Some cars like the prowler become instant classics. We already know that.

Then there are classics that were great cars but not well known. People saw them on the road and loved the looks but never ran out and bought one (due to various reasons). Years later they say "I always wanted one of those... I think I will buy one". I think our cars fall into that category.

The crossfire is a great car and one of the best kept secrets. Anybody that drives one knows that! I think it is just a matter of time before the secret gets out. The crossfire may not be a classic now... but I think it will start to get recognized as one soon enough. And since our cars are slowly dissapearing that will create an even bigger buzz! Just my prediction!

 

It may someday become a classic but we probably won't be alive by then. Meanwhile, I just keep watching the resale values go lower and lower and lower.

 

Our cars are special interest cars, no more. A Duesenberg is a classic.

 

I have heard that reasoning for the past 5 years "we probably won't be alive". I know most people in this forum are 50+ and 60+ years old and maybe that is true in your case. But I am almost 37 so chances are I will be 60 by the time my car is 30 years old. I plan on being alive way past 60 years old! And I will never sell my crossfire for as long as I live....

As for the resale values... I have noticed they are coming back up.

 

Special interest cars usually become classics.

Some people say the crossfire will never be a sought after car because it was a failure from the start. They say nobody wanted them new so they would never be valuable. But I can think of a lot of failed cars over the years that I would love to have in my garage.

A Duesenberg may be a classic but that is not something I care to own and I will never go out and buy one.

 

I think it is. The economy has kept prices low, so that cannot be judged as a barometer of it's classicness. (is that a word ) When I saw a 70 Roadrunner Hemi go for just a little over 100K on the B-J Auction the other day, it really hit home to me how depressed this overall market is. Those were 250K cars 5 years ago.

Every single time I drive my Crossie, people come up to me and remark what a great looking car it is. Some then ask, what is it? LOL. When they walk right by a BMW M5 and a Porsche Cayman S to talk to me, that speaks volumes about our wonderful cars. Just my $.02.

 

I wish I had the bucks to buy a 30s Duesie. In the meantime I'm just enjoying my two Crossfires and my A6 2.7T. Whether they are classic or not, does not matter to me. Increases in value don't matter to me. I love the styling and have the best of both worlds -- a two seater with a stick and a kick-butt supercharged coupe. And they are the best XF color: graphite metallic!!

Similar threads about Bricklins, DeLoreans, etc have been discussed on this forum ad nauseum.

 

Whether the car was a success or failure at the time of sale does not necessarily translate into future desireability. Case in point, Edsel rag top. I'm sure many here are familiar with the lack of success of this car back in the 50's.

Edsel Corsair for sale | Hemmings Motor News

 

The Crossfire might not be old enough to be a classic but it does already does belong part of automotive history.

The Crossfire belongs to a unique segment of cars known as halo cars. These cars were created in the roaring 2000's as beautiful playthings for those who could afford them and provided youngsters with a new wave of dream cars to pine over.

Said cars include but are not limited to:

our Crossfires
SSR pickup
Ford Thunderbird
(^my holy triumvirate)

Ford GT
Honda S2000
Cadillac XLR
Solstice/SKY
Pontiac GTO
Acura NSX
BMW Z8

They may not all be held in the same regards compared to each other but they are remeniscent of a time when you could buy something extravogant.

 

Let me throw in 2 cents, here. The Crossfire turns heads so much so that many people have to go out of their way to comment. When I first started driving mine around the small communities here, people were shouting out their car windows, hollering from the streets, etc. One fella, in a small community where I work, said: "We just don't drive cars like that around here."

So, IMO, if you have a mint condition Crossfire, in 2030, it will be a classic...

 

In the past year, prices have already leveled off and are increasing. If you don't belive me talk to soome of the people that unloaded them at about 10 grand and are now paying more to buy back in. As with most cars 50% - 60% of the depreciation was in the first 5 years. Young people are discovering them more and more.

 

Agree. The same happens to me when I take my car to car shows. The reason many don't know about the Crossfire is just the poor marketing job by DC. But, do people like the car? You bet.

 

According to the "Classic Car Club of America" a car must be 20 to 40 years old to be considered a classic. So it looks like we're going to have to wait some time before it can even be "officially" recognized as a Classic.
But if you go to their websight,

http://www.classiccarclub.org/grand_...assic_car.html

You will see that the Crossfire does fall under some of the criteria it takes to be considered a Classic.

I think we have an even better chance at being recognized by "The Milestone Car Society".

Auto Memories Auto Literature, car books items in Milestone Cars store on eBay!

Currently, their list of "Milestone Vehicles" only includes cars built up to 1970. Maybe with a little friendly pursuasion, they may be convinced to add some more modern vehicles to their collection in the next decade or so.

 

When I first bought mine back in 2005 I was getting compliments. I would guess it was back in 2007 I had someone yell at me with their thumbs up. I even had a guy running a gas station counter come out and ask for a tour of the car. He thought it had a hemi!

 

I haven't had any luck showing the cars so far... It's muscle cars/rat rods around here. One of the reasons is, no one knows anything about them. So, I am having the advertising guys at my work do a couple of posters for me with the history. I will display it with the cars next year and see if that helps. The younger guys know what they are, but the old guys just walk on by...
Now, at the race track, whole different story. In the pits, they are surrounded most of the time after a run. I haven't been back this year, still working on the car, but hope to get in the last week this year if everything goes OK... So, just depends on your location, and interests of the car crowd...

 

I bought two instant collector cars. The first is my 2004 MC40 Mini Cooper. I have no. 289 of one thousand. The other is my RED Crossfire SE roadster. It was new in the wrap and cost me $25,000. .It Has seen no wrench but mine. It was and is the most beautiful car I have seen. Not for sale. Gary

 

Two points about the Edsel convertible.....There weren't many produced, and a lot of those went to the crusher.......Studebakers from the 40s...same story.

 

Stoddard and the team's great design of the Crossfire made it an instant classic. Years from now it will be recorded as a legend in the automotive history books.

 

"Classic" is the most over, and mis used word in the entire automotive vernacular. Now, if you wanted to say that our cars have some styling characteristics of a few (true) Classics, then I'm on board with ya'. Yet and still, most cars remain (as ours) "special interest".


Classic: Sadly today, the term "Classic Automobile" as commonly and broadly used, has as many different definitions as there are letters in the term. Many Government bodies define the term as; "any car older than 25 years". Auto journalists and hobbyists apply the term loosely to almost any old car they personally favor. At one time, an attempt to compile and release an "Official" list of "Classic Cars" was started. The Milestone Car Society was formed to define a list of cars that represented milestones along the path of automotive design and engineering over time. From that list the truly "Classic" cars would be selected. Sadly that effort resulted in a failed attempt. So today we have no "Official List" of truly Classic Cars (as would be defined by the dictionary definition of the word; "of ageless appearance and lasting beauty".)
Here we well use the word "Classic" as it would be applied and as it is defined in most dictionaries: ie...."of ageless appearance and lasting beauty". In effect, if you had never seen the car before, and you saw it for the first time today, it would strike you as a beautiful design.
I believe that the truth is, most automotive enthusiasts hold the above definition in their mind anyway. They know that all cars over twenty-five years of age are simply old cars...certainly not "Classic Cars". Classic cars to them represent the pinnacle of automobile styling and design, and are of ageless and lasting beauty.


Special Interest: Automobiles that fall into this category are supported by a large group of people that gather around the specific model for some special interest in it. This can range from a special interest in competition, to a special interest in the company or person that designed or built the car. (special interest cars are collectible, usually however by a more limited group of people)

 

I LOVE the fact that values are down and going lower (or so it seems) cause I want an SRT in the Spring!

I say the car is a Classic already.... based on people's reaction to it.