Henry David Thoreau said, “Things do not change; we change,” and although it’s a relative certainty that Thoreau wasn’t talking about the classic car world, he might as well have been. In our world, the “things” that don’t change are old cars, but tastes and the market’s per- ceptions most certainly do change. And while the changes were subtle, if you look closely, the classic car world appeared a fair bit different in 2012.
In 2012, we saw the continuation of trends that have been building over the last several years — the sweet spot of collecting moved further away from the 1950s as the early Boomers, for whom Tri-Five Chevys and early T-Birds were the aspirational cars, age and leave the scene. Prices remained relatively flat for these iconic cars as supply and demand seemed to be in balance.
In 2012, the market got even healthier from top to bottom. Recall that the first signs of recovery in the market happened in 2010. When it became apparent that the economy wasn’t going to head for another de- pression that required serious liquid- ity to ride out, the top of the market became extremely active as high- net-worth individuals made a move to tangibles. By 2011, the prosperity in the collector car market spread to the vast middle of the market (those cars in the $100,000 to $750,000 price range).
Finally, in 2012, it was clear that the entry level was back with a ven- geance, thanks to the traditional hands-on car guy — the longtime
backbone of the hobby — who has firmly returned to the market. That entry level also included far more pickup trucks than in previous years. The one caveat here is that high-end or low-end, the best examples of both restored and unrestored cars showed the greatest strength in the market.
Originality was even more prized as the post-war preservation class be- came more ingrained and popular at Pebble Beach, and once again, there were high-profile sales of unrestored cars that eclipsed prices realized by restored examples of the same car. Big news came from Philadelphia in October 2012, where Bonhams held the first dedicated sale for unre- stored cars, at the Simeone Founda- tion Museum. For the first time, there was also talk of the inevitability of an unrestored car eventually winning Best of Show at Pebble Beach.
Amid the auction frenzy for unre- stored cars, in a few cases, badly
PHOTO: EVAN KLEIN
As collectors age, there's less de- mand for traditionally popular cars like early Thunderbirds (opposite). Many first-timers are entering the hobby with pickup trucks.
deteriorated original cars or older restorations have sold for top market value. This has also been accom- panied by a movement of people skilled at reintroducing patina to cars or portions of cars that have been recently restored. At the same time, barn finds are more popular than ever and, increasingly, they are left untouched — dust, cobwebs and all.
TRENDS FROM 2012 Entry-level buyers returned Classic truck interest soared
New petroleum money entered the market
Events for high-volume cars showed strong growth Several established concours failed Youth initiatives gained popularity
In an era of easy money, building contractors and tradesmen spent freely during the peak of the muscle car market in 2007, at a time when there was also home equity money available to a surprisingly large num- ber of people. In 2012, new money began to appear in the collector car market for the first time since the collapse of the housing boom. Previously, if one industry dominated as a source of the capital that flowed into the collector car market, it was real estate. As the housing market stabilizes, some of that money is coming back, but more importantly new oil and gas money from places like North Dakota and Alberta is be- ginning to flow into the collector car market. The effects of this infusion of fresh money into the hobby should continue through 2013.
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