[Verdoro 68]

I was at a cruise in the other day looking over a '55 T-Bird and it got me thinking about generations. 30 years ago they were selling for top dollar and now they hardly get a glance.

There will be an inevitable downturn, but don't write off the kids today. I get a lot of interest in my car from my son's friends in High School. They love and appreciate the car, they've just been priced out from buying one. The one exception I can think of is the kid who recently scored a rough around the edges '71 El Camino SS454 4 speed on Marketplace. Just like we were, they're into what they can afford - diesel trucks, '80s G bodies, 4th gen F-bodies, 4th & 5th gen Mustangs. As a result, the collector car market will change as that generation grows older. The ZL1s, Demons, GT500s will be the top dogs. While I expect the market to soften for traditional '60's and '70's musclecars, I'm convinced they will always be a cornerstone.

[Sirrotica]

To own a classic car and maintain it requres disposable income, with the job market, and inflation the way it currently is there aren't an overabundance of younger people that can afford a down payment on a home, let alone have anything left over to spend on a hobby car.

Unless the US economy changes drastically, I don't see the younger generation being able to entertain a rather expensive hobby such as hobby car, or race dedicated cars.

I have my old home under a land contract, rent to own, and my tennant can't afford a mortgage, plus his credit record isn't perfect. He has a good paying job, but credit is really tight now, I've seen it first hand with the inability to secure a mortgage. He and his family can't live in a classic car, so securing a place to live is much more important than spending a ton on a classic car, or even a tricked out 4X4.

He's in his late 30s, with 2 kids, so he's an average Joe. He does like 4X4 trucks, and is talented enough to spin wrenches on his own stuff, so he could do the work, but just doesn't have money leftover to afford the hobby.

[Jay S]

The prices have to stay high or go up, because that same money buys less and less. If the price on car has went down the last few years, it didn’t go down in price a little, it went down a lot. Inflation

The car scene generally looks a little different for the younger generations. For drag racing it is No prep, small tire, street car take over type stuff. That group is into older cars too.

My son and I went to the Import Face Off in Topeka last year, drifting, car show, drag racing, car limbo, stereo contest. Never seen so many LS engines in foreign cars. They have what is called the ice cream cruise at my local track, which draws a similar crowd. They had over 2000 show cars, they had to stop letting people in because there was to many people at the facility. The line to get in was insane, took over 2 hrs to get in to spectate. I don’t ever remember smaller venue car events drawing people like that in the past.