PurpleC4

Mention a C1 or a C2 and you instantly think of a classic. It will be a while before the C3 - C5 will be included in the unique category ~ but someday they will. In your opinion ~ which one will it be? When considering this question you need to take into account body style, engine performance, handling, resale value etc.....

Vote now please and feel free to include any comments as to why you feel the way you do..

~ Purp

Jeffvette

My initial response is a C3, just kind of a progression of years. I think the 68-72's are already classics, with the Urethane bumpers slowly coming up.

Out of the C4's you'll see the Callaway B2k, ZR-1 and the Grand Sport cars as classics.

C5, I don't think any of them will really be classics.

FASTAZU

:thumbs: :iagree:

Perfusion

Chrome bumpers...mmmm...... :thumbs:

:flag

PurpleC4

Ahhhhhh ~ Jeff, you make some good points.

It is my opinion that you will never see an entire category of Corvettes fall into the "Classic" category ever again, however, there will definitely be a few that make it regardless of what generation they may be associated with. The ZR1 is one example. I don't think it has reached "Classic" status yet........ but it won't be long.

~ Purp

vinnies87

I'd have to say C3... thats the next one i want... :D

*89x2*

X2 :iagree:

tkrussell

I think the early C3's with the Kamm effect rear end and high compression engines. Especially the 427, ZL-1, L88, and LT-1 engines. I don't see later C3's with the lowered compression ratio and smog gear stifled engines as nearly so attractive "classics". The great C3's rumbled at idle and assaulted the senses when driven. They were today's Viper: not totally civilized and easily capable of getting out of hand if the driver was not attentive.

Today's Vettes (C4 and C5) are faster, more luxurious, quieter, and will turn better lap times. The C3's IMHO were more fun.

BowTieBlood

I don't see the C4 or C5 ever being a "classic." There are just too many around, and they're not as unique as they used to be. I think grand sports, ce's, zr1s, and things of the like, are already classics though :cheers:

PurpleC4

Very well stated. :thumbs:

IGOFASTERINMYVETTE

that's usually what makes a car a classic, the fact that nobody expects them to become a classic means that many will be consumed by wrecks, abuse ect...then the low mile 'survivors' will become classic. ZR-1, Callaway, and LT-4 cars will likely have a few preserved as many of these cars have come down so far in value that I see many people using them daily. That's why they seem so common and as a result, clean examples will become scarce. With the power and refinement, coupled with the rarity of certain models, C4 will become a classic. :chevy

USAsOnlyWay

Currently the C4 is going through the muscle build. Buy em cheap with great performance and handling, make em faster for pretty cheap too.

C3s on the other hand are already becoming sought after and I too think the urethane bumpers will soon become more sought after as the chrome ones already are.

But I think the C4s will have they day, I wouldn't be suprised if it was about C7/C8 when that happens though.

TheStef

I read that C4 are in a declining value, but C3 are taking value... this sounds to me like a properly restaured or maintained C3 is already a classic.

Just my opinnion

C4DC

I'd say the C3 is allready a classic and the C4 is next in line...

Goody

Once all the C3's are classics, then the C4 (special ones) will be next. As for a C5, it might just be the Tuner cars that really see the light some day. It takes time to make a classic a classic. Gotta wait another 25-30 years to find out.
C4 probables = 86 PC (Yellow only). ZR1, GS, B2K and other tuner types.

PurpleC4

I don't think that the C3's as a category have reached the "Classic" status :nonod: ~ but there is no doubt that few of the early 'ground pounders' are already there. :yesnod:

~ Purp

Tom Piper

Here's my $.02

I believe there is a big difference between a classic and an antique.

All vehicles are destined to become antique, only a certain few will become classics.
In addition, a classic stands the "test of time"-- it was a classic the day it was made.

When I look at my '92, as much as I like the car, I don't believe it, or any C4, will ever be a classic. But, when I look at my '64 coupe that I bought 35 years ago, I see it in the same light now that I did when I bought it -- I knew 35 years ago it was a classic.

So, my opinion, because of how I view them, is no C3, C4 or C5 will be classics -- including ZR1s or the other specialty cars in the group. An engine will never make a vehicle a classic to me.
Why??? Because the body style doesn't inspire me as a classic like the C2 or a Pantera.

When I drive my '92, it rarely turns a head.
But, when I drive my '64, it becomes embarrasing, and dangerous, how much attention it gets. I'm constantly returning waves, trying to keep from getting hit from behind by someone trying to get a closer look, or keep out of an accident from someone beside me about the hit the car in front of them because they are looking at my car instead of the person ahead of them. And, the suprising part is it is the young, old, male and female that do it -- age or sex has no bearing on it. Many of the young have rarely seen a C2, but instantly recognize it as a classic.
I had one woman in a monster SUV, seeing I was getting a red light, swerve from behind me into the other lane, almost ran the guy beside her off the road so she could get beside me. Then, she put down her window and said, "That's a nice '64." When it comes to the mid-year cars, not many can recognize the difference between them unless they know them well. That told me, she was not just a casual observer.
And, none of them have any idea if I have a 800 hp engine or a Briggs&Stratton under my hood. I always grin from ear to ear, look around to make sure no one is looking, and open my hood to rope start my '64:jester .

I know many others won't agree with this, but that is how I see it.
No offense to any owners intended.


P.S.

My hat is off to Larry Shinoda, wherever he is. Rest in peace. http://www.idavette.net/HistFact/shinoda.htm

Tom Piper


[Modified by Tom Piper, 6:59 AM 1/23/2004]

TheStef

Most Corvettes turns heads, let it be a C1, C2, C3, C4, C5. When I drive my vette with the top down it turns heads :yesnod: Most woman I know want to jump in my car just for a drive around the block, hmmm actually even most guys I know want the same.

Wanna know what makes a diamond or gold so precious?

Its because its rare and every body knows what it is.

One day even C4 corvettes will be rare, and it just so happens that every body knows what a Corvette is.

Just 2 c :D

69L71

All is relative and highly subjective. A Classic is determined by the desire of the public to buy a given older car. The 65/66 Mustang kind of led the latest 'classic' trend when they started going up in value in the late 80s. Baby boomers remembered those cars from their youth and started buying used ones when they had the money to relive their youthfulness. Other cars followed suit.

The C1 and C2 are obviously classics and are revered and collected by folks typically in their 50s or early 60s, because these are the cars they remember when they were younger. Early C3s are in the same classification but with guys (usually) in their 40s. I was 8 years old when my 69 427/435 rolled off the assembly line. I remember those cars and their agressive lines, nasty exhaust notes, and smoky burnout performance when I was a kid. I've been told many times by the C1 and C2 crowds that my 'lowly' C3 would never attain the popularity of their machines. They talked about the styling and the legendary performance history of their cars as the evidence. They usually clam up when I remind them that the C3 styling was extemely unique (and popular) in it's day, and broke the european-styling tradition of the early cars into something uniquely American; and that it was the C3 that heralded the most race wins. Throw in that the 427 cars (L71, L88, L89) had FAR greater performance then almost every earlier car (the 67s with the same motors are the exception). In the end it was just hogwash. They like their cars because that's what a true american sports car is to THEM. I love the C2s but I see every bit the uniqueness of the early C3s and love mine. But that's just me. But considering that today there are 789,851 posts in the C3 Forum and 129,322 in the C1/C2 Forum, I'd suggest that others feel the same way.

It stands to reason then, that C4s may very well wind up being classics later on when dudes now in their early 20s have enough disposable income to start picking them up cheap and fixing them. I'd say the same will be true of the 85-93 Mustang GTs. But then again, who's to say these dudes aren't gonna be looking to pick up and recreate that Honda Civic with the 4" tail pipe they had in college?

Sorry, BowTieBlood but I don't think I can agree with your reasoning that there are too many around. That may be true right now but attrition will fix it over time. Besides, I don't see production quantity playing a huge role in Classic determination. Here's the production run for a few different years of vettes:

1965: 23,562
1969: 38,762
1995: 20,742 (Base models)

So you see, there WERE more '65s and '69s than there were '95s. This probably isn't the case anymore as a lot of '65s and '69 have been destroyed. And besides, by this reasoning (production numbers) a '95 will one day out-classic a '65 or '69. That's probably not gonna happen.

The real question is, what happens to that $75k '57 fuelie when your grandfather passes away? Sure, you may love to take it over from him but there won't be a huge number of people chasing you down to buy it. In 15 years there will hardly be anyone around that remembers that car as anything but a show car on a trailer. The legacy of the 50s street race scene will just be a legend and prices will inevitably fall as no one wants to buy something for thet much money without a personal connection, unless it's solely for investment (a bad investment). It won't really be a classic or collectible for anyone but an auto museum. It'll just be an antique. The same will inevitably happen to the C2 and C3.


[Modified by 69L71, 1:12 PM 1/22/2004]

vet86blk

I agree. I was watching the Barette-Jackson auction last night. The question was raised if ANY 80's or 90's cars would become "Classics" or Collectables. The response was mostly no because of the sheer volumes of cars produced. The exceptions were the ZR-1 and the Buick GNX.