"Exceptional Value" Info Needed -- Please Help

[eilig]

Gentlemen,

I work for a Chicago-based financial institution, and am in process of writing a fun article about the exceptional value that many muscle cars have represented as "investments" during recent years. The article will be slightly "tongue in cheek," as many of the prices recently commanded by high profile muscle cars are "anomolies" as viewed as investments. Nonetheless, the article is intended to serve as an interesting and insightful framework for investment analysis in general, within the context of.... musclecars!

As such, I'm seeking any info that this forum may be able to provide with regard to "world record prices" and extreme examples of prices paid for muscle cars within the last 6-9 months. Of course much of this info is available on the auction result web sites of Barrett-Jackson, Mecum, Russo and Steele et.al. auction houses. Nonetheless, through discussion, I've learned that some of the most extreme examples of prices paid are not public information, but rather took place via private transactions.

If you have info that you may be able to provide with regard to transactions involving exceptional muscle cars and the extreme prices they have commanded, I am specifically seeking:

(a) year/make/model info regarding the muscle car,

(b) differentiating info regarding the car (i.e. what made the car so special to command such an extreme price... was it low miles, one owner, one-of-a-kind paint color, low production, original paint, racing provenance, etc.,

(c) the dollar amount and approximate date of the transaction,

(d) any info you can provide that documents the transaction is real, and not just "folklore" or "anecdote."

The article will protect the privacy of anyone providing info regarding the transaction, as well as the privacy of anyone involved in the transaction itself. But obviously it is important that any info referred to in the article be real and documentable, so the article is indeed based on "fact," and not "fiction."

I will be happy to share a copy of the article with all of you once it is complete. I am sure that you will enjoy reading it. And it may also help in further establishing the value offered by many of the musclecars that many of you own. The article will hopefully be published in several periodicals, possibly including Forbes and the WSJ.

Thanks in advance, and hope to hear from some of you.

[machinist]

Why do you think that the prices are anomolies?
All you have to do is look at B/J for the last 10 yrs. not just one. The prices have been going up & up. Why because the baby boomers now have the money and want to, to be able to buy the cars that they saw, rode in, owned as kids,teenagers that they could not afford then. I doubt many people are going to share to much info with that presumption. Anyway those transactions not done in public are usually guarded secrets IMO.

[indyjps]

i personally do not want to contribute to any type of article that represents muscle cars as an investment, true the recent prices indicate that some cars are "blue chip" material but feeding this frenzy only drives up the prices on all muscle cars including non original, plain cars, and the enthusiast is left out in the cold as more and more cars become "too valuable to drive" and are retired to garages. please go elsewhere, or better yet recommend that ferraris are the next wave of hot investments. the owners will be pleased and maybe you'll be able to start a new trend.

[tirebird]

I agree with Indy. Cars are not real estate or art objects to be bought, hung on a wall, then "flipped" for a higher price. I live in Northern California where my modest 2 bedroom, 1 bath, 1500 sq. ft. home is worth close to a million dollars. A lot of the demand comes from speculators who like to buy, hold for a little time, then sell.

The same thing's going on with muscle cars. Some guys who don't know a carburetor needle from a knitting needle want to buy muscle cars to make money instead of having fun.

Eilig, if you wrote to us and asked what's your favorite fun muscle car and why,..you would get a lot of responses. But, asking, what's the best investment, well, as we said before, you should stick to stocks, bonds, art, precious metals, and real estate. Muscle cars deserve to be driven by enthusiasts not investors.

[Belair62]

[ QUOTE ]
The article will be slightly "tongue in cheek," as many of the prices recently commanded by high profile muscle cars are "anomolies" as viewed as investments. Nonetheless, the article is intended to serve as an interesting and insightful framework for investment analysis in general, within the context of.... musclecars!


[/ QUOTE ]

I think you guys are over reacting a bit...since we are in the real world it sounds like it would be an interesting article...