The car collecting world is certainly a crazy place as evidenced by the recent surge in value for ’80s muscle cars. Some cars turn into extremely sought-after objects overnight, commanding high prices and becoming out of reach for most enthusiasts. But many other vehicles never achieve worldwide acclaim despite being rare and old. It seems that the classic car community has no rules. However, by now we can safely predict what cars have good chances of being the next big thing and which vehicles will never achieve classic car status.
Interestingly, in some cases, a car’s specifications, technology, or design, have nothing to do with its popularity. That often has to do with the moments in history or people’s recollections of specific cars or classes. That’s why ’80s muscle cars have gained so much popularity in recent years. Today, we’re going to break down all the major reasons why the classic car world has recently seen this shift.
Availability
Many collectors know that 1960s muscle cars are rare, which is a big reason why they’re so valuable. But ’80s models are more common and still around despite being 30 to 40 years old. The ’80s models are also built better than their 1960s counterparts, so they survived the years in better condition. Also, some thoughtful owners paid more attention to keeping these cars in top condition. So collectors now have 1980s models with few miles and in perfect shape for sale. It is almost impossible to find a 1967 Camaro RS with 3000 miles on the clock.
Yet there are 1987 Camaro IROC with similar mileage for sale at auctions every once in a while (via Automobile Catalog). If we look at the production figures for ’80s muscle cars, we can see that most of them were bought in vast numbers, like the Fox-body Mustang. This famous Ford sold 2.6 million copies in 14 years on the market. Of course, a lot of them were crushed, rusted, or discarded over the years, but such a high number suggests that there are still a lot of similar models around the market.