I think the group that has the means/desire to own one is at worst the same size or more likely growing. As others mention a big driving factor is the emotions/feelings of what was hot when you were a kid or growing up into maybe early adulthood. I'd say the pool of who oogled over a GNX that can afford it is getting larger, guys in their 40's-50's are prime years for the desire and means to buy them. The ones who did buy them a long time ago(like when new) who could afford them at the time are aging out a bit, maybe, or just capitalizing on the market.
6k-Mile 1987 Buick GNX on BaT
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I think the group that has the means/desire to own one is at worst the same size or more likely growing. As others mention a big driving factor is the emotions/feelings of what was hot when you were a kid or growing up into maybe early adulthood. I'd say the pool of who oogled over a GNX that can afford it is getting larger, guys in their 40's-50's are prime years for the desire and means to buy them. The ones who did buy them a long time ago(like when new) who could afford them at the time are aging out a bit, maybe, or just capitalizing on the market.
You can still buy a decent Turbo Buick and add basic mods and be way out in front of what a stock GNX could ever deliver both financially and performance wise.
But, that can be said about so many other lesser spec performance cars. eg. It is easy to get Demon performance out of a Hellcat, but it will never be "a Demon". Or "a GNX" for that matter.
And that exclusivity means something to some people.
The one thing that Dodge has done well is by keeping the Challenger/Charger platform alive so long is that the technology has had an opportunity to efficiently and effectively trickle down to lower spec trim levels. The GNX came out too late.
That's possible. Everything is speculation because hardly anyone will take the time to research the buying patterns and it goes by regions as well. But the growing thing in the desirability department? Ah, I dunno. I agree about the means department. More people have more $$ nowadays. At least for now. Again, partly due to idiotic policies. They don't come up for sale all the time, so there may be 2,000 people looking for one, so there's still a hot market for them. But a few years ago it may have been 4,000 people looking for one for sale. We'll likely never know.
The biggest difference is that most G-bodies are already in the "classic" stage without anything that's affordably cool coming up behind it. Back in the days when the A-body cars were getting dumped with the upcoming onset of the 2nd wave of the gas crunch, people who went through the 73 version wasn't going to go through that again. But you could STILL buy a 442 or other semi-performance version of the ones that were made just a few years earlier with more powerful and hungrier engines. Camaros and Firebirds still had a little bit of life left in them, and Smokey and the Bandit literally saved the F-body in the start of the "lean years". But you could still buy something new back then that still had a little umph but wouldn't break your bank.
So it wasn't long after the demise of the muscle era that you could own one for chump change. I mean, you could literally toss a rock in any direction and hit a big block or gas hog car with a 4 sale sign on it back then. And it was relatively cheap. And there were more of them around then to go around. So that obviously affected the price.
Today, the G-body may be coming into what I see is the non-donk era of desirability, and they have already gone up in price and the really nice ones are already hard to find. It's all about regions as well, as you probably won't find a ton of pristine non-rusted versions. Regardless that they made 4 bazillion of them. Face it, we got the G-body because it was a sure-fire money maker for GM, which I think is part of the reason GM didn't get rid of it so fast as they had originally planned. I truly believe the original plan was to end the G-body as we know it in its entirety by 1985. They started all these drops with the FWD versions to compliment the G-bodies on the lots, and the writing was on the wall. And by 1988, it was all over. And had they not fumbled the FWD mid-size platform and delayed its start for a bit, I believe all the G-bodies would have been stopped before 1988.
My prediction is this...anyone restoring G-body cars will be hard pressed to find NOS parts for them. The "donksters" sucked up a great many of them when they were fixing them up to put 54" wheels and stuff on them with wild paint jobs and custom stuff, but eating up a lot of trim parts that were still availalble. It jacked up demand, and thus ensuing prices for the inventory of NOS parts left. So today, restorers looking for NOS parts are going to have to dig deeper and look harder. Nature of the beast. Remember when buying a complete set of NOS tails and backup lamps for an 87 Cutlass was around 500-700. Yup. And now you see hood liner asking prices at $1000. Friggin' unreal.
Good point about the donk type of cars that gobbled up many good examples when prices were cheaper 10-15 years ago. So many g-bodies that were nice survivors or good candidates for restoration or to keep as a driver got hacked up, did see them pop up in yards every so often or for sale as the fad wound down or was over, if it's over. Talking about the cars with Trix or Trojan logos and color schemes 😆 . Even if done "well" the original stuff was largely ruined.
I'm glad I bought NOS tails for my LS years ago right before GM stopped making them, the aftermarket ones do look like a good quality from what I've seen, glad to have many NOS parts stashed away but I'm sure it pales in comparison to your stockpile.
One reason our cars have gone up quite a bit is the prime age/means thing that I mentioned about the GNX's. Different buyers for the more affordable g-bodies than a GNX but so many guys I've met or heard stories of in their 30's-50's I've seen that either finally feel they have time and money to dump into their car they've kept as they earn more, more space, kids are getting older, etc., or they had one as a first car years ago and acquired one in recent years and are doing what they always wanted to do with them. Then it turns into another conversation about the whole aftermarket suspension upgrades and LS craze that has helped make dumping money into them "easier" and appealing to do as well, all factors in the price jumping not just the economy and whether it's sustainable, IMO.
All good things will come to an end...somewhere, and sometime. Let's enjoy it while it lasts.
Stumbled across this over coffee this morning:
Reimagined Classics Preorder - Makers Garage
makers-garage.com
And I keep this stuff bookmarked because reasons:
Iroc Concave - US550 - MHT Wheels Inc.
MHT employs an industry leading team of engineers, programmers, and machinists who stop at nothing to guarantee 360º of perfection.
www.mhtwheels.com
1982-92 Camaro/Firebird "18 x 10" R15 Hawks Reproduction Wheel Set - BIG BRAKE CAPABLE!
1982-92 Camaro/Firebird "18 x 10" R15 Hawks Reproduction Wheel Set - BIG BRAKE CAPABLE!
www.hawksmotorsports.com
Again, more previously disposable vehicles getting big effort and money infusion from enthusiasts.
So... is a 200K GNX really out of line? For some, not all.
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