I'll repeat what I said for the "comphresion" challenged.
As to my choice of "rolling stock", I made my choice on the following criteria in decending order of importance.
1. I purchased what gave me more personal enjoyment above other choices available in the market place.
2. I purchased what I thought would be more attractive to buyers when the time came to sell.
3. Possibility present of collector car status in the future.
As to collectibles, even the true collectible today, including original Cobras have gone done in value. Yes, CSX Continuations have gone down too with the market but so has everything else in the auto world. Everything.
While you can likely purchase a nice glass CSX Continuation Cobra for $75K all that means is that replica Cobras like ERAs, SPFs and the entire rest of the field of replica Cobras can be bought at half the cost of the Cobra or less.
While the initial cost of a Shelby Cobra is more compared to replicas of Cobras and while both cars will depreciate in the near term especially while their manuafactures are still making new ones available only the Shelby provides a legitimate chance of appreciating in the future and attaining collector car status to any degree for many many reasons. Like it or not.
So my thought was simple in buying a Shelby Cobra. If you can afford it why not buy and enjoy a Cobra instead of replica of one and at the same time own something that may attain collector car status in the future instead of owning something that has absolutely no chance in hell of ever appreciating.
While there will always be guys here wandering around saying "the only real cobras were in the 60's" the fact remains SAI is making Cobras again boys. Carroll Shelby says they're real Cobras, Federal Decisions have decreed the only cars that can be legitmately called "Cobras" by their manufacturer and wear the famous "Cobra" logo is a Shelby and finally SAAC which is aside from Shelby the world authority on Cobras says Continuation Cobrs are real Cobras only difference between them and the originals is the time period they were constructed. Thats good enough for me and many, many others.
Finally, for our British friends, and don't get me wrong I love the Brits, however, if not for Shelby I doubt we would all be here discussing the AC Ace. No Shelby, no Cobra.
As to collectibilty heres hows I sees it since my "rolling stock" was brought up.
Ford GT. Not yet a "collectible" but damn close. Its a speical car for many reasons. Extremly desireable. If you don't lust after a FGT check your pulse, your likely dead. Only 4000 were built. 15% already destroyed/salvaged. Only about 3000 remain in this country. The rest in Europe and Canada. The attrition rate of these cars is very high as there are many guys with more money then brains that buy these cars and then take them out and go way too fast and destroy them. The FGT is viciously fast car. This phenomenon sadly happens over and over again each year with this car. In the future this car, the survivors at least, have a legitmate shot of attaining real collector status.
Ford GT collectibility forecast. Good.
CSX Continuation Series Cobras. Fact is they are more desirable to most then replicas of Cobras as they are "Cobras" and not replicas thereof. Fact. As to collector status right now..no. They are not collector cars at least not yet. However, should SAI stop producing them or go out of business and especially once Carroll goes to that big race track in the sky then there is a good chance they will attain collector car status. In fact in aluminum variety there are only approximately 180 aluminum Continuation Cobras. Thats less then the original series.
CSX Collectibilty. Fair. However, they will always be worth more then replica Cobras.
Shelby GT500KR. I mention this since I take it this car was included in the "rolling stock" comment. This is a really cool Mustang. Star crossed in a way since it reached the market 6 months too late but before the economy tanked they were selling and trading hands for $120K+. Economy then tanks and the bottom drops out from under these cars plus the 2010 GT500 from Ford matches all the performance of the KR for substantially less.
I purchased mine for not much more then what you'd pay for a 2010 GT500. I felt it was the right price for a really cool muscle car that was produced in even more limited numbers then the Ford GT. They only made 1600 KRs and they were pre-title production cars unlike the Super Snake that is a post title car. Both really cool cars though that each offer something different.
Collectibility of the KR? Will depreciate first before ever appreciating but I think the car has a fair chance of being a collector car after a 10 year horizion.
And yes, I'm perfectly comfortable having spent more for a "Shelby" then a replica of a Shelby and I sleep fine with that thought.
