By nature of production numbers, cost, and cultural significance, some collector cars are just more popular than others. We can measure popularity through insurance and quote activity, and it’s interesting to see not just which vehicles are popular, but who they’re popular with.
The most straightforward way to divvy up the collector car-buying public is by age demographics, and people ask us all the time what younger enthusiasts are interested in. We looked at some of the classic car market’s most popular makes and models, from Porsche 911 to Jeep CJ, and came up with the chart below to show how they stack up with younger buyers compared to the market as a whole.
“Young” in this instance probably includes a few too many gray hairs, but the 60-and-under cohort (those born after 1965, the start of Gen X) of buyers makes up 64% of buyer interest across all vehicles, and this share is growing. Their preferences, then, have implications for the market’s future. Their 64% share is shown in the middle line through the graph. Cars measuring above it skew toward younger buyers; those measuring below it skew toward older buyers.
When it comes to their interests in long-running popular makes and models, there are some wider trends and some surprises. In general, the newer the vehicles get, the more popular they are with younger buyers. For example, a 2016–24 Camaro has a younger fan base than the first-gen 1967–69 version. But this trend is by no means universal. Sticking with the Camaro for a moment, the version that skews the youngest is the third generation. With a 1982–92 build date and an average condition #2 (“excellent”) value of over $23K, it’s neither the newest nor the cheapest version of Chevy’s pony car. There are some odd exceptions like this throughout the chart.
With Jeeps, the very early CJ-2A and CJ-3 have more of a military connection, so they skew older. The more usable ones from the CJ-5 and later skew a lot younger, especially the early Wranglers. Mustangs, meanwhile, show noticeable variability. The 1965–68 cars are plentiful, relatively affordable, and embedded in American culture, so they skew young for a car of that era. The car that skews the youngest of all is the later Fox-body built from 1987 to ’93, which isn’t shocking, but the Mustang that skews the oldest is the fairly new 2005–14 model, which is a bit curious.
There are interesting differences between make and model, too. Compared to all the other vehicles, Corvette skews the oldest by far. Even the fast and affordable newer ones like the C5 (1997–2004) and C6 (2005–13) skew older. The C2 has the oldest fan base on the whole chart, but this shouldn’t be too surprising given its age as well as the fact that it’s the most expensive generation of Corvette, with an average #2 value of $212K and a median value of over $100K. That said, 911s are expensive as well, and while most versions of the Porsche skew older than the market average, it skews noticeably younger than the typically more attainable Vette, almost across the board.
So, not every older car is more popular with the oldest enthusiasts, and not every newer car is more popular with younger ones. And while data like this can’t predict the future, it does suggest which vehicles will remain the most relevant in the market in the years to come.