I don't care how much gas costs! "COOL" has a price! Price for parts. Price for gas. And a price for cars!!! You want to be "cool",then you have to pay up. I like owning,driving my Mercury,regardless of the costs... Who wants to be another sheep driving the latest Foriegn "flavor-of-the-month" car?
delete away if people think that having HOT RODS & non "GREEN" cars is not a soon to be high on the agenda of people in charge of the ways laws are wrote .... You are sheep .. better stand up while you can
Big Dad, refresh me if I'm wrong, but wasn't a a few years back when the powers that were and still are...put a luxury tax on those big dollar items, and wasn't there a luxury tax put on those big SUV's because they didn't get good gas milage? Seems to me there was some sort of an an animal, that the tax happy people said, if you can afford to buy it, then you can afford to pay the tax on it. I know the general thing was called a "Luxury" tax, and that even included jewelry, boats, cars, planes. But then it later got repealed because all of the manufacturers started loosing business because no one was buying anything luxurous. HellRaiser
I read this ... couple times and how it reflected to old cars ?? I'm not real smart so help me ? Not sure
Going back to the original post, hot rods and the parts to build them are getting expensive because there are more customers. You can thank the new crop of television shows and magazines for this. More and more people are checking out older cars. The new cars basicly look the same. Cut from the same mold. Also known as boring. More people are wanting to have something to play with that their neighbor doesn't, so they start buying up older cars. More buyers equals higher prices gotten for cars and parts that would have sold for a lot less not too long ago. Then there are the auctions that have cars going across the blocks at CRAZY prices. Now, the guy who had a car he would have sold for cheap or even given away, thinks he has a collectable. I ran into a guy at the auto parts store who had an old, 4 door Dodge Dart that looked like it was on it's last leg. The conversation got to car prices and this guy was convinced that his beater/half dead Dart was an "antique" and was worth $5,000! Bottomline, if your at a swap meet and spot something that might be good, you better get it and hold onto it. Second guessing will cost you in the end.
Reminds me of a sign at the end of the freeway here.. " Motorway improvements planned for the next election"
A look at the UK market for vintage and veteran cars will see that prices have always been high ( e.g 1920's Bentleys average price =$400,000) but recent buying of "investment cars" by the noveau riche has meant that anything with the word "collector" associated with it has suddenly become valuable...in their eyes. Here in OZ we see the utterly ridiculous prices paid for local GM Holdens as an example . I will never understand anyone paying $6000 for a un-restored 1964 Holden ( US equivalent would be a 4 cyl Chev Nova) but people are willing to part with good money for very ordinary cars.
Diesel is a byproduct of refining crude for gasoline. It was cheap until the sulfer content had to be lowered for emission standards. When I complain about the fuel prices and want to start brewing my own ethanol my good car buddy keeps reminding me that Europe has been paying $5/gal + for years - we're just catching up.
And I picked the only business to be in where things get cheaper..computers. I'm glad I started picking up 32 ford parts before I even started my roadster rather than when it was near done. The nice $400 original 32 shell and insert would probably hit a grand on ebay now, and I thought i paid too much 5 years ago. Even the incidental stuff i needed like the guide 682s and the 32 headlight bar have jumped like crazy.
Economics and demographics. The hobby now has numerous TV shows about it, so this mass media exposure creates demand, and the finite supply of old is being consumed. less supply and more demand = higher prices, the market place at work! Demographics: I remember in 1965, when I was 11, the USA hit 200 million population. In the last year the USA hit 300 million! I've seen the population grow over 50% IN MY LIFETIME! So blame it on the 100 million more people the USA didn't have 40 years ago! As far as getting old - I can't even figure out how to hook up my DVD-R so I can copy to disk all the shows my cable dvr has on it's memory! I need a geek to figure out my cell phone! I can't change the time on my microwave and so on. I think a booming business these days would be those guys in the HOME ENTERTAINMENT CONSULTING AGENCIES. Nowdays you have to hire a F**KING CONSULTANT to get your hi-def surround sound DVD-R cable TV system correctly spec-ed out and installed! So, the question: Can I handle sattelite radio? facetiously yours, 85% Jimmy Prayers to the great Patty Foster. The world still needs you, Pat!
Brother you are not getting old, we are just inflation laden these days! But you are right that this is the best forum for hot rodders and is full of damn nice girls and boys. I am a little older but feel younger when I'm awash in the activity created here. I just saw some classified ads in a issue of Hot Rod from 69, a 57 Chrysler 300 with the dual quad Hemi and all orig. power equip etc.--$750.00. The classified here are as fair as anyplace on the planet. Viva La Hamb!!-Sololobo-------P.S. You scored on that cool Dodge, sweet ride.
these sre my original feelings exactly! but as I read thru the rest I can see all the other attitudes too, milk being more than gas, there's one that hit me hard..... here in socal they moved all the diaries out, guess what they are now....homes and distribution centers.... bottom line, I,m just at an age where I can actually start to spend some $ on toys and I,ve got 2 boys to enjoy it with, just hopeing it stays in control... oh and Barrett Jackson is around the corner, can't wait to see what that brings... agree: VIVA LA HAMB!
I do not drive a diesel but see #2 diesel is $3.85 a gal here in Solvang, CA. Everything is expensive here.
The Jalopy Journal
