It wasn’t too many years ago when the coolest muscle cars out there were the originals from the late 1960s and early 70s. Sometimes one had to go “barn shopping” to find one. Today, however, is a very different era. Automotive News has an interesting article claiming that we’re now living in yet another muscle car golden era. Speaking with McKeel Hagerty, CEO of Hagerty classic car insurance agency, it’s clearer than ever today is performance car heaven, so to speak. “We’ve been in this strange golden age of muscle,” Hagerty said.
“People think the muscle car era was the ‘60s, early ‘70s. But arguably, the Chargers, Challengers, Demons and even some of the high-horsepower Camaros of today – they are track-worthy. You’ve never been able to buy more horsepower and reliability cheaper than you can right now. It will be interesting to see what happens with them.” What Hagerty is referring to with that last sentence is whether the cars’ long-term value will hold and, hopefully, increase. “My guess is that lower-mileage, higher-option examples of them will go through a depreciation curve. But then they will hold their own, if not start creeping back up,” Hagerty said.
Famous nameplates such as Corvette, Ferrari and Porsche will continue to be popular collector’s cars. “If those cars survive and don’t get wiped out in accidents, they’ll be collected someday.” But there could some wild card collectibles as well. The Kia Stinger GT is one example. “If you think of the Kia Stinger, that’s where I’m fascinated,” Hagerty explained. “I remember walking around an auto show and some people saying, ‘You gotta sit in this thing – it’s crazy.’ The question for us will be can a brand that wasn’t anything just a little while ago actually produce a car that could have collectible value?” Given that we’ll soon be entering the world of vehicle autonomy and electrification, today’s performance vehicles, regardless of brand, could all become highly sought after in the decades ahead.
