Quoted from drsfmd:There's some truth to this, and I have a real life example.
I am deeply involved with the collector car hobby as well. In recent years, the brass era car prices have plummeted-- some cars are fetching 1/4 of what they used to sell for. Survivor cars from the late 20's-40's are being turned into hot rods (a criminal act IMO). Why? Because nobody wants to learn the eccentricities of the really early cars. Few have the skills to work on them. Even fewer have the money to pay the handful of specialist mechanics who command huge premiums for their services. Plus, the market is aging out-- the folks who have the deepest pockets in the hobby now are interested in the cars of their youth-- the muscle cars of the late 60s. The rest of the collector car market is literally dying out.
Sure, there are some exceptions-- London to Brighton run eligible cars (http://www.veterancarrun.com/) still command a premium because their numbers are incredibly limited-- there are probably no more than a few thousand cars on the planet that would qualify. Likewise, the exotic art deco cars of the 20s and 30s (the Bugatti's, Delahaye's, Talbot-Lago's, and Hispano Suiza's) still draw huge money, but those are mostly status symbols for the fabulously wealthy, not a toy for someone of modest affluence.
In regards to car collecting, I think the other factor is safety. More and more our culture values safety, and there is a growing subset of people like myself who are increasingly risk-averse. I rode motorcycles all my life. But I don't anymore. Why? I'm a young family man. I drive a Chevy Malibu (one of the safest cars on the road.) Those brass-era cars, and really any vehicle made outside of the last 20 years are deathtraps when compared to the technology of today.
