Future collectibles--does your list jibe with ours?

We just posted something over at Classic Motorsports that might interest the GRM crowd: future collectibles. 

So, what does your crystal ball say? Do our picks hold water? And is too late to stock up on clean M3s?

Thanks and enjoy. 

Here's what people said before.

I would argue a lot of those already are collectibles. 
I was happy to see the Boxster on there for selfish reasons. 

In reply to spandak :

I agree - I want to know what to grab now that will be something cool in the future.  We already know the S2000 is one.  If Nissan drops the 370Z I think it's one based on being RWD and a throwback to the 240Z and GT-R layout.  Miata?

In reply to Datsun310Guy :

Miatas for sure.

A car I've had on my personal list is the Lexus IS300. I know full well it's no Supra with a naturally-aspirated 2JZ, but I can't shake the feeling that people will start grabbing anything with a 2JZ as Supras start getting scarce.

My pick is a Subaru SVX as good examples become more rare every year, and they are/were super nice unique cars.

Now the 914 is still super cheap, that might change in the future, I saw Leno was(did) going to buy one.

I agree on the 914. Really any P car is in its way up. 
The 240z I saw coming some years ago. I never did get one but I dreamed about a BMW in-line 6 in the engine bay. I think these are the edge of being very desirable. 

Bug eye WRX. Unmolested examples will pull some serious premiums. When's the last time you've seen a mint example?

In reply to Appleseed :

That's what I was thinking. Those were the first WRXs that came to America. I still remember the first one I saw. WRXs and particularly STIs in good condition already command a pretty high resale value.

If I win the lottery, though, I'm throwing about $20,000 at the baddest time capsule Starion I can find.

A lot of the cars on that list are already classics on the up and up.

Modern: I am going to say anything post 90:

I put three E36s on the list. The M3, the Z3, and the seemingly lowly 318ti. All are climbing faster in value compared to the other E36's

E46 I put the M3 and Z4 on that list

Boxster

Porsche 993 as the last the air cooled P-car will someday draw some high money

The Last of the Toyota Supras

The last of the Nissan 300z cars

the Toybaru twins once all the riced out ones are recycled

The fiat 500 Abarth. They never sold many

Mini JCWs, especially the first batch

VW Eurovan with the Westfalia package

Pontiac Solstice

Mustang with the flat plane crank (not sure on what the actual model name is)

Short Wheelbase single cab Ram Trucks with the Hemi (again not sure of the model name)

Saab Viggen

The original Subaru WRX

VW golf R32

Mtsubishi Evo 8 and 9

I am sure there are more, but those are off the top of my head

The JDM market in general is getting a little flooded. There are so many coming over. The cream are commanding top dollar but the driver class is not moving and in most cases going down. 

I hope my Evo 3 RS gets to be on that list. :) I just enjoyed a few days of driving it in Japan recently. I think overall the Evo will be on that list especially those on the original motor and not riced up. Took my buddy in Japan 4 months to find me mine. 

The classic SUV market as a whole is coming alive. Not to late to get your K5 for restoration. The Bronco ship sailed already. A good imported Defender is drawing crazy dollars so look at the LC 70 as the next big thing. Just a capable with a great pedigree. 

I'm probably wrong but I'm expecting the 1st gen Exploder to start getting some love in the next 10 years or so. Everyone and their mom has owned one so everyone has some kind of nostalgia or attachment to it (unless they absolutely hated driving it). They are decent trucks mechanically and off roaders seem to like them, not bad looking either. They are still viewed as cheap and disposable work trucks so I can see them going the way of the Toyota pickup. In a few years the only remaining examples will either be rotted out beaters hauling scrap metal, or mint condition survivors on the auction block.

I've searched for one multiple times but there's nothing in my area that isn't completely rotted. I'd have to commit to a fly and drive to even look at something worth buying.

Appleseed said:

Bug eye WRX. Unmolested examples will pull some serious premiums. When's the last time you've seen a mint example?

I'd also include the first gen 2.5 RS. Clean ones are getting harder to find, and the prices have already been going up for the last few years, especially the coupes.

I had hoped my 96 Impala SS would have some sort of collectible value.  Not that it was rare or super special, but look at prices for tri-five chevys and GM G-bodies.  They weren't anything special either.

In reply to Curtis :

Give it another 10 years. I'll bet you'll be surprised. 

Hopefully the neon acr and srt4

Nobody can tell.

Who in their right mind would have saved a Ford Falcon?

A  Willys Panel trucks are the new up-and-coming classics everyone is wanting to own, particularly if they have the favorite Ford Explorer RWD Chassis.   ;)

All the ones people think will be collectible almost invariably won’t be.  These get snatched up, put away, and consequently the supply stays high enough to meet the demand.  The demand doesn’t take off since nothing really creates demand like demand.  It feeds on itself.  Mania they call it sometimes.

The ones that will be red hot are the ones nobody sees coming.  

Some examples of the latter:

911 Porsche.  Screwed together well but derided in the car media for years.  The NA ones aren’t that fast and the turbo ones handle funny they said.  Even up into the oughts, non turbo versions were dime a dozen.  Did you see that one coming?  Nope.

Early Bronco.  What’s so special here?  This is just a utility vehicle built with all Ford’s “shelf parts”.  Every single component was produced by the millions.  Why not just use them as intended?  Wheel em, wreck em, junk em.  See that one coming?  Nope.

Dodge / Plymouth E-body.  Time was the most likely place to find a ‘70 to ‘74 Cuda or Challenger was sitting on blocks in a mobile home park.  Save for Hemi examples, whose engines always seemed to disappear, these were mostly unwanted heaps.  Ridden hard and all used up.  Nobody will ever want these.  Right?  Have you priced even a lowly 318 powered one lately?

So based on what I’ve said, what’s my pick?  C5Z.  Cut em up folks.  Make Vette carts.  Nobody will ever want them.  Besides, the seats are terrible and the radio and HVAC controls are right out of an S10.

ShawnG said:

Who in their right mind would have saved a Ford Falcon?

Back in the day I wish I would've grabbed a Lotus Cortina.   

1991/92 VW GTI 2.0L........the best of the A2 Golfs.

I still go with the "posters on the wall" theory - look at what sort of cars teenagers of various generations had on their walls. That's why I wasn't surprised that the 911s took off.

I also think the list is missing the NSX.

Datsun310Guy said:

ShawnG said:

Who in their right mind would have saved a Ford Falcon?

Back in the day I wish I would've grabbed a Lotus Cortina.   

Exactly.

The Lotus Cortina WAS a special car.

The Comet Caliente was not.

I've seen more Comets than I have Cortinas.

Might as well save yourself a Chrysler Sebring. 

You people don't talk to actual younguns into cars much I gather? They don't mention lotus much, I think more would unironically rock a lebaron, long jacket or not.  

They have some serious views on what is cool, and I mostly agree. The obvious millenial bias for ecars is there with many, but not all. I see early 'ironically bad' cars getting the attention. The combo of 'classic', ecar, and quirks is appealing. AgingWheels, Simone Gertz, etc are good examples of this growing demo. They are unique, cheap to buy into, and hip. Think less prius, more bondbug. Going 'fast' is lowbrow.

More conventionally; Early supras, 280z, preludes, square VWs, import wagons, 80s angular stuff (lol low poly) is HOT. Some odd non performance ones: twingo, bubble tarus, and 70-80s velvet-interior luxobarges. I think E30s, rwd volvos, and rwd toyota cars are still safe bets. Anything I6 with a manual trans, even jags seems hot. "2jz?!?" Speaking of, expect modified cars to start mimicing old movies more than real life. Fast and furious overwrote actual import racing history for the public, much like many movies we loved as kids did for our fathers hobbies. 

Don't forget half the nostalgia market is what your parents drove when you were a kid first discovering cars, not just what you lusted after as a teenager, or later as an adult who cared about more exciting things like factory options sheets, originality, and binders of... documentation.

My personal prediction is to see early well-kept CUVs and small SUVs get popular soon. The 4x4 hobby will never die, but people who think a v8 is required sure will. Small 4bangers with turbos will be the norm, and v8s looked at as old-school. And lets face it, organic trails are endangered. A small cuv is fine for 98% of the jeep and 4runner drives I have been on. People were locking diffs and airing down like it was moab, while my stock truck with smaller than oem street tires never shifted out of one wheel drive. The real 'exploring' is gone, its mostly weekend roleplayers, if that. "I'll get out to yhe mountains one of these days! Really I will, i'm just so busy..." I am overwhelmingly certain that market is not going away no matter how much I make fun of it. Last I checked, american automakers wholeheartedly agree and have literally restructured around the assumption. 

/rant

I can understand a 911, maybe even a bronco,  but a vw camper van??   Nobody had posters of those!

With the Tesla truck, those Citicars might just be the most desireable car ever in the next 10 years.   lol