I believe this was a case of, somebody wanted one of these very badly, and this was the nicest one in the world. Those early Northstars were not exactly LS1 reliable/cheap to maintain. And at the end of the day its a FWD car. ... View more

Very cool John. Interested in how your study isolated color as a factor. Were you able to account for other contributing factors like body style, transmission, condition, options (limited slip), service history? I assume it’s Red for Ferraris btw. ... View more

I recall one at Norwalk Ford in CT, that sat for 2 years on the showroom floor at the ~150K sticker.  Grey with the Grey stripes.  These came out during a pretty bad recession, there were certainly deals to be had for people with the foresight. ... View more

Early 4.3 Vantages have certainly bottomed out.  I saw a nice 07 who's only "flaw" was 77k well maintained miles, go for 29k from a dealer.  Steal.  Even if you needed to put a clutch in it at the 5-6k dealer price, you'd still be in the black.  BUT, keep in mind if you pay more for a low mileage example, you will still probably be saddled with that expense eventually.  Clutches on these cars had a very high/short engagement point, and lots of owner unwittingly ride these clutches into an early grave.  I think they are amazing cars though, and (for an exotic), about as reliable as it gets short of a 911.  They've got a hood, so you can work on them.  Parts are available and can be cross referenced to equivalent Ford/Volvo/Jag parts so save money.  I bid too low on that one that went for 29, and I regret it every day. ... View more

The other thing with the Solstice coupe in question, that really helps its price, is the rarity of one in GXP trim, particularly with the manual transmission.  I love reading these studies, but it would really be interesting to look at these cars in a "market-neutral" way, by adjusting for factors like overall scarcity, livability, maintenance costs, etc.  I think of all of them, the M3 and 911 are the best representation of purely coupe vs convertible, with really all else being equal. ... View more

Another thing affecting the GTS vs RT/10 values, is that unlike the RT/10, the GTS is a car you can actually almost live with.  Many "modern classics" are still being bought with the intention of being driven regularly. ... View more

Porsche got ahead of this when they decided the hard-top Cayman would carry a premium over the soft-top Boxster back in 2006. ... View more

Edit: Sure enough, one quick and dirty photoshop later and I like it.  It's the metal/black roof line that's really accentuating the roof line at the driver's head.     ... View more

That roof line just doesn't look right.  They either need more rake on the windshield or less follow through into the rear.  Gotta fix that "bump" look and get closer to Aston Martin / Jaguar shape.  Also, I'd hope the production model would be all body color roof and pillars. ... View more

Looks like 25-30K is the real number on these, and that's not even pristine condition. So like I said, I'll take 2 at 15K 😉 ... View more

Nice read. Though if you find me a cherry LX 5.0 Notchback 5 spd for 15k I’ll buy 2. I think that was a couple years ago prices. I recall a perfect untouched one was on eBay out of the Mass. area a few years ago and sold for over 15k. You’re a cheap heads and intake package away from a 300hp, sub 3000 lbs car. It’s just too tempting to leave them stock.  ... View more