Storm before the quiet

I'm going away for a while; There's going to be a lot of vehicle driving, booze drinking, (attempted) womanizing and most importantly, head clearing.

Before my absence, i'd like to expand on an idea that's been rolling around in my brain for awhile. There's a lot of shake-up happing in the automotive market and GM, for one, is cancelling most of their lower production, higher performance vehicle lines and options. It's occurred to me that historically, there is a distinct group of vehicles that have retained their worth- cars that people love to own and collect and restore and covet. This trend is easier to identify in older cars, because they're the ones that are still around, but there's new cars like this too- Not necessarily, "the next classics," but more like cars that will still be maintain their value after the first few years of hard depreciation, because people will always want them, or parts from/for them. These are the kind of cars i picture:

(keep in mind, this list excludes sports cars which will always have enthusiast followings)


300C (Hemi version)
Jeep Wrangler (w/ manual trans)
Jeep Charokee (w/ manual trans)
04 - 06 Pontiac GTO (w/ manual trans)
G8 GXP (w/ manual trans)
First Gen Cadillac CTS-V (w/ manual trans)
I'd like to mention one sports car: 04 to 06 pontiac GTO. I LOVE this car and am torn about not having bought it new... it was a great deal then, but now i can get a three year old 400HP V8, rear wheel drive coupe with a 6spd for $15K-ish, depending on the mileage.

There seems to be a pattern... It has to be something people love, a manual transmission is key, if it's available, because it adds mechanical reliability and reduces maintenance cost, while adding appeal to enthusiasts. Speaking of which, being easy to work on is also important, so that normally lends itself to a font engine, rear wheel drive. surprisingly, AND THIS IS KEY, the domestics have a distinct advantage here in that replacement parts are WAY cheaper compared to foreign cars and typically feature an overall reduced complexity compared to your BMWs and Mercedes and Audis. Also, there had to be enough production that spare and aftermarket parts will be available but ideally not so many copies built that every street has one. Hot-engined, RWD American sedans and coupes.... These seem to be the key here.

On the other hand, it seems everyone wants to build more "disposable" models... the (dare i say) Grand Ams, and PT cruisers and Ford Focuses... No one really loves those cars (unless they think their PT cruiser is cute and they like to put wood paneling decals on it...)

Of course there are compacts that i love and desire...
Scion tC (W/ manual trans)
Jetta GLI
Mini Cooper S
First Gen SRT-4

These are great! But they don't feel like the kind of car you would want to own 15 years later with their high-strung engines and over worked gear boxes. They're fast and efficient, like Tupperware crates, where the GXP would be a fine wooden chest, ya know?