Upside? of skewed Imperial values

["Greg and Russell" <65luxuryliner@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello Everyone,
Hope all had a great day today!  I've read all the threads about the skewed
Imperial values and I agree with what has been said thus far.  It boggles my
mind the values of these cars have not soared into the stratosphere given
the low production numbers and how incredibly well built they were.  I have
a pristine example of Motor Trend's Car of The Year for 1966, an Olds
Toronado that should easily be in the 20k-30K price range given its
engineering, styling, power and "muscle car look".  Yet it languishes in the
mid to low teens for one in absolutely mint condition.  I shall never
understand why a Superbird or a '57 Chevy (about 700,000 of the latter were
probably made!) can command ridiculous prices in the market and something as
rare and well built as an Imperial wallows in the financial mud of low
values.

But the upside to these low values is that we are able to afford these rare
gems at all.  I would love to own many cars whose values are steadily
rising. I doubt one of them shall ever sit in my garage.  But I like others
(like Neal Herman's '72 boattailed Riviera) whose prices are more realistic.
I can certainly see ownership on the horizon for this as well as another one
or two Imperials.  I guess I look at a glass as half full rather than half
empty...I don't know.  But I see these values remaining where they are now
for some time to come.  In that case let's buy what we can now and enjoy our
ownership.  Afterall, if they were priced at what they should be, many of us
would only be dreaming of owning one!

Greg McDonnell
'65 Imperial Crown convert. (under restoration)

----- Original Message -----
From: "Neal Herman" <chrycordoba@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, December 25, 2002 11:46 AM
Subject: IML: Skewed values of Imperials


> Observing people's reactions to my cars and what they think they are
worth,
> it appears to me to be a result of what they're familiar with.  Many more
> people could afford Chevys and Fords through the years than could afford
> Imperials or Cadillacs.  If they later have an interest in old cars, I
> think they tend to consider why, and realize that they want cars that they
> grew up with in the simpler times of the Eisenhower or Kennedy/Johnson
era.
> Since daddy had a Chevy, that's what they seek, no matter what the cost.
> Since Mr./Ms. Collector's first car was a Mustang, that's what they want.
> If daddy had an Imperial, then that may be what they'd try to find.  Fewer
> people owned Imperials then, so fewer want them now - a simple case of
> supply & demand.  I have a friend whose family owned what I half-kiddingly
> call low-rent grandma-mobiles: Valiant, Dart, Fury 4-door post sedans with
> few options.  He now can afford Imperials, but he gravitates toward these
> plain-Janes.  Even when he was finally persuaded to get a gorgeous
> low-mileage '61 New Yorker, he's now decided that he's not comfortable
with
> it (too big, too many options to go wrong - even though they don't), so
> it'll be the first to go when he finds the next '61 Dodge Seneca (a study
> in ugly, IMHO!)
>
> The guy from whom I bought the Aquitania is another case in point.  He
> inherited the Imperial from a very close friend, but when he had the
> opportunity to acquire his parents' '57 Chevy that he grew up with and
took
> trips in, the Imperial was put on the block so he could get and restore
the
> Bel Air.  At the time, this concept mystified me, but I understand better
> now.
>
> Those '50s families who had Chevys and Fords likely one day dreamed of the
> day they could move up, and the perceived pinnacle of status was the
> Cadillac, not the Imperial, alas.  The current crop of collectors remember
> this, and even though they may finally have that Bel Air, what more
obvious
> statement to say "I've arrived!" than to buy a '59 Cadillac, the '50s
> symbol of excess.  Nowadays, a pristine Eldorado would go for twice as
much
> as a comparable Imperial convertible, LeBaron, Continental or even post
'57
> T-bird.
>
> Those who owned a Mustang in high school, college, or shortly afterward
may
> have also wanted a Super Bird or Trans Am or something of that (icky)
> muscle car ilk.  An Imperial is just some big car the country club
> Establishment owned that the boomer had to maneuver past to see the Hemi
> Orange 'cuda.  Unfortunately, I don't ever see that a late '60s or newer
> Imperial will ever attain the price levels commanded by the muscle cars.
> If there's any good news in that, at least Eldorados, Lincolns, Mark
> III/IVs, Electras, Toronados, and even my boattail Riviera aren't going to
> do much if any better.
>
> I was approached last weekend by a maintenance worker for the apartment
> building where I garage my Imperial and Riviera.  He had never seen the
> Imperial uncovered, and asked what it was worth.  I told him
realistically,
> maybe $10,000, and, God willing, $15,000 when it's all restored with new
> interior, etc.  He was flabbergasted that it wasn't the $40,000 that he
> thought.  If someone offered me $40,000, I'd probably be the only one in
> history to MAKE money on an Imperial!
>
> People like the seller on eBay with the '55 Imperial Newport hear from
> folks like the guy in my garage, and get this inflated opinion that their
> Imperial, or Lincoln or Buick Limited is worth beaucoup bucks.  "Since
it's
> more luxurious and exclusive than a Chevy Bel Air, and people tell me I
> should get $40,000, then it MUST be worth that."  Well, if it were a
> Cadillac, maybe, but it's not.  I wish things would change, because each
of
> these three are fine, unique cars, but I don't see that ever happening, at
> least for many years.
>
> Hoping to be proven wrong, have a Merry Chrysler and an Imperial New Year,
> everyone!!
>
> Neal Herman
> 1959 Imperial Crown 4-door Southampton "Aquitania", an acknowledged
> loss-leader, and I DON'T CARE!!
> 1972 Buick Riviera "Bianca d'Azur", a pristine, well-maintained original
> which I might break even on, if I ever sell her
> 1983 Chrysler Cordoba "Christine", which will never be a collectible, but
> will be an interesting nostalgic Reagan-era car in all her plastic glory
>
>
>