Millennials, recently identified by Time magazine as a “disruptive generation” for their tendency to change the course of traditional institutions, are making their way into the collector and classic car market and their likes and interests are reflected in the rise of a new generation of collector and classic cars.
In an effort to continue to bring in younger enthusiasts into the hobby, ClassicCars.com will host its inaugural Future Classics Car Show during Scottsdale Auction week next month.
“Young people are a key part of the future of the classic car hobby,” said Roger Falcione, ClassicCars.com chief executive. “As a company we are committed to spreading the passion for classic vehicles across all the generations and we felt strongly that an event designed to connect younger car enthusiasts with classic and collector cars was an important addition to the auctions and events taking place this January in Scottsdale.
1993 Nissan 240SX S13“We decided to focus on celebrating cars from the late 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s as a natural fit for this audience,” he added of the cars eligible to be judged at the show.
Future Classics is scheduled from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. January 25 at High Street, an upscale shopping and entertainment district just 5 miles from WestWord of Scottsdale, the location of the 45th Barrett-Jackson collector car auction in Arizona.
The show is being supported by Car Street Journal, a Scottsdale-based online magazine that caters to the millennial automotive enthusiast.
“CSJ wants to help connect millennials with the classic and collector car hobby,” said Javier Lorenzo, publisher of Car Street Journal. “We also want to support the car community in Arizona by having a big show in a unique location while supporting a great cause — the American Red Cross.”
1991 Mazda Miata made to look like it drove out of an 8-bit game“Every generation has its love affair with the cars it grew up with — but millennials could argue that they were a little ‘ripped off.’ They don’t have the tail fins of the ’50’s, the flashy styling of the ’60’s, or the muscle cars of the ’70’s,” added Greg Childs of NICOclub, the web’s largest resource for Nissan, Infiniti and Datsun owners and a supporter of the Future Classic Car Show.
“To them,” Childs continued, “cars are generally viewed as transportation, so they’ve been largely apathetic toward the car scene.
“The team at NICOclub thinks it’s enormously important to highlight the appeal and collectability of cars built in the ’80s and ’90s. We’re hoping to get millennials excited about preservation, restoration and the collection of these ‘future classics’ to keep the spark of enthusiasm alive for the next generations.”
The Future Classics Car Show will feature cars produced during the 1975-1999 model years. Judges will award prizes in several categories, including imports, European, and domestic vehicles. There also will be a special class for select 2000-2005 models invited to the show. Other award categories include the featured marque — Nissan and Datsun — as well as Diamond in the Rough, and Car Club Participation.
1995 Nissan 240SX S14One of those car clubs slated to participate is Grand Canyon State Mustangs. Club president John Martoccia will celebrate his 24th birthday at the show by letting youngsters paint on his car with washable temporary paint.
Special guest Brian McCann will show his Nissan 350Z and Chrysler 300. McCann’s 350Z has been featured on Classic Car News as a SEMA seen, and was featured as the September 2015 Ride of the Month for Car Street Journal.
Barrett-Jackson and Russo and Steele will offer ticket giveaways at the show.
Confirmed vendors at the show include Hagerty, Dyno-comp, UTI Technical School and San Tan Ford.
For updates and more information on the show, visit ClassicCars.com or follow ClassicCars.com on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
70’s, 80’s and 90’s? Pretty slim pickings for future classics from those years. But fads are funny things. You never know. Some day people may really dig those landau roofs and opera windows.
I already dig some of those Landau Roofs and opera windows. Throw in a matching set of soft white coach/opera lamps and you’ve got yourself a beautiful American luxury sedan! Don’t forget, lot’s of things happened esp. in the 70’s. The U.S. was forced to start building what Cadillac termed, “International Size ” cars. FoMoCo called them precision size. And they were some of the most pretty and intricate looking sedans produced, that would now fit comfortably on European roads. Seville, Versailles, Le Baron? C’mon! They’re beautiful head turning AND affordable!
Third Generation F-bodies (Camaros and Firebirds) are awesome (not fast… but still cool) and there aren’t many nice ones out there. Fox-body Mustangs, Porsche 928s, 80′-90’s Supras, etc all cool future collectibles.