Classics Vs. Muscle Cars
August 1, 2005
When asked whether assembly line—built Detroit iron can ever become a classic
worth more than, say, a handcrafted Duesenberg, Steuer says: “I never liked
Duesenbergs. I graduated high school in 1969, and all I ever wanted was a Road
Runner.”
Although he is in the same age bracket, Mark Hyman has a completely different
view of the Duesenberg-versus-muscle-car debate. That is no surprise, since the
classic car dealer from St. Louis is known for his outspoken and contrarian
views of the hobby.
“I don’t buy and sell muscle cars,” Hyman says. “I don’t like ’em.”
His father, who ran a tire shop, owned an Auburn and a Packard. “I was a weird
child. When I was 16, I was into classic cars,” he says. “I understood the
difference in build quality. Muscle cars were fast, but their build quality was
horrible.”
Today his preferences still run toward pre- and postwar American cars, along
with custom-built French cars and European sports cars such as Jaguars,
Ferraris, Maseratis, and Lamborghinis. “These cars are far more about
craftsmanship, design, and culture, than motors and transmissions,” he explains.
“You can’t make one in your garage.”
Hyman sums up his take on muscle car values in one word: “Insanity.” “I think it
has been very creatively and ingeniously planned out,” he says. “What you see
there (at Barrett-Jackson) is a phenomenon, but it wasn’t by accident. It’s
cool, it’s fun, but you have people buying cars who don’t know what they’re
buying, why they’re buying, or why they’re paying what they’re paying. Once the
correction occurs–and it will–they’re gone. And that’s not good for the hobby.”
Hyman has no problem with people spending money to own cars they love if they
take the time to educate themselves about the cars and the market. “What scares
me is they don’t have a clue,” he says of buyers who get into bidding wars just
because the cars are on television. He draws a parallel to all the people who
suddenly became stock market investors during the dot-com hysteria.
“It’s a fad, a blip,” he cautions. “If everybody doing it was a car guy and
really into it, I’d say the market was really good for that stuff. Lots of
people with lots of money who are uneducated in cars are being spoon-fed muscle
cars.” Hyman feels a market correction is coming, but says it is still too soon
to predict when.
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