What Makes A Classic Car
Those cars that are universally accepted classics such as Ferrari, Aston Martin, and most of the other exotics autos. So what's going to be the classic car of tomorrow? In the past the Chevrolets, Fords, Buicks, and Plymouths of 30-40 years ago were not meant to become future classics, but some of them have actually earned a spot among the Ferraris and Aston Martins at shows and classic car auctions around the world. Will any of the less collectable cars of the 1980s and 1990s make it?
There are so many different definitions of what a classic car is. Some would put specific age limits on the definitions, and others would say that only special variants would qualify for classic status.A classic car is one that stops depreciating in value and either levels off or begins to appreciate over time. The value increasing because of demand ties into the definition that the classic cars have appeal long after they are no longer produced. The goal is to catch these cars when they are at the bottom, before they become more valuable. Of course, values do vary from year to year, so like any potential investment there are risks.
Anyway, here is a list of what we would qualify as potential future classics: BMW 3-Series (E30 1984-1991), Chevrolet Camaro/Pontiac Firebird, Chevrolet Impala SS (1994-1996), Chrysler Shelby K-Cars (Omni GLH, etc), Ford Mustang,Ford Fairmont GM A-Bodies (RWD models, such as the El Camino and Malibu), Mitsubishi Galant VR-4,Mitsubish Starion, Mitsubish 3000GT VR-4 (and cousin Stealth R/T), Nissan 240SX (S13 and S14) Nissan 300ZX, Toyota Corolla GT-S(the famous AE86), Toyota MR2, Toyota Supra (last generation), VW GTI (personally the MKI and MKII)
The value of these cars will more than likely stabilize in the next 5 to 10 years. Granted, some of the cars are special variants, and many may fall into obscurity instead of becoming more popular
By Dhanya V.V.
Visit the Blog about aston martin minnesota rochesterWhen The Car Is The Real Star?
A recent press release that landed in my inbox was from Lamborghini about the Gallardo featuring in the Tom Cruise starrer Mission Impossible: 3 quite prominently. Apparently, the movie's cast arrived in ten Gallardo's to the movie's premiere in Rome.
The connection between cars and Hollywood is not a recent one. Cars have been the stars since James Bond was born. The British agent was one of the reasons why Aston Martins are considered iconic. So effective was James' rub on Aston's image that German carmaker BMW decided to hijack Bond from under Aston's nose and manage to get the rub for some of its cars. BMW not only placed Bond's butt in the diminutive Z3 but also the lavish 750iL and the futuristic Z8, not to mention the R1200C cruiser. It was only with die Another Day that James Bond returned with Aston Martin again, perhaps now a healthier Aston Martin under Ford was ready to support the movie.
There are others too who have had cars (and bikes) as the stars. Nothing gave a rub to Honda Civics and Mitsubishi Lancer Evos and Eclipses than the two The Fast and the Furious movies. Cruise's earlier MI: 2 made a Triumph Speed Triple look delicious while admit it or not, the Spyker C8 Laviolette in Basic Instinct 2 looks better than the female lead.
So what do companies get out of this infatuation with Hollywood? A positive image in a hot movie is often better than 100s of adverts and many editorial pages. A bad movie does no wonders for anyone. So for instance, a Biker Boys did not give the rub to the Hayabusa or the ZX 12R or the R1 or the Ducati 996S or GSX 750, all featured prominently in the movie. It did not make a star out of it. The cult hit serial from the 80s - Street Hawk - did make the bike a star but then no one Not for a reason did Spyker fend off heavy competition from Mercedes-McLaren SLR to get close to Sharon Stone in BI 2. For a boutique manufacturer like Spyker to be associated with a major Hollywood movie is a major achievement and casts the limelight on the company in one stroke. This will ensure that Spyker's entire production of 80 odd cars every year will stay sold out for a decade.
So important is product placement in movies for international carmakers that some have sections in their marketing departments to work on this aspect uniquely. After all an unflattering use of a product can be really damaging to the product's image. And who else but Tata Motors can vouch for that. While the RGV factory production Road made the Tata 1210 truck a star when it catches up with a Safari, it did nothing great for the Safari's already dodgy image.
In fact, product placement by Indian car manufacturers is often bad, bordering often on slanderous. While Maruti did well to associate the Swift with a blockbuster like Bunti aur Babli, not many will recall seeing the Swift in the movie. In fact the biggest car stars in Indian moviedom have often been the ambitious creations of stylist Dilip Chabbria. No one remembers a movie called Tarzan - The wonder car but everyone does remember the car.
By Deepesh Rathore.
