Climate change fans, collecting anything that runs on fossil fuel will come to an end. It won't be soon, but in the next gen or 2 the collector car industry will comprise of the first Tesla. Gas formulation is changing to the point carbureted motors will not be compatible. Eventually, the hobby will change or become extinct. If they do produce fuel that will work on our cars, the cost will not be affordable. One day, lobbyist will not save the industry. Eventually, no one will want to have these cars.

I dont think the rest of the world is on board yet with this thinking. Do you think Saudi Arabia is willing to make these changes?

I'll add this. Over the last 17 years, I have seen members come, members go. Some have died, some have gotten old and sold, some have sold to buy newer iron. We have a lot fewer active members now. It used to be you would come on here and be 2 pages behind in less than a day. That said, cars are still being restored and prices are still going up. I'm sure eventually prices will come back down. I watched Mechum a couple of weeks ago and was amazed at some of the "affordable" prices for 50 Fords,etc. Mid teens for nice cars. We will probably be dead before this happens. As far as the age thing, My 19 year old likes my collection. I didn't think my 16 year old cared at all until this weekend. Teaching him how to drive in my Corolla. In an empty parking lot he asked if he could just stop and launch the car. Asked him why and he said, "Because it is so much fun". We did it and I told him, "Now you know why I like the Mustang GT. It is 2X as fast off the line as the corolla and the hotrods are even faster". He finally got it. This kid spends days in his room and can run a weed whacker without destroying it. There is hope. Want the kids to understand and like our musclecars? Give them a real ride or even let them take a very short/controlled drive!!

Locally to me , there is a guy with a Mopar salvage yard .. he has many acres of cars and parts and has been doing it for long time .. he 2020 was his busiest year ever .. bit due to our very dry weather here maybe this year, bit to due covid 19 so, from his perspective, no slowing down any time soon

Fossil fuel today is the Whale oil of yesterday.

Times change.

There are no guarantees in life.

"Early industrial societies used whale oil in oil lamps and to make soap. In the 20th century it was made into margarine. With the commercial development of the petroleum industry and vegetable oils, the use of whale oils declined considerably from its peak in the 19th century into the 20th century. This is said to have saved whales from extinction.[2] In the 21st century, with most countries having banned whaling, the sale and use of whale oil has practically ceased." Wiki

my '2' boys have/had ZERO interest in our old muscle cars- 1/2 dozen kids would walk up my driveway where there would be 2 superbirds, or a hemi bee or r/r or a 6pack, and maybe...maybe '1' of the kids would give it a 2nd look...i would guess the really rare/rare car will hold value, but in 10-15-20yrs the chance of a 71 hemi cuda 'vert getting today's or yesterday's $$$ ... doubtful...

It's not a bad thing that this subject gets brought up once or twice a year. The answers evolve as time goes on and better yet, you can go into the search engine to see who was right.


Unless you have deep pockets, I see insurance premiums killing multi-vehicle collectors long before fuel, parts availability or interest drops off.

For the one, possibly two collector vehicle owners, everything is going to be alright.

Getting to be a "3rd vehicle is a hot rod" Family will be out of reach for the majority of the population because of real estate prices. That's just plain reality.

When the current generation of over-complicated, dealer-only service vehicles get exposed as un-fixable, unaffordable alternatives as used vehicles, I expect the old stuff to take a few steps up in value and overall interest.

The truly desirable cars will hold their value but I think over time the less desirable ones will plummet. What we're seeing is between all the flippers out there and the high cost of living in today's world the number of under-40 car guys is a shrinking demographic. As the older generations age-out, their collectibles will fetch good prices by those who can afford them but I think the ho-hum stuff will be overlooked much the same as as happened with the 20-50's hotrod scene. The older stuff is getting almost undriveable to someone accustomed to the creature comforts of a modern vehicle. If electric vehicles become more mainstream due to fuel pricing or regulation we may over time see that become a bit of a cultural shift against our old clunkers.

Yup, most young people don't understand the car hobby...just want a way to get from A to B, don't care about much else.
That said, my oldest son surprised me yesterday with "why don't they bring back Plymouth?" He went on to talk about his friends that drive Kia, Honda, Toyota, etc. and how they don't care about their cars, don't know anything about them, but tend to have trouble frequently. His thought was, that if Chrysler could build a cheap alternative to Kia, Hyundai, etc. that was engineered as well as other Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram products of today, that we could get back that market. I discussed it with him, and we went over many of the reasons why Chrysler pulled out of the small, cheap car market, but I was still impressed that he noticed this and wants Mopar to offer a better product in all markets.

Granted, he's the exception, not the rule...

JS

Boomers are the peak of it and slowly downhill from there. They grew up with these cars and others did not so the attraction is much weaker.

Younger group is content if they have an apartment, a phone, and a skateboard or bus pass. Everything else is noise to them. Many have no license, no car, or both out of choice.

I'm 57 (bet most of us are 50's or 60's). I plan on making parts and playing with my own car for 20 more years. Hopefully in 10 years I'll find some more "me time".

Wonder if there will ever be any real momentum to make our car electric.

This subject does come up every couple months, and the general consensus always seems to be the time will come when no one interested in cars is still alive and a hemi cuda convertible will be lucky to sell for 10 grand.
I don’t have a crystal ball, but I do know that for any given hobby there are a lot more people not interested in it than are, so are no kids today not interested in cars, or are most not interested? If none are, the hobby is doomed, if some are, the car hobby survives. I remember in the 80s several instances with people and my T/A, where friends said something to the effect of why would you want that? To hear everyone here talk now, every red blooded guy in the 70s and 80s was into cars. I was, I had friends who were, but I also knew far more people who couldn’t understand why anyone would want anything beyond a good point A to point B ride, or else something new and expensive that might attract girls.
I can’t imagine there are too many people around who are gung ho about Duesenbergs, and few alive who were around when they were new or late model, yet they are still worth a fortune. Other cars like Model Ts seem stagnant or down in price. Lots were built and they are quirky to drive in traffic. At least muscle cars don’t have trouble doing the speed limit! And many muscle cars were low volume and survival, which means even if 99.9% of the population has no interest in them, the .1% that are might be enough demand vs supply to keep values from dropping.
I’d be mostly concerned about drivability issues affecting interest, but the popularity of EFI and disc brake conversions for older cars, along with adding AC, suggests to me that many enthusiasts are adapting to keep their cars comfortable to drive rather than losing interest in old cars.

Well said. I can remember where I worked from 1984 to 1991 there were about three "old" cars regularly in the parking lot. Most days I wasn't even driving the old stuff, but the cars were my GTS convertible, a 1970 Swinger (318 car) and a 1970 Hemi Charger (yes, a real one) were the memorable ones. Oh yeah, there was also a guy who was fixing up an early '70s Rolls...This was a company with 3,500 people at the main campus where I worked...

I don't think the bottom's gonna fall out any time soon.
Couple months ago, a couple kids on bikes drew up near where I was getting out of my '68 Road Runner and said "cool car!"
Local yearly car show, where we get 500-600 cars, has people of all ages taking it in; the younger folks tend to bring projects, and ask questions.
The majority are Boomers (as am I) but the kids here show respect and are often curious about the Model Ts & such.
Local Cars & Coffee sees pretty much everything from wealthy guys with Ford GTs to youngsters with pick-ups & Chevelles & some import stuff.
Best thing is to get the stuff out and be friendly, not gouge people on parts, be helpful, and share our enthusiasm.

this is what got me to ask this in the first place. I didn't mean to re-ask a worn out question.. it just sort of seems like its the natural way it will go..

Well said.

Its like anything else...if you like it and you can afford it you buy it and enjoy it for what it is. Its no different than buying a new TV....

If you want to wait out the next 5,10,15,20,25,30 years until your theory that the prices on old Mopar Musclecars goes down....those will be the 5,10,15,20,25,30, years you went without enjoying the car you could have bought and enjoyed.

Dave.

I just enjoy all my cars as long as I can.
If they would be worthless one day: I don't worry, they were pretty worthless, too when I started.......

Carsten

you mean like the 85" tv i can buy today for 1k or 1500bucks??? when 15 years a 50'' plasma cost me 8k.... is that what u mean

That is the right attitude. I keep them because I like them.

I could see the value for most of them falling. Here's my thoughts on this matter. With the advent and the pushing by most in society that gasoline/diesel engines are old,dirty, and unhealthy for people and the environment plus the push for electric vehicles, I think only a few will hold value or some value but, I could see them becoming just art pieces eventually due to these circumstances and people not wanting to work on them minus the select few. Myself personally, I have what I have for personal enjoyment and value.

Honestly, I SERIOUSLY HOPE it don't happen but in my opinion I see the older Mopars from the 20s to 70s, hell maybe even 80s going away and not being around because folks my age (and I'm 20 years old) dont really care about these cars. I just think the modern muscle will be the new thing and the older Mopars being forgot about. Take it how you want but that is just my 2

But that's because there are new muscle car offerings that give us what 60-70 muscle cars once uniquely claimed. Why would anyone in our generation want to rebuild, scour for parts, and pour money into older cars when you can go to any of the Big 3 and buy a car turn key with warranty that is nicer, safer, faster, and better supported? For those of us tied emotionally to these projects (maybe your dad had one years ago or in my case you had one sitting needing attention), we're a different situation. But those coming into the sport fresh? No chance.

Investors buy these cars to make money. They collect them for the eventual flip. But if demand isn't gonna be there, they are better off buying a new Demon, wrapping it in plastic, and selling it in a decade. In twenty years the car market will change again to EV, but some portion of the market will continue to drive demand for things no longer offered.

I self admittedly get too emotionally attached to cars to ever be in the sport for profit.

Every older generation has said nobody will want these cars and they'll all be worthless. Still waiting on that to happen. In 10 years, I wouldn't be shocked at the ability to manufacture one off pieces a lot easier than it is today. The limiting factor for a lot of mopar's is the inability to source all the parts you need compared to a ford/chevy. Old cars aren't going anywhere. The market will be strong for the rest of our lifetimes. All of you screaming that nobody will be alive to work on them, you realize that increases the demand for functional proper pieces right? Only driving up the prices more as driving or owning becomes an even bigger status symbol. Most saying the hobby is going to die are the same ones sitting on hoards of [censored] they'll never sell or saving it for someone that will never restore haha.

I still think we're the minority and I think there will still be a minority but, could see it shrinking over time or shifting to other later model cars. Just looked at what has happened to Fox Body Mustangs and the 90s Impala SS cars. The other thing that will play at hand will be government rules and regulations in the future. I think some cars will hold value regardless but, with the way things are looking currently it's a toss up. Lots of guys around here aren't really interested in cars and the guys that have maintained these cars seems to have become smaller.

Just another thought. I don't think the desire for older cars will go away but it will change. I for one am modding all my cars to EFI. Why? I have noticed that the number of folks that know how to work with carbs, set timing, etc has shrunk by leaps and bounds. So, my boys will inherit cars that they don't need to mess with. Also, every gen seems to have cars they like. While they might not necessarily be our musclecars, there are loads of 2005 and up Mustangs and 2008 Challengers out there. Just like the Fox bodies, kids will grow up and fix these cars of their youth up.

"When I moved to North Dakota they told me there was a good looking woman behind every tree. What they didn't tell me was there are no trees."

(Okay, I couldn't resist it.)

I think the market long ago peaked - I've been in this since the late 80's and bought a few of my cars before it got crazy (68 Charger for $3800). I don't think you'll see money of old but rare is rare and there are still kids today that love these cars. I've never been in it for $$ so I don't much care.