History of the Marques - Muscle Cars
MUSCLE CARS and CLASSIC CARS
Just recently I was talking with an individual who knows about the
value of old cars. He told me that recently the value of Muscle Cars
in general on the auction circuit was rising rapidly while that of
classic cars was in decline. This was hard to believe. As a young
boy growing up in the fifties and sixties it was nigh on impossible
for a teenage to own a muscle car unless it was a few years old. To
purchase a new one off the lot was possible only for those whose parents
had ample discretionary income and no qualms about purchasing high
end insurance so that their baby boy or girl could impress their peers
with one of these street stompers.
During further research on the appreciation shift of classics vs.
muscle cars it seems that this is true but that much of it is driven
by speculation. What seems to have driven the speculation for muscle
cars seems to be the fact that some rare Mopar Hemi engine cars such
as the Cudas and Chargers are fetching very high prices at the auctions.
People who grew up with them when they were new now want to own them
if they can afford them. In turn this has sparked much of the overall
rise in prices for just about any muscle car. The question remains
whether they will continue hold their value vis-à-vis the Classic
era automobiles.
When I was a young boy anyone who knew anything about cars could list
the conditions for any vehicle to obtain classic status. This was
before the word adopted a broader meaning in usage by the general
public. At the time classic car after all was a category that ended
in 1948 and began in 1925. It was a term said to have been coined
by the Classic Car Club of American to denote this era which came
after the Vintage era of automobiles. Besides being built between
1925 and 1948 a Classic had to be high priced when new, limited in
quantity, and of engineering significance. Not all cars made during
those years are considered Classics.
When comparing Muscle cars to Classic cars the difference between
the two is striking. This is partly due to the prosperity after W.W.II
and can be seen in the decline of specialty built coach work and eventual
disappearance of some luxury car manufacturers such as Pierce Arrow
and Packard. Rapid change had occurred in the engineering aspect of
automobiles including the look and the way the body was placed on
the car. Prior to W.W.II these changes or inventions often but not
always
