Posted by Brad Shultz on Friday, November 15, 2002 at 2:47AM :
In Reply to: I can't resist any longer. posted by J Henry on Friday, November 15, 2002 at 0:54AM :
Todd listed some annecdotal studies that prices were weaker, and if we logged all the "reserve not met" on ebay we'd have many trucks unsold. If one thinks Power Wagons haven't softened up, look at the $2000 PW in Co that Higgins bought a few weeks ago - it was at least fair at the $2500 that failed.
So someone didn't care for Wilson's analysis, and baited Wilson into all sorts of contorted discussions. His analysis is still unchallenged. Someone attempted to explain "econ 101" in a manner consistant with Enron still being worth $200.
Wilson was right, the classic car market is softening daily as disposable income becomes scarcer, but here are some other limiters not suggested by Wilson:
1) stock market sell down is the anti wealth effect that offsets the market run up wealth effect.
2) Power Wagon romantics are ageing themselves out of the market. I really apreciate a 70 year old man that can spoon his own tire, but time always moves on. There is a 20 - 30 year lag between a car's heyday and its peak early collectibility. We've seen this with Chevelles and Mustangs and Chargers; when the guys that drove them and did whatever to their first girlfriend in them reach their prime earning years (and cleared a few rugrats outta their house) they can focus this disposable income on their long gone youth. Once a car hits this romantic spike, it can actually deflate for many years (of course the special cars will eventually hold up).
3) Unless the PW gets special overseas attention like the Vette did in inflationary Japan of 20 years ago, Dollar devaluation will deflate them.
4) Anyone thought about the effects of a devalued Dollar in a service economy? Its inflation. Anyone thought about what inflation will do to a 5% prime thats dragging our economy along? Bye bye.
I'm also inclined to lament the gentrification of a work truck right along with Wilson, and I encourage Wilson to wait for his baby (I bet he didn't marry the first girl he porked). While I'm not a true Dodge guy (I just like PWs), I admire an old school enthusiasm and selfreliance in the Dodge guys consistant with Wilson's attitude, and I'm suspicious that all the gentrified PWs run counter to most things I admire in the breed of Dodge geeks (you know, the good kind of geek). I post to compensate for the Dog pile that Wilson found himself under (I suspect a similar motivation as HenryJ), but the real klinker is that the adversarial posts suffered by Wilson were attacking a position the attacker perverted from Wilson's.
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