Class wars are not a new concept in the world of cars–this extends back to when the early Cadillacs went up against the Model T.
Value then versus value now is a concept best left to stock speculators–because a high-end car from 60 years ago doesn’t build equity like a 60-year blue chip stock.
Here are five solid examples.
Jerry Sutherland
The 1947 Lincoln was an upper-level car in the late 40s. This is the kind of car a bank director would have driven in the late 40s because they were direct competition with other brands like Cadillacs and the Chrysler Imperial. Those cars are what bank directors drove back in 1947.
A ’47 Lincoln cost two to three times what an entry-level sedan cost in 1947 but now you can find a nice 1947 Lincoln four-door for under 20K. Try finding a decent ’57 Chevy two-door post for under 20K.
The second example is the 1962 Imperial. These cars were good enough for Mr. Drysdale (Jed Clampett’s banker), so they were sold to movers and shakers in ‘62.
Imperials were nearly hand-built in 1962, so their retail value was significantly higher than a ’62 Plymouth. Today a well-equipped 1962 Fury two-door hardtop will cost you a lot more than a 4-door Imperial Crown Southampton.
The third affordable classic is the 1964 Thunderbird. Their nickname is ‘Flairbird’–they followed the spectacular ‘Bullet-bird’ era, so they needed a cool tag.
These T-birds are easy to find and they have reasonable buy-in costs. They weren’t cheap in 1964, but 60 years later they’ve gone against the inflationary spiral. A ’64 T-bird is the perfect freeway warrior because they were built for it—that’s an asset at 80 miles per hour. The best part is you’ll do it in comfort and style.
The fourth affordable classic luxury car is the 1966 Cadillac convertible. These big roofless monsters don’t have the same curb appeal as the iconic ’59 Caddy convertible, but that doesn’t make them boring—like a 2024 SUV. The ’66 Caddy falls into the same category as most big convertibles from the mid-60s to the mid-70s—cool and affordable.
They were very much a niche market for Caddy buyers in 1966 because most Caddy guys liked a fixed roof far more than a convertible roof. The convertible sales numbers (just over 19,000) reflect this attitude, because they sold almost 50,000 Chevy convertibles in 1966. That makes a ’66 Cadillac convertible rare and budget-friendly.
The fifth affordable classic luxury car comes from the late 1970s in the form of the ’78 Toronado. The Oldsmobile Toronado debuted in 1966, and those early versions have more value, but the ’78 was a refined, smog-era version of the same model.
Good examples of the ’78 Toronado are relatively easy to find plus they’re not a bank balance killer because they come from the disco era—an era that hasn’t been at the top of the collectible list. That’s changing because 70s iron is starting to climb but you’ll still pick up a ’78 Toronado for a fraction of the price of a ’69 Camaro.
Does this make you want to buy any of these five cars? Probably not—cars like this are more suitable for Guinness beer guys than Coors light…an acquired taste.
Jerry Sutherland
