Cars That Evoke Emotions Top Dean's List By JIM MATEJA Published on 4/23/2005 Chicago— For love or money - or both? “Car collectors buy what they love, whether it's the car they dreamed of owning in high school or a sports car featured in their favorite movie,” said Dean Kruse, director of global marketing for Kruse International, the Auburn, Ind., auction house that specializes in collector cars. However, it's also possible to combine gratification with a little profit — or perhaps a lot of profit. Each year Kruse compiles his “Dean's List” to identify collector cars most likely to appreciate in the coming year. Kruse bases his choices on the results of the car auctions he holds nearly every week. For 2005, the Dean's List features American muscle, selected sports cars and a couple vintage machines. “All are sporty with lots of style and performance. That's where the money is today and is likely to be for several years,” Kruse said. The Dean's List 1950 Ford Custom Deluxe convertible: Ford advertised the 1950 models as “50 Ways Better” and sold 1.2 million. The same basic body design was used from 1949 through ‘51, but the “Fifty Ford” has always seemed to stand out as a milestone. It had very crisp and simple lines and the everlasting 239-cubic-inch V-8. The Custom Deluxe lineup offered chrome accessories and is considered the top model. You can get a good one for $20,000 now, a very nice one for $30,000. Expect values to rise 15 to 20 percent this year. 1959-61 Ferrari Testa Rossa Race Car: One of the world's most historically significant race cars, spectacular in absolutely all respects, the racing Testa Rossa (Testarossa starting in 1985) came with a 250-ci Le Mans V-12 engine, six Weber carburetors and 5-speed gear box. The 1959 Sebring 12 Hours was won with a variant of the 250. Very few of these hand-built, alloy-body cars were produced and now change hands for $4 million to $6 million. Values are projected to increase 15 to 25 percent this year. 1960 Volkswagen Vanagon Transporter and Microbus: Nostalgia. There are many variations of the popular “hippie generation” Vanagon popping up and selling well at sales around the country. These vehicles were quite prone to rust, but mechanically were reliable. An interesting piece of automotive history. that brings back memories of Woodstock and the summer of love, the VW Microbus is a solid investment that continues to perform well. Buy one now for $3,500 to $15,000 depending on condition. It should increase 30 percent this year. 1964 Chevrolet 409: You know you're great when someone writes a song about you - “She's real fine, my 409” (The Beach Boys). The 409-cubic-inch V-8 equipped Chevrolets became legendary on the dragstrips and ovals across the country in the early '60s. Most collectors would associate the 409 as a Super Sport option, but the 425-horsepower V-8 was offered in Biscayne and Bel Air models, too, along with some station wagons. The 409 translates to big dollars in the right car — a convertible with 4-speed manual. Prices average $30,000 to $50,000 now and should go up 30 to 40 percent this year, while a perfectly restored model could reach $100,000. 1968 Shelby Mustang GT 500 KR convertible: By shoehorning a 428-ci, V-8 into the Mustang, noted racer and car creator Carroll Shelby raised the performance bar even higher for his successful racing program in 1967. The same concept followed into the next year's model but with revised styling. Some of the aggressive lines on the GT 500 have been resurrected on the 2005 Mustang GT. Great looks never go out of style. Few “King of the Road” (KR) versions were built with the 400-h.p. V-8. Priced at $90,000 to $110,000 with some topping $150,000, they should increase in value by 15 percent this year. 1969-70 Ford Mustang Boss 429: Kruse International auctioned a '69 Boss 429 last year for a record $240,000. Investors see the Boss 429 Mustangs as “blue chip” and as they scoop them up, they're more difficult to find. Production for the 1969 and 1970 cars were 859 and 499, respectively. Current price guides top out at around $65,000, but it pushes into six figures and should rise 20 percent. 1970 Dodge Challenger convertible: Dodge responded to the Chevy Camaro and Ford Mustang with the Challenger, the sister to the Barracuda. Engine options included a 340-, 383-, 440- and the 426-ci Hemi. The 340-ci, 4-speed manual, performance version is known as the Challenger T/A, and few more than 1,000 were produced. The R/T Challenger was another performance version that included the 383-ci V-8. As with most of the high-performance Mopar muscle cars, production numbers are relatively low, especially on the high-performance convertible Challengers. An average one can be purchased for about $50,000 to $60,000. Expect values to rise 20 percent this year. 1970 Oldsmobile 442 convertible with 4-speed manual Hurst shifter: The 442 became a model in Olds lineup in 1964. Though the 442 designation originally stood for four-barrel, four-speed and dual exhausts, later models could be had with an automatic transmission. The 442 offered more luxury than most other General Motors muscle cars of the day. Convertibles were built in limited numbers, making them difficult to acquire today. At the top of the ladder was the 1970 W-30 optioned 455-ci, 375-h.p. convertible. Pay $25,000 to $30,000 for an excellent car today and see a 25 percent increase this year. 1970 Plymouth Hemi 'Cuda convertible: Ask a dyed-in-the-wool muscle-car enthusiast what the all-time, blue-chip car is, and you'll almost always get the same answer: the Hemi ‘Cuda convertible. Only 16 were produced in 1970 and nine in 1971. However, there are many fake, or “clone,” cars around the world. Even these bring a tidy sum. A real one can bring $1.5 million to $2 million now and should appreciate by 10 percent this year. 1970 Plymouth Superbird: So fast it was outlawed by NASCAR. Today, it's among the most collectible muscle cars in the world. The car represents the extreme of muscle-car styling and performance. Standard equipped cars are trading for $80,000 to $100,000, while the sky-is-the-limit for a Hemi-equipped winged warrior. Watch for a good 15 percent increase in 2005. Noted auctioneer Kruse also had a few things to say about contemporary cars. “The best new cars to collect will be the high-performance Mustangs, the Ford GT and the new Pontiac Solstice,” he said. © The Day Publishing Co., 2005 http://www.theday.com/eng/web/news/re.aspx?re=b8db3dbe-9228-472e-a242-080d120153b3&prnt=1
