Will modern cars become collectible?
- Thread starter y_p_w
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There will always be certain vehicles that develop, or retain, desirability, and are considered collectable. Like this one. The "market" will make that determination.
Challenges in restoring old vehicles and maintaining them in running condition won't be new, even if they might be different, or more challenging.
That will make it harder for hobbyist-level collectors, depending on the value and priority a marque places on their heritage, and supporting it, as well as the aftermarket and ownership base.
But the high-dollar classics that appear in the big concours, and are featured in auctions will only continue to require the time and money that their owners can afford to put into their restorations. Those serious collectors won't be bothered as much. Someone like Jay Leno has a staff to keep his fleet in running condition, and can hire the best restorers for the projects they don't handle themselves.
Two separate, though related, things.
Challenges in restoring old vehicles and maintaining them in running condition won't be new, even if they might be different, or more challenging.
That will make it harder for hobbyist-level collectors, depending on the value and priority a marque places on their heritage, and supporting it, as well as the aftermarket and ownership base.
But the high-dollar classics that appear in the big concours, and are featured in auctions will only continue to require the time and money that their owners can afford to put into their restorations. Those serious collectors won't be bothered as much. Someone like Jay Leno has a staff to keep his fleet in running condition, and can hire the best restorers for the projects they don't handle themselves.
Two separate, though related, things.
I think electronics will be reparable up to a point however it sems to me there is one particular aspect of modern cars and motorcycles that will will finish them off and that's complex LCD displays for the instruments.
As an example my 45 year old motorcycle has a speedo and tachometer that still work fine and if they fail they are repairable. Does anyone think an LCD display will still function in 45 years time especially in the case of the motorcycle where the display is exposed to sunlight and they degrade much faster. In fact there are already examples of motorcycle displays fading in 6 years. That sounds like cheap and nasty throw away technology to me.
I know LCD displays in general can have a 20 year life span and that should apply to car displays but what happens then, will they be reparable or will it scrap the car.
As an example my 45 year old motorcycle has a speedo and tachometer that still work fine and if they fail they are repairable. Does anyone think an LCD display will still function in 45 years time especially in the case of the motorcycle where the display is exposed to sunlight and they degrade much faster. In fact there are already examples of motorcycle displays fading in 6 years. That sounds like cheap and nasty throw away technology to me.
I know LCD displays in general can have a 20 year life span and that should apply to car displays but what happens then, will they be reparable or will it scrap the car.
Of all the vehicles I see on the roads today that an average person can buy, I think the Challenger will be collectible. That means 50 years from now someone still want it. I can see Corvette and possibly Mustang joining the list. I cannot see the Camaro because it is just another car with a big engine unlike the Challenger with a correct heritage look and the Mustang with a very style design. The Corvettes are finally a true completion to Ferrari and Lamborghini. The Camaro is like the Charger, it has the name and none of the heritage.
I personally try to avoid cars with a screen for odometer so I don’t have to worry it dying out. Switching from analog to digital dash is a built-in obsolescence.m gimmick. Same as removing ATF dipstick.
I personally try to avoid cars with a screen for odometer so I don’t have to worry it dying out. Switching from analog to digital dash is a built-in obsolescence.m gimmick. Same as removing ATF dipstick.
I just hate a digital dash. It looks cheap and reminds me of a video game. I work in the tech field, so none of these cheap looking screens impress me. I'll take the gorgeous analog gauges in my old BMW any day over the new video game console gauges.
Why are you assuming modern cars will not last as long?
Most classic muscle cars probably have more bondo and fiberglass than actual sheet metal.
Old cars are easier to repair, but I don't think the quality is as great as people assume.
I don't know why you are freaking out over LCD screens. GPS navigation screens are over 30 years old, and there are repairs you can do for failed ones.
The technology has also improved over those early ones.
You can already see 90s BMWs increasing in value despite all the plastic and electronics. Of course modern cars will still be collectible.
Most classic muscle cars probably have more bondo and fiberglass than actual sheet metal.
Old cars are easier to repair, but I don't think the quality is as great as people assume.
I don't know why you are freaking out over LCD screens. GPS navigation screens are over 30 years old, and there are repairs you can do for failed ones.
The technology has also improved over those early ones.
You can already see 90s BMWs increasing in value despite all the plastic and electronics. Of course modern cars will still be collectible.
Collecting as hobby will not go away.
They will collect coins, stamps, paintings, cars you name it
They will collect coins, stamps, paintings, cars you name it
Gas powered sports cars will be of interest. Batteries will never have the energy density to do any endurance racing
Racing stretches engineering. Things will evolve.
Lithium is among the most active of metals on the periodic chart. There is no situation where an element with more "ions" is going to show up, or be produced.
In much the same way as today's fuels have the same energy density they had 100 years ago, batteries are limited by physics.
There will be no "super battery", again, there are only so many ions we can move.
There are other technologies than lithium. Better technology will be developed. 50 years is a long time from today.
I guess the cars that most exemplify the current trends/fashion will be collectible? Maybe some of the very edgy Hyundai's?
The Raptor and Bronco, maybe WRX? The last years of the manual trans V8 pony cars, even just as track tools?
The last year of the manual VW wagon?
The Raptor and Bronco, maybe WRX? The last years of the manual trans V8 pony cars, even just as track tools?
The last year of the manual VW wagon?
without a doubt, there will be collector cars of todays vehicles. Low mile examples and garage queens will fetch a pretty penny. Think Lexus LFA or Ford GT. Those cars have tons of electronics, and they’ll last for decades, because they will be low miles and protected from the elements. Use and hostile exposure to the elements are what kill electronics.
Crazy to think the f15 entered service just 30 years after ww2.
There seems to be a lot of hand wringing over the electronics. I’ve had to replace an ECU in a 89 Olds when it was 19 years old, but considering that ECU’s came out in the mid 80’s, maybe it wasn’t well designed. I junked a 2000 Taurus in 2020 that was rusted out and the electronics were perfect. Another thing is that any 20 year old collector car will normally be taken out of daily use, greatly reducing any heat caused degradation. Like it was mentioned, specialty shops will be able to repair some ECU’s, and I would think that there will be new and used electronics available for Corvettes, Challengers, Chargers, Mustangs, Camaros, etc.
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You can still buy an ECM for a 34 year old Vette for just over $100 bucks.
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I'm concerned about the long term viability of the electronics. We are struggling with component obsolescence in the aerospace industry. Even newer designs are seeing obsolescence issues.
Can you get a new headlight control module for a 2004 Dodge RAM pickup? Probably a bad example, since there are probably a lot of hard parts you cannot get OEM for a 20 year old truck.
I see there is a cottage industry of salvaging modules out of junk cars or repairing them to keep older ones on the road. That's all you can get in the example above. Cracked solder joints seem to be a failure mode that I'm aware of in OEM radios, I've been a victim of that twice recently. Other than radios I'm impressed with the reliability, especially under-hood electronics, some are thermal cycled several times a day.
When in traffic I look at the current crop of vehicles and think, will anybody be interested in these in 35-40 years? Hell I'm not interested in most of them now mostly 4-doors and SUVs.
Can you get a new headlight control module for a 2004 Dodge RAM pickup? Probably a bad example, since there are probably a lot of hard parts you cannot get OEM for a 20 year old truck.
I see there is a cottage industry of salvaging modules out of junk cars or repairing them to keep older ones on the road. That's all you can get in the example above. Cracked solder joints seem to be a failure mode that I'm aware of in OEM radios, I've been a victim of that twice recently. Other than radios I'm impressed with the reliability, especially under-hood electronics, some are thermal cycled several times a day.
When in traffic I look at the current crop of vehicles and think, will anybody be interested in these in 35-40 years? Hell I'm not interested in most of them now mostly 4-doors and SUVs.
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I am collecting modern cars, so when the even more modern cars crap out, I have something to drive.
ECU is one thing.
IC in everything including the tail light - bridge too far for me.
ECU is one thing.
IC in everything including the tail light - bridge too far for me.
