SOME RARE `COLLECTIBLE' CARS ARE ALMOST WORTHLESS TODAY
In the world of vintage cars, rare and desirable and valuable so often go together — but they don't always. There are, in fact, a lot of rarely seen models of vehicle out there that very few people are rushing to put in their garage. That depressed demand means the enthusiasts that do want certain vehicles likely won't have to pay a lot for them. We've rounded up eight examples, and while we certainly could have found a lot more, we think there are some interesting stories behind those on our list.
1971-80 FORD PINTO ($5,000-$10,000)
Ralph Nader famously savaged the Chevrolet Corvair, but his American Museum of Tort Law in Connecticut contains a Pinto. Lee Iacocca, chief of Ford at the time, mandated that the Pinto couldn't weigh more than 2,000 pounds (907 kg) nor cost more than $2,000 (it started at $1,919).
According to lawsuits, weight and cost were apparently the reasons why the fuel tank wasn't protected by a baffle, and in a rear-end crash, it could rupture against the differential bolts, with any spark igniting the gasoline. Ford later modified the design, and retrofitted the cars it had already sold.
About three million Pintos were built, but most succumbed to rust, or, as often happens with inexpensive models, to owners replacing rather than fixing an aging one.
1971-77 CHEVROLET VEGA ($2,500-$10,000)
This little Chevy had considerable issues with the tinworm, and some dealers reported their Vegas were rusting right on the showroom floor. It was designed to compete with tiny-footprint, lower-priced competitors like the Beetle.
The Vega started at $2,090 and featured a weight-saving four-cylinder aluminum engine and rearwheel drive. In addition to rust — a new six-stage rustproofing system didn't work as well as expected — the Vega's new engine had problems with overheating and oil consumption. The throttle could stick open, and the rear axle shafts could loosen. Most of those problems were fixed in the first couple of years, and GM went on to sell some two million copies. Body styles included a Kammbackstyle station wagon that tends to be a bit more popular with collectors.
1981-89 PLYMOUTH RELIANT AND DODGE ARIES ($500-$5,000)
There's not a lot of collector love for these twins that essentially saved Chrysler, although the station wagons and related Dodge 400 convertible tend to do just a bit better.
The automaker was in serious trouble when Iacocca, freshly fired from Ford, arrived in 1978 to head it up, and he negotiated a controversial Us$1.5-billion loan guarantee from the U.S. government to prevent it from closing down.
The new “K-car” platform under the 1981 Reliant and Aries was front-wheel drive; offered room enough for up to six people; and was driven by a Chrysler-built 2.2L four-cylinder, or optional 2.6L sourced from Mitsubishi, with prices starting just under $6,000.
Chrysler paid back the loan seven years early on the strength of the K-cars, but they've all but disappeared since.
1982-88 CADILLAC CIMARRON ($1,200-$2,000)
Cadillac made its name with big, luxurious models, but buyers were looking at smaller, sportier models from Audi and BMW, and General Motors figured downsizing would do the trick. The problem was that “develop a new model” actually boiled down to “rebadge a Chevy Cavalier.”
It was the brand's first four-cylinder since 1914, initially sharing the Cavalier's 1.8L engine. For 1983, it came with a 2.0L, and later, a V6. It was branded the “Cimarron by Cadillac,” and advertised as “a new kind of Cadillac for a new kind of Cadillac owner.”
It cost $12,181 but surprisingly, almost 26,000 people bought the Cimarron that year, and annual sales hovered around 20,000 copies until its final two years.
1997-2001 CADILLAC CATERA ($1,200-$2,800)
If the Cimarron was the Cadillac that shouldn't have been, the Catera was the one that, at least in theory, should have done better. This blandly styled sedan was basically badge-engineered, but it was based on the rear-wheel-drive Opel Omega, built in Germany. Its British-built 200-horsepower V6 ultimately proved troublesome, but its Euro-style steering and handling were very taut and satisfying for a domestic car of that era.
About 95,000 cars were built over the Catera's short lifespan.
1978-83 AMC CONCORD ($1,500-$7,000)
AMC — American Motors Corporation — made some quirky cars in the 1970s, including the Gremlin and Pacer, that are gradually increasing in value thanks to attention from oddball-car fans.
But there still isn't a lot of love for the Concord, which replaced the Hornet in the Wisconsin-based automaker's lineup. The two were similar, but the Concord was more upscale. It came as a sedan with two or four doors, a hatchback, and as a wagon, and a V8 was offered. It started at $3,750 and its first year was its best, at 121,000 sold. It was also briefly built at AMC'S Canadian plant in Brampton, Ont.
1976-87 CHEVROLET CHEVETTE ($500-$2,000)
People who remember the Chevette do so with either a smile or a shudder. Mine's a smile, having been given a salvaged one back in the day.
It couldn't be licensed, and so I hooned that bulletproof little thing in my rural back field for years. Chevy intended it as an import-fighter, and in 1980, its best year, it sold almost 450,000 copies.
The regular 1976 version was $3,098, but if you really wanted to save some cash, you got the $2,899 Scooter, which was so stripped down that it didn't have a back seat. One was added a year later, but you could still delete it.
1984-87 HYUNDAI PONY ($500-$2,000)
While you'll sometimes see high prices for time-capsule-perfect examples, you can still get into a Pony for considerably less than the $5,900 it cost when new. It was the first car in Canada from a Korean automaker.
Its Mitsubishi-supplied 70-hp engine was slower than pokey, driving the rear wheels. But its ultralow price made it an instant hit, and in 1985, it was the bestselling car in Canada.