Why weren't some vehicles made more/longer and are now collectors items?

[CharlesInCharge]

There's dozens of absolute GEMS that were made that were head-and-shoulders above their peers and so good they are sought after even today. Some examples include the Acura Integra, Honda Prelude, Buick Grand National, various Thunderbirds, Mustangs, Camaros, NSX, a number of Plymouths and Dodges, various SUVs and Trucks too, like various Jeeps and the Bronco. Some of the Ford and Chevy Trucks are highly desireable.

So the topic of discussion is, transport yourself back in time. Looking at the field of "peers" for any of these in their era, everyone MUST have known that this vehicle is an absolute special gem. Why not make 10x as many? Why not make them for longer periods, since some had very small production numbers and runs? For instance, finding a Honda Prelude is nary impossible. Not many were made, and they weren't made very long. Or the odd decision to kill off the Grand National after a short but very successful run, so as to not "compete" in house with the Corvette.

Sitting in a board room and speaking with mechanics and engineers, someone MUST have voiced "Hey, this Jeep is really popular and special so let's not discontinue it." I get it, they did not have a crystal ball. But someone driving a Integra must have pleaded, we MUST make more of these and produce them for more years b/c there's very few cars that can match it!

 

[clinebarger]

You can buy a Supercharged Camaro or Challenger right now, But you won't because they're expensive. Also the Chevy SS is a prime example of making a car...Car people want....But wouldn't buy.

My first brand new car was a 1986 Monte Carlo with a TBI 4.3L/700R4, NO way I could afford a Turbo Regal much less a GN.

 

[Skippy722]

Nostalgia drives a lot of it. At the time it was just another car in the grand scheme of things, the people who want them at that time generally can’t afford them, and the people who do generally don’t want a high performance vehicle.

 

[Motu]

You can still buy a 2021 Lada Niva - I don't see the problem.

 

[B1974]

3rd gen Regal went to fwd in 1988, so no more Grand nationals.

All about cost and profits, manufactures want to make money now, not cars that will be collectors items 20 years from now.

 

[eljefino]

Nostalgia makes you wistful for the everyday car someone in your town could achieve when you were in high school or college, coming of age. You never got that car and are suddenly 45 and you don't see these cars anymore. And if you did see one, it would qualify for antique plates.

If someone buys a corvette, it's a premium second car and gets a garage and will last forever. An integra is a year round commuter car too and so will hit 200k for its first owner, rust out, be sold for $800 to a ricer who'll put chinese ebay junk on it and blow it up for good.

As for trucks, they were a way smaller share of the market in the 80s and before so someone may want to draw a lineage back to what they drive presently as a family vehicle. It's not hard to still find running ones, as farmers and tradesmen squeeze every penny from their investments. But they'll be haphazardly cobbled together-- finding one with a straight body is the challenge. Then people get snobby over wanting rare short beds, flaresides, etc which were less practical.

 

[Passport1]

The passage of time sometimes warps how we perceive things. That's why your first car wasn't as fast or cool and probably not collectible, we were probably not as good at things as we once thought and your high school sweetie not as hot as she seemed back then.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

The cars weren't popular when they were new. The mfrs sold as many as they could at the time. They would've made 10x as many if they could've sold 10x as many.

 

[Wrenchturner44]

If I could go back in time as you say, one car that I would have like to purchase would have been 1966 Corvair Corsa with the turbo 180HP engine. This was the second generation Corvair body style and offered a lot of value for the purchase price. Unfortunately GM and some other automakers too, have a nasty habit of killing off a model just when it reaches it's prime.

https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/1965-1966-chevrolet-corvair-corsa-turbo

Another car that GM should have continued was the Fiero. By 1988 they had improved the suspension and were just starting to have access to other powerplants that would have made the car a true competitor to other Euro sports cars of the time. But GM had had enough and decided to discontinue production.

Here is what could have been if they wouldn't have killed it. https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/forgotten-future/forgotten-future-1990-pontiac-fiero-prototype/

As EV platforms continue to proliferate, I am afraid automakers are going to adhere even more into the "cookie cutter" practice of using a single platform to produce various models and configurations with little drive train differences between them, and this will make many everyday car choices become less exciting.

 

[PimTac]

Those automobiles were standard fare back then and nothing to jump and down about but now they are considered collectible. It’s a matter of perception. Just because they are old doesn’t give them any credence.

For many of us who lived and drove these cars during that era, we are laughing. Just wait for the Ford Fairmont or Chevy Citation auctions.

 

[Greggy_D]

I wanted a Grand National so bad back in 1987. Making $3.60 an hour washing dishes wasn't going to cut it though.

 

[spasm3]

I wanted a Grand National so bad back in 1987. Making $3.60 an hour washing dishes wasn't going to cut it though.

I kept going to the Buick dealer to look at the GN , but in 87 I made $8.00 , so no way I could afford one.

 

[CharlesInCharge]

It's sometimes difficult to parse nostalgia from actual events or in this case, was it nostalgia or just the fact that some vehicles were just that good and head-and-shoulders above peers. And sometimes, it's a look-backward to see that a new design was high quality and durable. So that's another angle. The Broncos, for instance, gained a reputation over a long period of ownership that their owners fell in love with them.

But I suspect in most cases, people MUST have known that they have a real winner on their hands. I'll go back to the Grand National. That car was an INSTANT legend. Everyone wanted one. GM killing that car was probably one of that companies biggest blunders. They could have sold as many as they could produce, dropping all other product lines to pump out GNs. The GNX has performance numbers that would make modern cars blush, pretty darn close to a modern mid-level Mustang, Camaro, etc. But in the mid-1980s and for about $70k in todays dollars.

Toyota had the Supra which was a gold mine of a car, and same story as the GN. Toyota should have made 10x as many. Honda Preludes are a similar story. They made far too few of them. Honda should have made 10x as many. It was a sporty and relatively cool Accord. Everyone I knew wanted a Prelude but they were hard to locate at the time.

So for many of these it's not nostalgia but the fact these were gold mines and it's puzzling why they didn't produce more or production ended prematurely before the end of the demand. In business there's a principle to continue producing until there is no more demand, or demand wanes. I find it unlikely demand waned for the Bronco, Integra, Supra, Prelude, GN, and many other examples killed too soon. And that's partly why people pay huge money for these classics.

 

[gman2304]

I sold my 1966 Chevelle SS 396 L34 in 1971 for $1,500. I sold my 1987 Grand National WE2 15 years ago for $12,500. Both bought used. The #318 GNX is only 3 miles from where I’m at right now, bought new by the current owner. I’ll drop by his house in the next few days and snap some pics. If only I could step into Sherman’s way back machine……!

 

[BLND1]

It's sometimes difficult to parse nostalgia from actual events or in this case, was it nostalgia or just the fact that some vehicles were just that good and head-and-shoulders above peers. And sometimes, it's a look-backward to see that a new design was high quality and durable. So that's another angle. The Broncos, for instance, gained a reputation over a long period of ownership that their owners fell in love with them.

But I suspect in most cases, people MUST have known that they have a real winner on their hands. I'll go back to the Grand National. That car was an INSTANT legend. Everyone wanted one. GM killing that car was probably one of that companies biggest blunders. They could have sold as many as they could produce, dropping all other product lines to pump out GNs. The GNX has performance numbers that would make modern cars blush, pretty darn close to a modern mid-level Mustang, Camaro, etc. But in the mid-1980s and for about $70k in todays dollars.

Toyota had the Supra which was a gold mine of a car, and same story as the GN. Toyota should have made 10x as many. Honda Preludes are a similar story. They made far too few of them. Honda should have made 10x as many. It was a sporty and relatively cool Accord. Everyone I knew wanted a Prelude but they were hard to locate at the time.

So for many of these it's not nostalgia but the fact these were gold mines and it's puzzling why they didn't produce more or production ended prematurely before the end of the demand. In business there's a principle to continue producing until there is no more demand, or demand wanes. I find it unlikely demand waned for the Bronco, Integra, Supra, Prelude, GN, and many other examples killed too soon. And that's partly why people pay huge money for these classics.

“Dropping all other product lines to produce GN’s….” LOL

AND this is why you aren’t grasping what folks are saying. Time and coolaid have warped your perception of these cars.

 

[CharlesInCharge]

“Dropping all other product lines to produce GN’s….” LOL

AND this is why you aren’t grasping what folks are saying. Time and coolaid have warped your perception of these cars.

Really?

In 1987, what was the better and sexier performance car than the GN or GNX for $20,000 (1987 dollars)? I'll await what I anticipate as being a very very short list.

 

[Andrew1972]

Reality is sales drive production. Subaru in 2002 thought 5000 WRX was enough many with automatic (dreadful). I believe they approached 30k first year. Most car makers can’t do that.

The cars you mention were not sold out of showrooms generally or backordered. They sold normally,

 

[B1974]

GNX MSRP in 1987 $29,290

Grand National MSRP in 1987 $15,136.

Mustang GT MSRP in 1987 $11,835.

 

[BLND1]

Really?

In 1987, what was the better and sexier performance car than the GN or GNX for $20,000 (1987 dollars)? I'll await what I anticipate as being a very very short list.

Because people buy cars for reasons other than “better and sexier.” A cursory google search suggests that much like today - Ford and chevy trucks were best sellers and the Ford escort (a sub compact, surprise surprise) were the best selling vehicles in 1987. Just like today people buy cars for many different reasons- i’d love to have my Mustang GT back - but we bought a baby hauler instead because we needed it. I assume 1987 wasn’t so very different.

Sure GN’s we’re cool cars - but people still bought wagons and trucks because they weren’t feeling-their-oats boomers and GenX’ers with disposable incomes.

 

[CharlesInCharge]

Because people buy cars for reasons other than “better and sexier.” A cursory google search suggests that much like today - Ford and chevy trucks were best sellers and the Ford escort (a sub compact, surprise surprise) were the best selling vehicles in 1987. Just like today people buy cars for many different reasons- i’d love to have my Mustang GT back - but we bought a baby hauler instead because we needed it. I assume 1987 wasn’t so very different.

Sure GN’s we’re cool cars - but people still bought wagons and trucks because they weren’t feeling-their-oats boomers and GenX’ers with disposable incomes.

You're avoiding the conversation topic and sidestepping a direct question.

In the modern era, the "supercars" and HP wars have the Camaros, Mustangs, Chargers, Challengers, Vettes, etc. selling faster than they can produce them. Wildly popular. People paying far more adjusted for inflation today, than for the Vettes and few other "performance cars" of the 1980s.

For the equivalent of $70k today, in 1987 you'd get a car that had few peers in the price range, and a car that would perform by today's standards like a mid-level Mustang or Challenger. In my experience, taking the GN, they were sold before being assembled and there was a waiting list. When you have waiting lists, you don't stop making them! You make 10x as many.

We aren't talking about mini-vans and F150s. Different markets. We're talking about special vehicles for which it was OBVIOUS at the time, and now even more so in hindsight that they were special and it is nuts when production ended. Another example is the legendary Toyota Supra, and production ended late 1990s. Nuts.

Look at today and the resurgence of these muscle/super cars. People and needs did not change. There was/is clearly a pent up demand for excellent powerful cars.