Next-Generation
12 Cars to Collector Cars Power the Next Wave of the Hobby
Text & photos by Barry Kluczyk
Confession time . The author of this story wasn ’ t speed-shifting a Chevelle SS 396 on Woodward Avenue in 1969 . I was born that year .
Indeed , there are thousands of muscle car enthusiasts in their 30s and 40s who don ’ t have first-hand experience of Detroit ’ s glory days . They ’ re from the next generation – typically referred to as Generation X – and while their enthusiasm for muscle cars is strong , they weren ’ t the cars that demographic group grew up with .
As a card-carrying member of Generation X , I admit my affection for 5.0-liter Mustangs of the late 1980s is as strong as my affinity for an original Boss 302 . And coming of age when the prices on muscle cars skyrocketed means my chances of owning a Boss 302 ( a 1969 model in Bright Yellow , please ) are in parallel with my odds of winning the lottery . In fact , there ’ s an entire story to be written on the future of muscle car ownership , as affluent Baby Boomers drove up the prices to sometimes absurd levels and effectively eliminated the next generation from participating , but that ’ s a topic for a different time .
So , I ’ m one of those guys who love muscle cars , but didn ’ t grow up with them in those formative high-school years ; and lets face it , those adolescent years are where most of our automotive passions were created . We Gen Xers didn ’ t have Barracudas and Fairlanes in the high-school parking lot . We had Omnis and Fairmonts . So cars like the Buick Grand National and those ubiquitous 5.0-liter
Mustangs resonated strongly , because they were dramatically more dynamic than the fourbanger front-drivers that permeated our lives .
And because Gen Xers didn ’ t know first-hand the visceral thrill of a highcompression LS6 accelerating between stoplights , we didn ’ t know what we were missing . The Trans Am sliding around in Smokey and the Bandit sure looked cool , even if the soundtrack was dubbed with a NASCAR stock car , and the production Trans Ams had only 220 horsepower . So , while I ’ ll say traditional muscle cars will always appeal to me and my generation , I ’ ll admit , too , that we were influenced by the era we grew up in . And while the Baby Boomers may look down on cars from the late Seventies and early Eighties , a red-blooded car enthusiast in his 30s or 40s secretly longs to own a black 1987 Monte Carlo SS , even if it can ’ t run 12s .
Not surprisingly , as Gen Xers grow older , they ’ re starting to seek out the cars of their youth and they ’ re forming the foundation for the next generation of collector cars . Many of the classic muscle cars weren ’ t even 20 years old when the first wave of collector mania started , with the real push coming about 25-30 years after they were built . The cars from the late Seventies through late Eighties are hitting those mile markers now , with Gen Xers approaching their peak earning years . We ’ ve compiled a list of the cars we believe have the most collector potential – those with the greatest chance to increase significantly in value .
Like traditional muscle cars , those with low production numbers , a proper paper trail and original equipment are valued greater . Low mileage counts , too , as much for appearance as collector value . There simply aren ’ t many restoration parts for cars of this era , and low-mileage originals are the least likely to have needs that aren ’ t always easy to meet . It ’ s not likely that a Buick GNX will set the collector world on fire like a 1971 Hemi ’ Cuda convertible , but the cars of Generation X offer an entry into the collector market that has all but priced them out with classic muscle cars . Time will tell .
19