Your thoughts on long term ownership and what will be "classics" one day.

So as a relatively young man(33) I often hear people talking about current crops of cars being a classic one day or collectable etc. Personally I don't care to make a profit on a car or anything like that, but I would like to purchase a vehicle that will stand the test of time in terms of style etc.

Its now to the point where I really really wish I would have purchased a pristine example of a fox body mustang, fd rx7, e30 m3, ws6 trans am. All are average priced cars that I feel like will always have a great following, look awesome regardless of their age and have that special something that just makes you feel good when driving them. Of course there is others like supras, maybe c5 z06 but looking back at all the production cars I once lusted over there is very few that I could actually see keeping long term and no mustang makes that list since the fox body.

I post this just to get a general concept of how people see their purchase of the gt350 playing out long term and what other currently offered production vehicles might fit this mold. I saw a post similar to this on the CTS-V forum years ago. I remember reading many of comments on how the car will be something that will always have a great appeal, always look great etc. I ended up buying one, I remember walking away from it and doing the typical looking over my shoulder to see the car cause I thought it looked so good and thought what most ever other car guy thinks when they buy a new car "damn that looks good!". several years later and I look at the car and think "meh, looks ok but it needs xxxx and xxxxx and xxxxx to really get my attention".

So what have you purchased thinking you would keep it forever, is the gt350 in that category and what has or hasn't changed your mind since that purchase?

I firmly believe nothing built after the 90's(just a few exceptions like the '00 Cobra R and a few others) will ever be considered a classic due to the increased difficulty in keeping the cars running long term. Cars built before then can be kept on the road indefinitely given the vast amount of replacement parts and ease of working on them. Cars in the more modern times have computers and specialized components that will likely no longer be produced after a certain amount of time. In a few years/decades you're going to be searching for used control units just to keep the car running. After 50+ years you may be forced to upgrade the car to the then current technology just to get the car back on the road, in which case it will no longer be original and 'classic' by whatever vague definition you believe in.

To me a classic car is one that is instantly and forever recognizable.

My thoughts? I bought my car to drive and not to be a classic. However, it will be some time before any of the 350's are considered "Classic". Of all the 350's obviously the R will have the best chance especially the base R, especially the 2015's.

Depends on what you consider a "classic." There are varying ways to apply that term - i.e., desirability, market value, rarity, etc.... From the perspective of the GT350 (whether R or non-R), time will tell how they measure on the "classic" scale, but I'm sure they will always have some of the cache they have now.

For example, let's set the way-back machine to 22 years ago - 1995. Ford released the then-new SN95 Mustang the year before and it continued in '95. The GT had the venerable 5.0, as did the SVT Cobra version. A step up on the unobtainium scale was the Cobra R, which had lots of race-car goodies - different engine (351), unique bodywork, no radio/AC, manual windows, rear seat delete, and even a fuel cell (!!!). Coming back to today, I think most would agree that a standard GT, even with low miles and in great shape, would be considered an okay car, but far from collectible. The SVT Cobra, of which only 5,000 per year were built, doesn't fare much better on the resale market. Even the Cobra R, of which there were only 300 and which were supposed to only be sold to racers, don't pull much more than their MSRP from back in the day (which was around $35k IIRC).

Another example is all those 1978 Corvette Indy pace car replicas that were mothballed with all their wrappers in place. For decades those things languished, but are finally coming up a bit. But, there are so many still-in-the-wrapper versions out there that they will never be big dollar cars.

So back to "classics." I think of them as traditional classics, collectibles, cult cars, and desirable cars. Not necessarily in any particular order, but those labels seem to cover a wide swath of the hobby car population. To me, really old and/or really valuable cars fall into the term "classics." Collectibles covers a much wider swath of the market and includes many of the cars from the past that we think of and generally have some broad appeal outside the hobby - i.e., the '65 Mustang, '57 Chevy, etc.... Cult cars are those that have held their value and are desired by some part of the car hobby contingent, but don't necessarily rise to the level of truly "collectible" in the general way that I use that word - '90s Supra, Evo, WRX STI, CRX, etc... And finally, I see desirable cars as those with a potential future demand, but still undervalued by the market - i.e., Fox body Mustangs, 3d gen GM F-bodies, and certain other newer cars.

All this is just for discussion, so your mileage may vary.

The only car made from 2000 onward that I am confident will become an actual "classic" 50 years from now (when we are in self-flying Jetson crafts that compact into a briefcase) will be the Dodge Neon. They were such pieces of crap that few remain and yet they were loved by many and folks will want it a long time from now as a bit of history.

Just kidding...

ssteve said:

So as a relatively young man(33) I often hear people talking about current crops of cars being a classic one day or collectable etc. Personally I don't care to make a profit on a car or anything like that, but I would like to purchase a vehicle that will stand the test of time in terms of style etc.

Its now to the point where I really really wish I would have purchased a pristine example of a fox body mustang, fd rx7, e30 m3, ws6 trans am. All are average priced cars that I feel like will always have a great following, look awesome regardless of their age and have that special something that just makes you feel good when driving them. Of course there is others like supras, maybe c5 z06 but looking back at all the production cars I once lusted over there is very few that I could actually see keeping long term and no mustang makes that list since the fox body.

I post this just to get a general concept of how people see their purchase of the gt350 playing out long term and what other currently offered production vehicles might fit this mold. I saw a post similar to this on the CTS-V forum years ago. I remember reading many of comments on how the car will be something that will always have a great appeal, always look great etc. I ended up buying one, I remember walking away from it and doing the typical looking over my shoulder to see the car cause I thought it looked so good and thought what most ever other car guy thinks when they buy a new car "damn that looks good!". several years later and I look at the car and think "meh, looks ok but it needs xxxx and xxxxx and xxxxx to really get my attention".

So what have you purchased thinking you would keep it forever, is the gt350 in that category and what has or hasn't changed your mind since that purchase?

Click to expand...

It is a forever car for me, without a doubt. I will certainly try to add to the stable down the road, but never shall this car leave my possession unless some extreme circumstances force my hand.

For me, a couple of things make it worthy of being a for-life vehicle. Number 1 being that it literally perfectly fits what I am looking for in a driver's car. Great handling, great feel, a fantastic high revving engine, and the perfect amount of power IMO to be thrilling but not terrifying in terms of street use.

Number 2 are the aspects that make this car truly unique. Nothing else in the world has ever had an engine like this. It is the largest displacement FPC V8 ever made, and with the layout of the unequal headers, single intake, different crankshaft profile, etc. make it truly a 1 of 1 engine design, one that I believe will never be done again. Then it is the only American FPC V8 ever produced in a production car, which again I honestly think is the only time we will ever see it. Ford probably won't bother again to keep the GT350 unqiue, and other marquee's aren't interested. It will also probably be the last NA FPC V8 that we see, unless Porsche can manage to do another hybrid in the future that meets emissions alike the 918. Then when you consider those aspects, and the carbon fiber wheels and carbon spoiler etc. are all other aspects that really stand out and for an engineer like myself things that I can really geek out on.

Number 3 is the historical aspect behind the famed nameplate. The car originally began over 50 years ago now and was an icon of that time as being a pure driver's car, as well as a huge performer. It lay dormant for nearly 50 years, so a successor could have just as easily been a failure and not live up to its predecessor or build upon its legend. I believe the new GT350 has solidly built upon the legend and has cemented the storyline in history as one of the all-time great american sports cars. They got the things that matter to driver's right, and it is telling by the demand of the car even 3 model years in.

Combine that historical aspect with the unique aspects of the vehicle and the superb driving dynamics that you can't find in many sports cars today at any price range, and that for me is enough to stick with this car for life.

Oh, in case you can't tell, I Love this car. :love::ford::cheers:

Cars are quickly becoming like computers and phones. Insanely outdated only a few years in. Just look at how fast German cars hit the deucer on pricing. You can get a stickered $130K M6 for under $50K now from MY13 - 14. That's over a 60% depreciation in 3 years. I traded in my run of the mill 2011 Mustang GT last year for a 50% depreciation over 5 years.

Grimace427 said:

I firmly believe nothing built after the 90's(just a few exceptions like the '00 Cobra R and a few others) will ever be considered a classic due to the increased difficulty in keeping the cars running long term. Cars built before then can be kept on the road indefinitely given the vast amount of replacement parts and ease of working on them. Cars in the more modern times have computers and specialized components that will likely no longer be produced after a certain amount of time. In a few years/decades you're going to be searching for used control units just to keep the car running. After 50+ years you may be forced to upgrade the car to the then current technology just to get the car back on the road, in which case it will no longer be original and 'classic' by whatever vague definition you believe in.

To me a classic car is one that is instantly and forever recognizable.

Click to expand...

This, 100%.

I've had my '67 Cougar for 30 years, and one of the great things about it is that I can fix anything on it (and have) with the most basic hand tools. And it's an attention magnet.

I'm currently on a (lazy) hunt for the right '84-'86 SVO Mustang.....

I like to think that I'll keep my '15 forever, but everything in the quoted paragraph above scares me about trying even though it lives indoors when not driven.

nastang87xx said:

Cars are quickly becoming like computers and phones. Insanely outdated only a few years in. Just look at how fast German cars hit the deucer on pricing. You can get a stickered $130K M6 for under $50K now from MY13 - 14. That's over a 60% depreciation in 3 years. I traded in my run of the mill 2011 Mustang GT last year for a 50% depreciation over 5 years.

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I wouldn't even pay that much for one. Things simply DO NOT stay running... and whomever supplies the electronics to the Germans is purposefully screwing them, I'm sure of it.

I want my car powered by flubber!

nastang87xx said:

You can get a stickered $130K M6 for under $50K now from MY13 - 14. That's over a 60% depreciation in 3 years.

Click to expand...

wildcatgoal said:

I wouldn't even pay that much for one. Things simply DO NOT stay running...

Click to expand...

I am allergic to BMW's now.

wildcatgoal said:

and whomever supplies the electronics to the Germans is purposefully screwing them, I'm sure of it.

Click to expand...

Bosch, Siemens, Continental, those are the big ones off the top of my head. And yeah, I think they come with a built-in self-destruct feature. Only they don't always just completely and obviously die but they do it subtly so as to make the life of the repair tech a total nightmare.

I'm one of the ones that didn't buy it with this in mind at all. But, the fact that it might be one of the last manual only big N/A V8 may come into play someday.....maybe. Add to it that the FPC aspect and I'd say it has a chance.

ssteve said:

So as a relatively young man(33) I often hear people talking about current crops of cars being a classic one day or collectable etc. Personally I don't care to make a profit on a car or anything like that, but I would like to purchase a vehicle that will stand the test of time in terms of style etc.

Its now to the point where I really really wish I would have purchased a pristine example of a fox body mustang, fd rx7, e30 m3, ws6 trans am. All are average priced cars that I feel like will always have a great following, look awesome regardless of their age and have that special something that just makes you feel good when driving them. Of course there is others like supras, maybe c5 z06 but looking back at all the production cars I once lusted over there is very few that I could actually see keeping long term and no mustang makes that list since the fox body.

I post this just to get a general concept of how people see their purchase of the gt350 playing out long term and what other currently offered production vehicles might fit this mold. I saw a post similar to this on the CTS-V forum years ago. I remember reading many of comments on how the car will be something that will always have a great appeal, always look great etc. I ended up buying one, I remember walking away from it and doing the typical looking over my shoulder to see the car cause I thought it looked so good and thought what most ever other car guy thinks when they buy a new car "damn that looks good!". several years later and I look at the car and think "meh, looks ok but it needs xxxx and xxxxx and xxxxx to really get my attention".

So what have you purchased thinking you would keep it forever, is the gt350 in that category and what has or hasn't changed your mind since that purchase?

Click to expand...

I've been into cars my whole life. Never really liked American cars, you always hear reliability problems about them. Build quality was never like the Japanese. I have always been into naturally aspirated, high revving motors. That didn't mean I didn't look at FI cars like the R34, or STI. Something about showing what an engine was truly capable of on it's own, and wringing every last drop of power heavily appealed to me. Well, that and the natural engine note an NA engine makes.

I use to be into supercar's and exotics when I was younger. As I grew older, I looked more towards the value spectrum and I was more interested in what a car company can do on a budget. Near-limitless money being thrown at the development of a car(Ferrari, Pagani, Lamborghini) wasn't exciting for me.

Enter the GT350. NA Flat-plane crank, American made V8. I thought Ford must be out of their ever-loving minds. While all these companies are taking the easy way out, going FI on everything(Yea I'm talking to you BMW), you've got an American car company, out of fucking no where making a big ass, high revving V8 motor? Unfucking heard of!

Bought my own GT350 as soon as I could, and it's been nearly a blissful year of absolute joy. It's even put the joy of washing cars back in me. Needless to say, I hope to pass down this car to my kids when I have them. :ford:

You want something that will continue appreciating in value as time goes by ?

There you go
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/699283666/overview/

Classic.

Minn19 said:

I'm one of the ones that didn't buy it with this in mind at all. But, the fact that it might be one of the last manual only big N/A V8 may come into play someday.....maybe. Add to it that the FPC aspect and I'd say it has a chance.

Click to expand...

Thanks for making these points Jason. Now I don't have to post it. :lol: