brianpizzuti

So like many of you I have been ecstatic watching air cooler Porsche values quickly jumping in the last 3 years. Recently I was in a crowd at a Porsche event attended by a diverse age spread and it was very interesting to hear the comments but also a bit troubling to listen too.

I am mid 40's, I grew up dreaming of Porsches and had the Porsche bug at an early age. The bug has never left me and I have continued to add to my garage. At the event folks my age and older were equally admiring and drooling over the many air cooled Porsche vehicles parked. However the small group (8-10) of millennial aged attendees had zero interest in the more vintage vehicles. Many made very disparaging comments about these gorgeous cars and it left me wondering if in 20 years the number of possibly interested air cooled Porsche buyers will be a much smaller pool.

It won't deter my hobby but makes me nervous that in 25 years these same Millennials may view some hot suburu or a ford raptor as their dream car. Thoughts?

tcsracing1

I have often wondered if the next generation would desire old cars or perhaps forget about them.
Where will the market be in 30 years with the younger generation?

I think iconic cars will be safe. Cars that are like art will age well. Especially low production numbers. The best designs will always tickle people's hearts and wallets.
Certain people love to collect things.

I think the 911 aircooled porsche is safe.

Freddie Two Bs

I think the biggest threat to classic cars isn't millennials, it's autonomous driving and electric / fuel cell cars.

I am convinced that in 30 years time the law will only be allow old cars to be driven on private property (if the left wing radicals haven't managed to abolish private property, that is) and a gallon of gas will cost 20 bucks in today's money.

tcsracing1

Extreme.
But i think at some point in the future gas stations will indeed be a thing of the past. They will all close and car collectors will have to buy their gas from special dealers to run their cars amongst electric cars.

brianpizzuti

I am hopeful that the self driving cars never become a reality. Once perfected and proven safe they certainly would make vehicles like ours more difficult to keep on the roads.

Jherriott

My opinion is electronics... or the failing of complex electronics, will keep our cars valuable and sought after. 50 years from now, no way in Hell will anyone be restoring a 2015 Suburu, or Porsche for that matter. There is too much to go wrong. Too many annoyances.

Just the other day I was getting the oil changed on my truck. Some woman in a Mercedes was freaking out at the mechanic because she just got the price to fix her headlight. Headlight was fine, wiring was fine... bad body-module. Price? $1,000.

And as for my take on electric cars? Gonna be at least another 100 years of gas powered cars on the roads. Tesla is cool now, but who is going to eat the battery replacement cost down the road? And how GREEN is that? Electric cars have appeared many times in automotive history, there were even electric delivery cars all over London in the 50s. Yet, they never last. And I don't think it's because of Corporate Oil pressure. I think it is just pure business. Gas powered is simpler, and cheaper.

Self-driving cars will happen, for sure. But I'll leave that for the hipsters. People won't even own cars in the near future... they'll own "plans". Like a cell phone plan. Press a button on their app, and a self-driving car picks them up and drops them off to their favorite Hipster joint serving $21 Mac & Cheese or $18 PB&J Sandwiches paired with a Pompous *** Pale Ale.

Just my 2 cents

Freddie Two Bs

The problem is that the government won't leave it to you to drive your own human driven car. Once the option of driverless transport is available to everybody, they'll either outlaw old style cars outright, or make it de facto impossible. Like, if you get involved in accident and somebody as much as scrapes his knee, you get statutory 10 years in jail. Wait and you'll see. You heard it from me first.

Jherriott

Not wanting to hijack, or get into a drawn-out debate. But just wanted to note my take:

Everyone on this forum will be long dead before this is even on the table. Things don't change this fast. There are jobs and peoples rights at stake. Truckers, Taxi drivers, Limo drivers. I takes generations for even logical steps to be made when thousands of people are involved, each with their own ideas, beliefs and culture.

I mean, you guys can still carry guns right? To you, it's your God given right, to other people it sounds completely absurd. It would take many, many generations for your gun rights to disappear. Although it is a completely different subject, I'm sure you will be able to drive a car for many generations.

The onus will be placed upon manufacturers of self-driving cars to program the software to avoid human driven cars. After all, since when does the general public trust a robot? Next thing you know, they'll be running city finances... :P

911Dave

Autonomous doesn't mean driverless. No law permits driverless cars and I'd be shocked speechless if they are ever permitted on public roads. current law requires a driver to be behind the wheel, just as alert as they are today, and ready to take control of the car in an instant if anything goes wrong. I constantly hear people talk about how they can't wait for autonomous cars so they can sleep while their car drives them to work, or play on their phones or read a book or whatever. It is simply not the case, and never will be. Once the public finally understands that autonomous means nothing more than hands-free driving, interest will wane very quickly.

Young people always value new over old. As people age, their appreciation for older things tends to grow. Mine certainly has. I used to laugh at 356s 20 years ago but now I'd give my left nut to own a good one. The 911 is an icon of automotive history and will always remain so. Besides, time will reduce their numbers at a greater rate than people who want them, so values will remain high forever.

mk85911

Plus 1, Dave. I think there is a particular demand for old cars coming from guys who were teenagers in the 1950's and 60's when cars seemed to be a much bigger deal to young people. Nowadays I see a lot of guys of that vintage out for their Sunday morning drive in the cars they likely lusted for in their youth. I don't think they were buying these cars for investment. But the supply of such cars will dry up over time; on the other hand, the supply of such buyers will dry up, me included. So I don't care about the future value--my executor can deal with that. Mike

Fast40th

My beautiful wise wife once shared a secret about happiness -
If you want to feel sad think about the past
If you want to feel anxious and nervous think about the future
And if you want to feel happy think about the present

So be happy about the great cars you can enjoy today, enjoy what you can experience with them today fully - who cares what the next owner will do or how much they'll pay ...

And I have to completely agree with Jason - the more gadgety, techie and modern cars become the harder it'll get to maintain them as road going classics.

mdkrp

Fast40th-
Indeed, you have a wise wife. Good words to live by.
Enjoy what you have now.

ForceReconTrojan

I don't know if these meteoric rise in valuations can sustain itself. The fact there is a 1/2 million dollar 993 turbo S in the classifieds makes me think we have jumped the shark.

But that's just me as it will become like my E30 M3 eventually did and I sold it...it became to valuable to enjoy without care.

Mondrian

World is getting richer by the day, while car manufacturers do their best to attract all this new wealth there are savvy buyers out there that would rather put $500k into a classic rather than buy into a depreciating asset. Sure prices could fall but it will never be 20% a year as is the case for a new car and in the long run it might even provide some returns as there is only a limited supply.

As for cost, an expensive $500k car to some is cheap for others - if I had a $2m gullwing I might be tempted to cash in and buy a cheap $500k porsche .... Everything is relative.

bakerphoto

I get regular thumbs up from all demo's when I'm driving my '86 cab. Elementary school age thru high school and beyond seem to have an appreciation for it so maybe there is hope for the younger generations.