Boomers driving resurgence in the classic car market

NEW YORK — Dean Avery recalls being awestruck when his mother's date picked her up in a 1965 blue fastback Mustang. Avery, 11 or 12 at the time, thought the car and its sloping back window were cool.

"I'd never seen anything like it before," he said. "It was so eye catching."

Avery, now 49, couldn't afford one until four years ago, when he bought a 1966 Mustang for his wife. Two years ago, he purchased a 1967 for himself.

Baby boomers ranging from age 40 to 58 are driving a surge in the classic car market, buying the cars they couldn't purchase when they were younger. Muscle cars such as Mustangs, GTOs and Camaros are among the automobiles propelling the market, said Craig Jackson, president of Barrett-Jackson Auction Co., in Scottsdale, Ariz., the country's largest car auction house. Sports cars and street rods are also popular.

"These cars just bring you back to your youth," said Avery, a sales manager for an industrial company who lives in San Leandro, Calif.

Many of these cars command prices well into five or even six figures. Jackson said a 1969 Camaro ZL-1 would fetch $550,000 to $750,000, up from $250,000 two years ago. A 1965 Shelby G.T.350 Mustang would command $110,000 to $120,000, up from $55,000 in 2002.

"You are seeing a lot people who worked their whole life now making age old dreams a reality," Jackson said. "People's money is doing nothing in the stock market. At least they can enjoy the cars."

Still, Jackson said most people buy vintage cars not as an investment, but for fun. He said 40 percent of buyers at his company's big annual auction in January were first-timers.

This year, sales at the auction reached $38.5 million, up 35 percent from 2003 and 13 percent from 2002.

"Classic cars are like a recreational property," said Keith Martin, publisher of Sports Car Market Magazine. "Old cars are not good for daily transport. They have no air bags, no air conditioning, terrible brakes."

The nostalgia for old cars is fueling the growth of related businesses. Last year, Hemmings Publications launched Hemmings Muscle Machines, a companion to its existing publication on collectible cars.