Future Classics
Something, anything, is worth exactly what someone will pay for it, no more and no less. Human beings being what they are, that "willingness" has a strong emotional contingent. When it comes to cars and car collectors, all sorts of strange commercial transactions can occur. For example, the muscle car market is red hot; proper GTO's, 'Cudas and Shelby Cobras are regularly fetching triple digit prices. This despite the fact that the majority of these machines are foul-handling beasts whose power-to-weight ratio seems carefully designed to kill its driver dead. Still, you can understand aging baby boomers' desire to own the car or cars they couldn't afford back in the day. Does that mean a carefully preserved Honda Integra Type R will someday fetch serious money at auction? Or a Chrysler 300C SRT-8? I turned to RM Auctions' Terry Lobzun for the skinny on future classics.
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None of them - too complex, and parts and service will not be available, especially for the average Joe. You might be able to look at them, but you won't be able to drive them. Wonder how many aftermarket BCM (Body control modules) will be available for any 1990's car 20-30 years from now? That is just one example, and time is not kind to electronics. The window for keeping "classic cars" running is closing - it will be hopeless for any currently produced automobile. Oops - this concept has already been posted above.
How about the Honda Prelude with four wheel steering? I can't recall the year it came out ('88, maybe?) but it only survived in production for a couple years. As the first production vehicle with 4WS it certainly has some engineering cred. Speaking of which, did that idea ever die a rapid death, or what? The only other mainstream application I can think of was on a pickup truck (Silverado, I'm thinking) to aid the turning circle. And I don't know if that is still in use.
I'd make the argument that we already have a fair amount of these "Modern classics" already. Take for instance the last of the RWD Toyota Corollas. Their prices are artificially high because of the "3Fast, 3Furious" crowd. Also, prices on Nissan 300ZX, especially Twin-Turbo examples, is fairly high, and will continue to rise. The Mazda Miata is a car that also holds its value fantastically.
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