The other day we came across a company selling clothing “inspired by” 2010s style. That seems absolutely insane to us, as most of us probably have actual clothing hailing from before that era in our closets. Cars from the 80s and 90s are on the rise right now, just like cars of the 60s and 70s before them. But does that mean that one day mint condition Toyota Venzas and Mitsubishi Eclipse Crosses will command top dollar on Bring a Tractor Beam?
Will cars of the 2010s be collectible, and if so, which ones?
The best comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What do you do with dumb car toys?“.
So of course the correct answer of what to do with dumb car toys is the one offered by CycoPablo, and that is to donate them to charity. However, in the event that a kid or spouse is preventing you from doing that, Michael K. had a pretty good solution, which is to let the kids bring the dumb ones to school so it’s no big deal if they lose them. Or, if the kids are quite a bit older, Nigel‘s cherry bombs will do (actually, our lawyers are saying that we do not recommend kids of any age set off cherry bombs).
In the end, on pure effort alone (and to get into the holiday spirit) Broetto Navarro takes the Christmas cake this week with his self-composed holiday song:
X-mas time is upon us.
Let the x-mas vibes touch your heart and soul.
Stockpilling on those absurd toy cars will make you a ghoul.
Those silly toy cars, to a new house must go!
One’s trash is another one’s gold.
They may even create a new lover of steel from nippon!(This should be read like a cheesy christmas song, yes)
Omedetou, your comment has earned you a set of decals from the JNC Shop!
Lexus LFA
That exhaust note still gets me
I think LFA is probably top pick just due to such low production (and that it’s awesome), but I could see some of the relatively pedestrian cars become collectible as they marked the final versions:
WRX hatchback
Accord 6MT (though 2020 was the final year technically)
Accord 6-6 coupe
Lexus IS250 6MT (I think 2012 was final with manual). The hardtop convertible with 6MT is probably going to be insanely rare in 20 years.
Infiniti G37 6MT (I think 2013 final sedan with manual while the coupe lived on)
Toyota Camry 6MT died in 2013 too I think
The Lexus CT and HS were both relatively low production and I think would be collectible from that standpoint (and the CT is pretty interesting…HS not so much :))
I guess this may be one of those “rare does not equal collectible” situations, but I’m sticking with it. The rare stuff always catches my eye!
I think that, unless we see the successful development of “Synth-fuel” that produces zero carbon emissions when used in an ICE, there will be no collectible cars from the 2010s because there will be no one able to drive them. And they don’t do well enough as sculptures to have non-automotive art value.
So, unless that happens, then it’ll be the Nissan Leaf and Toyota Mirai that’ll be collectible as they’re the only things that’ll be allowed on the road.
There are quite a few, but off the top of my head..
genesis coupe
veloster r spec
crz
evo X
sti
elantra sport
i30N
kia stinger
rx8
370z
g37 coupe
nc mx5 club
mazdaspeed 3
is250
I think the above lists summarizes a lot of what we’re seeing today: the slow death of the conventional ICE sports car that’s equipped with a manual transmission. If it’s not manual transmission, then it’ll be a big-engined car, like LFA or IS F. For the American / Aussie muscle, you can see that the CTS-V and SS Sedan are commanding big dollars, only because they’ll “never be made like it again.”
It’s almost as if there’s a niche of cars that weren’t that popular during their production run eventually becomes popular when its resurrected a few decades later. Some of the cars on these replies definitely fall into that category, like Stinger, CRZ, G37 coupe.
Without a doubt, as there are many cars currently on the market that have a huge following, and it’s human nature to want to reconnect with things that made us happy in the past.
The market right now is a mirror image of 90’s Japan, only this time around, those of us in the US can get most of the cool stuff.
I think the most desirable cars will be the ones that many people would love to own, but not many can afford right now, such as the R35 GTR, Lexus LC500 and Acura NSX. As time goes on, more people will really start to appreciate them, only this time it will be Gen Z driving the market, and they tend not to have the same problem with comparing everything to the 90’s. So we’ll definitely see A90 Supras start to really be sought after.
Civic Type-Rs, 86 twins (especially the rare ones like the color.series, tS, TRD, Release series, etc), STI’s, ND Miatas, Honda Fits and 370Z’s will be tracked down to trigger nostalgia, and this will trickle down to other performance cars that are fantastic but don’t have cult followings, like the Lexus RC and IS, Infiniti Q60 and Q50, Honda CRZ, and Acura TLX. From there, cars that were more overlooked by enthusiasts will start to be snatched up when they discover that Japan still had a great tuning scene for them, while their first choices have priced them out. So cars like the Toyota Yaris, Lexus GS, Lexus LS, Mazda3, etc will start to be more appreciated.
By then we’ll also see people start to really be into the Korean manufacturers, since this is the start of a golden era. Cars like the Elantra N, Veloster N, Kona N, and the Genesis G90/G80/G70 will all have their own followings.
Also at this time, (if most states haven’t banned registration of them) we’ll get the few remaining cool cars from Japan that were on sale recently but aren’t sold in the US. Cars like the Honda S660 and Toyota Alphard and Vellfire vans to name a few.
It seems like many enthusiasts are fearful that vintage cars doesn’t have long to live. But I think that we’ll have many more options. Biofuels and synthetic fuels are being developed for those who want to keep an ICE engine, but for those that want to switch to electric, we are getting closer and closer to plug and play solutions. And dropping in a motor and battery pack into a classic is just the start. The cool thing about these is that they can be programmed. It doesn’t have to pull in a linear torque curve, it can be programmed to recreate your favorite powertrains. I’ve even heard of simulated transmissions using a shift by wire gearshift with force feedback.
Imagine getting into your ’77 Datsun Z (which when it was ICE, you could never modify because you lived in California and had to pass smog) and cruising out to the touge quietly and smoothly. Once there, you bring up the drive profile menu on the touchscreen and select “1970 Nissan S20” then select the sub-tune “Works tune – Fuji Speedway”. Suddenly the cabin is filled with the sounds of a full-race-spec S20, and you take off up the mountain, the simulated gear ratios matching the race car perfectly. You get to the end, and get a notification that Rocky Auto has released a licensed tune. After paying a few bucks, the tune is downloaded instantly, and suddenly your car has a Rocky-Auto modified NA RB26 from an Autech Skyline under the hood. Most people would leave it as is, but the temptation to tweak the settings is too great, so you bring up the sliders to adjust things like gear ratios, LSD, Traction control, and even things like simulated compression and timing. You’ve gone the extra mile and installed the latest Tein EDFC on your coilovers, so you can download matching suspension tunes also.
As enthusiasts we can either shy away from tech or embrace it and bend it to our wants and needs. I for one am looking forward to the day I can ditch the smogged-up L28 in my Z and get rid of the oil stains, noisy lifters, undiagnosable rev-hang and leaky fuel lines once and for all. The 4AG in my AE86 though? That stays.
Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ (ZN6/ZC6). Car is the successor to the AE86 and was developed by Keiichi Tsuchiya. When Keiichi was developing the car, he could not say because he was a Honda racing driver at the time.
A variety of cars come to mind.
For example, the Lexus LFA is a Toyota 2000GT revived in the modern era.
Even if the ICE era comes to an end, this car will become a legend just like the 2000GT.
Toyota FJ Cruiser is also good. This car is not as tough an SUV as the original FJ40, but it will definitely be a favorite of future generations.
Whether you or I like it or not, the cult cars of Mitsuoka will also be worth preserving for posterity because of their strange appearance and rarity.
But if I had to choose one, it would be the 86.
This car is currently suffering the same fate as the original AE86.
It is loved by young drivers, they enjoy modifying it to their heart’s content.
It’s a wonderful thing. It is proof that this car is loved by the masses and that the aftermarket and tuning culture is not dead.
But in other words, factory stock 86 are definitely dying out in this world.
If I can get one of these cars in factory stock condition and keep it before that happens, it will be worth a lot of money in the future.
I hate to be that person, but I genuinely think that we will not see the same phenomenon we actually live with the 70-90s japanese classics.
On the macro side, due to climate warming and the regulations that it’s causing (those will tighten), I’m really having a hard time imagining a near future where individual transportation, especially with ICE engine, isn’t heavily regulated. This will impact the cars we all love, and it’s market. Based on the IPCC previsions , we will be facing a whole lot of problems (climatic and political mostly) by 2040-50, and maybe even earlier. That’s the first thing, ignoring it would be a major error.
Then on the practical side, the demographic will be totally different. The explosion of japanese steel value has mostly been caused by Gen. X and millenials (of which I am), who grew up with the mythology associated with those cars, and wanted them when grown up. The following generation are in general nowhere near as being car enthusiasts as the forementionned generations are, so the demand might not be as solid as it is now for 80-90’s models in 2021.
Also, 2010+ productions never had the same aura as their predecessors. Some of them have a status, like LFAs or R35s, but are already collectibles and command crazy money (LFA). They also got more complex, way beyond the most complex models of the 90’s like GTOs and Z32s, which put them out of reach for everyday and DIY drivers. Beside that, the choice for lower priced sportscars is extremely reduced. Beside 86/BRZ and Civic Type R, there’s not much (maybe Honda S660 in Japan).
So yes, probably clean and stock 86/BRZ have potential for being future classic, but if regulations no longer allow them to be drive, or even only in limited manner, this will mean nothing.
I wonder if we will see the decline in SUV/Crossovers. Personally, I don’t mind them.
I don’t see too many modded SUVs, a lowered Venza with splitter maybe?, but I do like the Mazda CX line up and I love the 1st gen CX7.
I also enjoyed my 1st gen Mitsubishi outlander as well.
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Collectible… I’m not sure, but I like to get vehicles I like and if I get one, I like to get as many parts and factory/aftermarket options for them.
I think it’s possible. The sportier and more luxurious cars will naturally be the most collectible. Some cars from bigger names such as Ferrari I believe have already started to appreciate, but I don’t follow those names closely enough on car classified sites to know absolutely for sure.
The only thing that seems to be the prevailing issue with it is that most of these cars have to survive about 25-30 years before they start becoming collectible, and a lot of cars, while they are able to achieve higher mileage than their ancestoral automobiles, simultaneously appear to be more neglected than previous cars.
That aside, there is a more common car that I would like to see become more collectible, and that is the Scion t/C. Preferably the 2011+ t/C.
I think everyone’s already nailed pretty much all of the cars I was thinking of. To me, the 2010s look about on a par with the decade prior for collectable cars.
My one addition would be the Toyota Yaris GRMN. A 2020 release, I hear you say? No, not the current 4WD three-pot “GR Yaris”, but the 2017-18 “Yaris GRMN”, with the supercharged 1.8 four-pot up front, shared with the Lotus Elise. A very limited production car, but the debug of the “GR” branding now carried by the Supra, Yaris and 86.
Though I love cars, I think a lot of us have not considered the SUV and trucks of that era. I’m specifically thinking about the Honda Element (especially the SC) and Ridgeline. Americans will never get tired of trucks. And though I can’t see the aforementioned vehicles reaching the status of say, a Landcruiser or a 4Runner, I could see them becoming more esteemed as low mileage examples become more rare.
But the day I see a Ridgeline at Barrett’s with “period correct” trucknuts will be the day that the Apocalypse is upon us!