Clunker Or Collectible?

[cabinetman]

I ran across this article in Car and Driver about the types of cars that were clunked during the program. Got me thinking there were some real collectibles traded in.

Back in the late 70's I bought a Jaguar XK150S DHC for $2500 that needed some work. After spending about a grand getting it to run right, wound up selling six months later for what I paid initially. Had a short dry spell with work and needed the money. I guess I will always regret getting rid of it, especially since I recently saw one go on the block at Barrett-Jackson for about $100K.
.

[crokett]

Kinda sad but my guess is those cars were junk. I remember reading about a Maserati a guy traded in. He'd been trying to sell it for 8months before he finally gave up. The car needed a fair bit of work.

[pelligrini]

I'm sure there was a lot of unnecessary destruction with that program. I didn't like the idea a bit. Extremely poor allocation of taxpayer money.

Barrett-Jackson isn't the best place for comparisons though. I've seen some things go on there for outrageous prices. A few years back I saw an older Plymouth GTX clone go for well over $200K. The thing wasn't even an original. It was a beautiful car, but in most markets it wouldn't have fetched such a price. A couple guys in a bidding war on BJ can make someone with a beater in their driveway think it's a goldmine.

[cwsmith]

Interesting article, but of course we have no way of knowing the condition of these vehicles (or for that matter the mentality and needs of the owner's at the time). I've seen a lot of, what otherwise might be, very good vehicles that were so unappreciated and ill-maintained that they were less than junk. In which case, the C for C project was a wasteful giveaway.

A case in point was a 1995 Miata Limited Edition that I spotted a few weeks ago in the Binghamton area. I have a 95' Miata with less than 34 K on it... and though nicely equipped, it's no "Limited Edition" which is fully dressed out with special paint, wheels, top, and leather seats and other options.

But this particular Miata LE was rusty, had body damage everywhere, it's covered with bumper stickers (on the bumper, doors, fenders, hood and trunk). The interior is ripped and severly abused as was the top. It looks like it never saw a cleaning wrag or a spot of polish since it left the showroom.

While no high-end, expensive vehicle, it is still sought-after car well deserving proper care and appreciation. Now it's less than junk and well beyond any hope of restoration.

Almost makes one want to find the driver and beat the crap out of em!

CWS