Within 50 feet of getting out of my old 74 Chevy C10 I hear a familiar voice.

“Hey Steve. How are ya?”

A 6 foot 7 inch monstrosity of a man pats me hard on the back and dislodges the few cobwebs that remained from a 5 AM wake-up call.

Editor’s Note: This is the second part of the series. The first can be found here.

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Get any group of car enthusiasts together and they’ll eventually start arguing about which recent models will increase in value over the next twenty years. I don’t think it’s actually possible for assembled gearheads not to discuss this topic, usually somewhere in between stories about past speeding tickets and bashing the Toyota Corolla.

As a result, “investment” cars have been covered quite a bit. But here’s an interesting variation: which cars won’t increase in value? Of course, the easy answer is “most of them.” But more specifically, which recent cars are people holding on to, hoping for a value increase that just won’t come?

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I’ve just returned from the Amelia Island Concours D’Elegance, which is among the finest annual events involving wealthy people who smoke cigars and stare longingly at the possessions of other wealthy people, smoking nicer cigars.

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1969 Chevelle SS

A few weeks a go I had the opportunity to watch part of the Barrett Jackson auction. I found myself captivated by the colorful commentary that went along with each sale. Every car had a story and the commentators spent a great deal of time telling us about them. They also discussed the cars’ performance, available options and recited the original production numbers, contrasted by telling us exactly how many of those cars survive today. It turns out that many of the cars I regularly used to see back in the 1970s are extremely rare today. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, however, after all, I had a hand in making them go away. (Read More…)

Yesterday, I took you on a visit to Tokyo, to the Japan Classic Car Association’s New Year Meeting, and on a tour of imported cars in Japan. If you believe the propaganda, there aren’t any imported cars in Japan. But it is not true.

The history of car imports to Japan is a history of Yanase, Japan’s premiere car importer. Yanase was founded in 1915 as an importer of Buicks and Cadillacs to Japan. One of his big customers was the Imperial Navy which “had nothing but Buicks,” as Jiro Yanase told a reporter. The Japanese Navy also put Yanase nearly out of business, in December of 1941.

During the war, Yanase kept the Buick and Cadillac signs up to attract service business. After the war, Yanase became GM’s sole importer to Japan. Soon, he became the world’s go-to man for car imports to Japan.

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Today, I was in Odaiba, the man-made island in Tokyo Bay. The island is known for its futuristic buildings. Today, it was home of the Japan Classic Car Association’s New Year Meeting. It celebrates the imported car. During the next days, I will show you the nicer ones. We start with the Americans, and a Dodge.

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I will admit that I am a Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction fanboi. I spent last week in Detroit during the NAIAS, and thus had to skip my annual trip to Scottsdale, Arizona for their auction extravaganza, one of the greatest automotive events in this country. However, amidst all the breathless reporting about Barrett-Jackson selling the original Batmobile for $4.6M, you might have missed the story of a rare fail by the auction giant. (Read More…)

The basement of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles is the subterranean parking structure in the recurring dream of automotive enthusiasts young and old. You know—the one where you exit the department store head down, fumbling for car keys as the scenery shifts to a chiaroscuro of concrete and fluorescent lights, and out of thin air appears a collection of vehicles decadent enough to make a sheikh weep. This one, however, is quite real, and perhaps the best-kept secret known to gearheads worldwide, but experienced only by a select few. Until recently, that is.

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Chrysler Thunderbolt and Newport Show Cars in the atrium of the Walter P. Chrysler Museum

I’m an unabashed booster of Detroit area institutions so it was with some sadness that I read that the Walter P. Chrysler Museum on the Chrysler campus in Auburn Hills will be closing to the public at the end of the year. Apparently admission fees and facility rentals were not sufficient to sustain continued operations.

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Previous editions of Generation Why have explored one of the last glimmers of automotive affection that the “carless generation” still holds on to- the love of classic cars.

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Dutch classic car collector Frans van Haren paid $3.8 million for a 77 year old Mercedes 500K Spezial Roadster. The regrets came when he tried to sell the rare car of which only 58 were built. When the car was offered for sale at last year’s Techno Classica car show in Essen, Germany, the car was impounded. Van Haren can kiss the car good-bye. A German court ruled that the car goes back to the estate of its erstwhile German owner. (Read More…)

My iPhone has no less than 7 social apps on it (Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Twitter, Tumblr, Tradyo and Instagram), not to mention Google Maps, which like the aforementioned programs, can utilize my phone’s built in GPS beacon to share my location with others (including Apple). My recently departed 1997 Miata was the anti-iPhone. No GPS, no traction control, a barely there ABS system, no electronic throttle. Everything mechanical. My next car will be similar. Simple, robust, resilient. What if we no longer have that option anymore?

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As a teenager, I idolized Tom Wolfe after reading Bonfire of the Vanities. By the end of high school, I had read every single book read by him, and his too-brief description of the muscle cars of American astronauts in The Right Stuff instantly came back to me (along with the smells of my high school cafeteria) upon seeing this ad.

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You may not have heard of the Historical Vehicle Association before, but it’s a 30,000-member advocacy group that actually emerged from a special insurance plan for historic cars offered by Hagerty Insurance. Now ratified by the Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens, the HVA offers commissions on History, Skills and Trades, Technical Issues and Legislative Affairs, as it seeks to fulfill its mission of “Keeping Yesterday’s Vehicles on Tomorrow’s Roads.” One of its more laudable legislative tasks of late has been raising awareness about the damage caused by ethanol-blended gasoline and seeking to ban mandatory blending. But now it’s got another goal, as reported by Automotive News [sub]

The federal government has national registries for historic buildings, boats, airplanes, railways — you name it. But not for cars. And the Historic Vehicle Association is trying to change that…

A concern among enthusiasts is that government initiatives — such as the 2009 federal cash-for-clunkers incentive — could send many vintage cars to the crusher. Legislation might prevent cars from being destroyed. Or it could allow gas guzzlers to remain on the road if other laws preclude them.

As it so happens, my significant other is an Architectural Historian who spends her days evaluating buildings that could be impacted by federally-funded projects… so I hear about this issue (in terms of the Register of Historic Places) more often than you can even imagine. And it’s not as simple as it might seem…

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Alfa Romeo                                                                                                          

1975 Alfetta GT/GTV Coupe

1991 Alfa Romeo 164

Allard

1954 Allard K2 (outtake)

American Motors (incl. Nash; but not Jeep)                       

1957 Metropolitan

*1961 Rambler Classic Cross Country

1964 Rambler Classic 770 Coupe

1968 Rambler American

1971 AMC Gremlin (1971 Small Car Comparison)

1975 AMC Pacer X

British Motors/BLM/Austin/Morris/Triumph/Rover/Sterling/Etc.

1951 Austin A40 Devon

1967 MGB-GT

1971 Mini

1987 Sterling 825 SL (Rover 825i)

1973 Triumph TR-6

BMW                                                                   

1964 BMW 1800

1972 BMW 2002Tii – The Second Most Influential Modern Car In America

1985 BMW 635CSi

Buick

1956 Buick Century Riviera Hardtop

1964 Buick Riviera

1967 Buick Electra 225: The Jayne Mansfield Of Convertibles

1968 Buick Riviera

1972 Buick “Boattail” Riviera

1986 Buick Riviera: GM’s Deadly Sin #1

1990 Buick Roadmaster Woody Wagon (Outtake)

Cadillac

1950 Cadillac Vintage Hot Rod Series 61 Coupe (the official CC Logo-mobile)

1954 Cadillac Series 62 Sedan: GM’s Greatest Hit #2

1962 Cadillac Series 62 Six-Window Sedan

1966 Cadillac Coupe DeVille (Outtake)

1970 Cadillac Hearse

1971 Cadillac Coupe DeVille (the first CC)

1977 Seville – GM’s Deadly Sin #11

1978 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Classic Coupe

Cimarron: GM’s Deadly Sin #10

Checker

1967 Checker Marathon (also Checker Motors History)

Chevrolet                                                              

1959 Chevrolet Biscayne

1960 Chevrolet Impala

1962 Corvette – The Marilyn Monroe Of Cars [NSFW]

1965 Corvair Monza: The Best European Car Ever Made In America

1967 Chevrolet El Camino (Outtake)

1968 Camaro

1968 Chevrolet Impala Coupe (with Olds 455 engine)

1970 Camaro RS: GM’s Greatest Hits #1

1970 Chevrolet Impala: The Best Big Car Of Its Time

1971 Chevrolet Vega: GM’s Deadly Sin #2 (1971 Small Car Virtual Comparison)

1976 Chevrolet Malibu Classic: GM’s Deadly Sin #7

1976 Chevrolet Nova Coupe

1979 Caprice Classic: GM’s Greatest Hit #3

1979 Chevrolet Malibu Coupe

1980 Citation – GM’s Deadliest Sin Ever

1987 Turbo Sprint (Suzuki Cultus)

1989 Camaro RS: GM’s Deadly Sin #6

1990 Corvette: GM’s Deadly Sin #9

1990 Chevrolet Beretta GTZ (Outtake)

2000 & 1990 Chevrolet Cavalier Coupes (Outtake)

Chevrolet Trucks                                                       

1950 Chevrolet COE truck (Outtake)

1951 Chevrolet 3100 Pickup

1964 Chevrolet Suburban

1967 Chevrolet C20 Pickup

1970 Chevrolet Suburban C10

1980 Chevy Vanup (Outtake)

1977 Chevy LUV Long Bed Pickup (Outtake)

1983 Chevy S-10 Blazer: GM’s Deadly Sin #5

Chrysler/Imperial

1960 Imperial Crown Southampton: The Frankenstein Of Cars

1965 Chrysler New Yorker

1965 Chrysler Newport Coupe

1974 Imperial LeBaron Coupe

1985 Chrysler New Yorker

1987 Fifth Avenue Edition – Chrysler’s Deadly Sin #2

Cisitalia

1946 Cisistalia 202GT (MoMA)

Citroen

Citroen Ami 8

Citroen 2CV Hoffman Cabriolet

Citroen H Van

Daihatsu

1989 Daihatsu Charade

Datsun/Nissan

The First Mini-Pickups: Datsun’s 1964, 1967 and 1969 Pickups

1970 Datsun 510 (Bluebird/1600)

The Revolutionary 1971 Datsun 240Z

1976 Datsun 710 Wagon (Outtake)

1977 Datsun 810

1977 Datsun F-10: The Ugliest Car Ever?

1978 Datsun 310GX (Outtake)

1980 Datsun 210 Wagon (Sunny)

1984 Nissan 300 ZX Turbo

Nissan Pulsars (gen1 & gen2)

1986 Nissan Stanza Wagon (Prairie)

1989 Nissan Pao

1989 Nissan 240SX (S13) and Silvia/SX History

1990 Infiniti M30 Coupe (Outtake)

Infiniti Q45 gen1 & gen2 (Outtake)

Dodge  

1948 Dodge (Outtake)

1974 Dodge D-100 “Gypsy Wagon” Camper

Chrysler’s Deadly Sin #1: 1976 Plymouth Volare And Dodge Aspen

1976 Dodge Royal Monaco Coupe

1978 Dodge Omni (and Plymouth Horizon): Detroit Finally Builds A Proper Small Car

1981 Dodge Challenger

1982 Dodge Rampage mini-pickup

1983 Dodge Aries (The Original K-Car)

1984 Dodge Caravan

1985 Dodge Ram Van (Caravan C/V) (Outtake)

1986 Dodge Daytona

1986 Dodge 600ES Convertible

Fiat 

1972 Fiat 850

Ford

1950 Hot Rod Ford: A True Love Story

1956 Ford (UK) Consul II

1958 Ford Thunderbird

1959 Ford Courier Wagon

1961 Thunderbird Convertible – The American Dream Car

1962 Ford Fairlane

1964 Ford “Police Car”

1964 Ford Galaxie 500 Coupe (Outtake)

1965 Mustang six

1966 Galaxie 500 7-Litre

1971 Ford Galaxie 500

1971 Ford Pinto (1971 Small Car Virtual Comparison)

1973 Mustang Mach 1

1975 Mustang Cobra II-Ford’s Deadly Sin #1

1978 Ford Fiesta

1984 Ford Bronco II Eddie Bauer

1985 Ford EXP: Ford’s Ugly Little Sin

1986 Ford Tempo: A Deadly Sin? Mostly

1989 Ford Festiva – Shitbox Shootout Loser (Winner)

1995 Ford ZX2 With Lambo Doors (Outtake)

Ford Trucks

The Ultimate CC: 1956 Ford F-350 Still Hard At Work Six Days A Week

1960 Ford F-600 Truck Also Still Hard At Work

1963 Econoline Pickup

1965 Econoline SuperVan Camper

1984 Bronco II

Geo

1990 Geo Metro Convertible

GMC & GM Coach

1947 PD-3751 Greyhound Bus “Silversides” – The First Modern Diesel Bus

1956 GMC 300 Truck (Outtake)

1965 GMC Handi-Van

GMC TDH-4523 “New Look” Transit Bus

Grumman

1983 Grumman KubVan

Honda

1963 Honda T360/T500 trucks (history)

1970 Honda 600

1973 Honda Civic – The Revolutionary Small Car

1976 Honda Accord: The Most Influential Modern Car In America

1980-1983 Civics – When Honda’s Mojo Was Working

1981 Honda Prelude

1985 Honda Civic CR-X (Outtake)

Hyundai

1988 Hyundai Excel – The Damn Near Deadly Sin

International

1963 International Scout 80

1964 International Travelette Pickup

Isuzu   

1982 Isuzu I-Mark Diesel

1983 Isuzu Trooper II

Jaguar

1973 Jaguar XJ12

1975 Jaguar XJC V12 Coupe

Jeep

1945 Willys Jeep MB

Jeep Gladiator pickups

1987 Wagoneer (XJ) Outtake

Jensen

1973 Jensen-Healey

Kia  

gen1 Kia Sportage shorty (Outtake)

LaForza

1989 Laforza 5 Liter (Outtake)

Lincoln/Continental

An Illustrated History of Lincoln Up To 1961

1946 Lincoln Continental Coupe

1965 Lincoln Continental

1968 Lincoln Continental (Outtake)

1970 Lincoln Continental Coupe

1973 Continental Mark IV

1977 Lincoln Town Car

1977  Lincoln Versailles

1985 Lincoln Town Car

1986  Lincoln Continental

1989 Lincoln Mark VII

Lincoln Mark VIII

Lincoln Mark VIII (Outtake)

Mack  

Mack B77 (Outtake)

Mazda

1983 Mazda RX-7

2000 Mazda 626 (Outtakeke)

Mercedes         

1965 Mercedes 220S (W111)

1966 Mercedes 250S (W108)

1977 Mecedes 24oD (W123)

Mercedes 207D and other older Mercedes Vans/Small Buses

Mercury

1960 Comet

1968 Cougar – Mercury’s Greatest (only) Hit

1970 Marauder X-100

1970 Mercury Montego Coupe (Outtake)

1978 Mercury Grand Marquis Brougham

Steam Injected 1978 Mercury Bobcat

Ford’s Sin of Name Debasement: 1981 Mercury Cougar

Military Vehicles (no brand name)

M37 Military Truck (Outtake)

Mitsubishi 

1986 Mitsubishi Cordia

1987 Mitsubishi VanUp

1987 Mitsubishi Precis (Outtake)

1992 Mitsubishi Eclipse

Oldsmobile  

1951 Oldsmobile Super 88

1959 Oldsmobile Super 88

1963 Olds Dynamic 88 Convertible

1968 Oldsmobile 442

1985 Olds Toronado

Opel

1971 Opel Manta (Outtake)

1974 Opel Manta

Packard

1946 Packard Clipper Super

1951 Packard 200

Panhard

Panhard Dyna Junior X-87 Roadster

Plymouth

1936 Plymouth

1951 Plymouth Cranbrook

1958 Plymouth Savoy

1965 Plymouth Valiant Wagon: The Ultimate A-Body – Daily Long-Distance Driver

1966 Plymouth Barracuda

1970 Plymouth Duster 340

1972 Plymouth Fury Suburban

1971 Simca 1204 (no original pictures) (1971 Small Car Comparison)

1978 Plymouth Horizon: Detroit Finally Builds A Proper Small Car

1983 Plymouth Colt & 198o Champ

Pontiac

1963 Tempest LeMans: Pontiac Tries To Build A BMW Before BMW Built Theirs And Almost Succeeds

1963 Pontiac Catalina: The Sexiest Big Car Of Its Time

1969 Pontiac Grand Prix

1965 Pontiac Le Mans Coupe

1971 Pontiac Ventura II: GM’s Deadly Sin #3

1976 Pontiac Firebird (Outtake)

1979 Firebird Trans Am

1984 Pontiac Bonneville Brougham: GM’s Deadly Sin #8

Pontiac Transvertible and Trans Sport

1987 Sunbird GT: The Exciting Collectable Deadly Sin

1988 Pontiac Safari

1990 Le Mans (Daewoo) GM’s Deadly Sin #12

Porsche

1958 Porsche 356A

1978 Porsche 928 (Outtake)

Porsche 944 (Outtake)

Renault

Renault R4

Renault R-17 (Outtake)

Saab

1968 Saab 96

1969 Saab 99

1970 Saab 95 Wagon

Saturn

1991 Saturn SL2: GM’s Deadly Sin #4

Simca

1971 Simca 1204 (no original pictures) (1971 Small Car Comparison)

Studebaker

1961 Studebaker Lark VI

1962 Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk

Subaru

1977 Subaru Four Wheel Drive Wagon: The First Of Its Kind

1992 Subaru SVX

Subaru Legacy Wagon (Outtake)

Sunbeam

1965 Sunbeam Tiger – The Other Cobra

Suzuki  

1979 Suzuki Jimny (LJ80/SJ20) Pickup

Suzuki Samurai (Outtake)

Suzuki X-90 (Outtake)

Toyota

1965 FJ40 Land Cruiser

1971 Toyota Corolla (1971 Small Car Comparison)

1974 Toyota Celica Coupe

1975 Toyota Hilux Pickup

1976 Toyota Corolla Liftback (editorial)

1980 Toyota Celica Supra Mk I

1983 Toyota Starlet: The Most Reliable Car Ever Built?

1984 Toyota Celica Supra Mk II

1984 Toyota Tercel Wagon

1985 Toyota Corolla EA86 GT-S

1986 Toyota Camry

1987 Toyota Supra Mk III

1990 Toyota Camry LE V6

2001 Toyota Prius

1993 Toyota T-100

gen1 Rav4 shorty (Outtake)

JDM Toyota Hi-Ace 4×4 Van

Vauxhall

1966 (Vauxhall) Envoy Epic (guest writer)

Volkswagen

1957 Volkswagen 1200

1960 VW Bus (Type 2) Westfalia

VW Beetle Shorty Pickup

1969 VW Type 3 1600 Fastback

1971 Volkswagen Super Beetle (Small Car Comparison)

1972 VW Super Beetle Cabriolet (Outtake)

1973 VW Type 181 “Thing”

1974 VW 412: Volkswagen’s Deadly Sin #1

1975 VW Rabbit/Golf Mk.I: The Most Influential Modern Global Car

1978 VW Dasher/Passat

Volvo

1965 Volvo 122S

1968 Volvo 142 S

RVs

Ultra Van: Cross An Airplane With A Corvair For The Ultimate RV

1985 Winnebago LeSharo Turbo Diesel

Concours

The Curbside Classic Treasure Hunt: Skinner Butte District

The Curbside Classic Graveyard: May They Rust In Peace

The Official Curbside Classic Sales Lot: All $895 Or Less

Holiday Market: Eighty Parking Lot Curbside Classics

Wal Mart Concours

Miscellaneous: 

Art Car #1

Human Powered RV (Outtake)