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10 surprising collectible cars of tomorrow
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Predicting the future of the collectible car market is a tricky game. Some cars regularly make everyone's list of future classics, but those are no-brainers. Obscenely expensive supercars, beautifully designed luxury coupes, and beloved sports cars are easy picks—no one will be shocked when the Scion FR-S and Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG are sought after decades from now. Figuring out which ho-hum family cars, sales failures, and throwaway compacts will be loved makes for fun conversation. Nobody who bought a Ford Fairlane in 1966 thought it would one day be highly prized. The same goes for the Impala, Microbus, Datsun 510, and many other offbeat collector cars. With this in mind we've sifted through the past 20 years of mainstream production cars in an attempt to pinpoint the potentially valuable vehicles that might be affordable today—or in your garage right now. What are the factors we're using to make our picks? Novelty, rarity, historical significance, and, most important, the potential for nostalgia.
Hummer H2
Duesenbergs, El Caminos, and the Model T are emblems of their era. The Hummer H2 also falls squarely into that category. Little more than a butched-up Chevy Tahoe, the H2 was loved and hated in equal measure. The military-themed knockoff was a hit with individuals with a type A personality and a need for some conspicuous consumption. A huge tax loophole at the time made it a corporate write-off for everyone from hip-hop stars to construction bosses. When the bottom fell out of the economy in 2008 and green motoring became popular, the 8-mpg Hummer was vilified, becoming a poster child for everything wrong with GM and the decade. Just as suicide-door Continentals and fin-tail Cadillacs embodied the 1960s, nothing says 2000s like a bright red Hummer H2.
Cadillac Eldorado
There is something about a Cadillac, especially the big two-door personal luxury cars. The Eldorado lived a nice long life before it was put out to pasture in 2002, and the final version was a beauty: a 300-hp Northstar V-8, crisp, tuxedo-like styling, and a high-tech but handsome interior that just didn't click with consumers more interested in SUVs. Its timeless styling and low production numbers will likely make it a classic.
Pontiac Aztek
How would a car that regularly tops lists of the ugliest vehicles ever built end up on a list of collectibles? Because of the Edsel—the previous most-hated entry is now a highly collectible classic. Call it a bizarre nostalgia for the ugly duckling. Combine aesthetic infamy with the likelihood that most examples will end up recycled into tin cans and you've got the makings of a collectible.
Second-Generation Toyota Prius
Love it or loathe it, the second-generation Prius was the car that made the hybrid market. Sales of Toyota's egg-shaped nerdmobile spiked as gas prices soared, making the Prius an automotive icon. The second generation isn't a driver's car, but it sure as heck gets good mileage. For the better part of the next decade and beyond, it set the benchmark other automakers aim for.
