One last exit ...

Anonymous Author
11/18/2025

When construction work begins at the Christmas markets, the classic car season usually comes to an end. Autumn had probably reared its head for the last time by last weekend, with significantly lower temperatures and precipitation and even the onset of winter now on the cards for the following days.

So at the weekend it was time to open the garage door and get the classic car out, perhaps for the last time this year. First the motorcycle was allowed to enjoy the sunshine again, then it was the Lotus Elan 's turn (picture above). Of course, as the driver, I also enjoyed the ride, but passers-by also seemed to give the little Lotus a friendly welcome wherever it appeared.

And of course, the now over 50-year-old Brit was not alone. We came across a Volvo P1800 S, an Alfa Romeo GT Junior and an Audi 60, to name just a few examples.

Oh yes, and we actually passed an open-top pre-war Bentley on the short motorcycle tour.

Why don't we do this more often?

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Classic cars do not collect data

Bruno von Rotz
06/13/2025

Anyone who has read the latest issue of the magazine "Auto Motor und Sport" will certainly be wondering whether car manufacturers should really be collecting so much data about you and what the risks of misuse might be. Whether navigation destinations, gearshift speed, braking maneuver strength or radio station selection remain hidden from the car electronics and hardly anything is forgotten, on the contrary, it is more or less frequently transmitted to the "control center". Brave new world.

So if you want to drive "safely", take your classic car out of the garage and you can be sure that neither Google nor anyone else will be informed by the non-existent electronics what you are up to.

P.S. We wish all readers a happy new year with this last blog post of 2015!

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Classics have become much cheaper

Bruno von Rotz
04/08/2025

Preisentwicklung des Alfa Romeo Spider 2000 Veloce zwischen 2011 und 2025 (Zustand 2) gemäss Classic Data in Euro

If you look at vehicle offers in the classic car markets or at classic car fairs, the prices usually seem quite high. You can often remember when the same model cost half the price or even less.

In fact, prices for classic cars rose steadily until the mid-2010s, but since then (with exceptions) they have flattened out considerably, and some classic cars even lost value between 2017 and 2022 (and beyond), albeit usually to a lesser extent. So old cars are still expensive today.

However, if you compare the price trends of classic cars with those of new cars, you will quickly realize that old cars have become considerably cheaper. According to ADAC research, new small cars became 44.3% more expensive between 2017 and 2022, small cars by 30.1%, lower mid-range cars increased in price by 21.3% and upper mid-range cars by 18.7%. The price increases in the luxury class were comparatively moderate, with prices rising by only 12.4%.
And of course, these price rises have not stopped in 2022; new cars have also become increasingly expensive in the past two/three years.

At the end of the day, however, the new car does nothing different from the classic car, it drives from A to B. But they are on average 24.61% more expensive than a few years ago, while classic cars have become at most minimally more expensive or even cheaper. Which means they have become significantly cheaper.

For the price of a new VW Golf VIII (just under EUR 30,000), you can now also get a very well-preserved Alfa Romeo 2000 Spider Veloce or a Porsche 944 S2. Even a Jaguar E-Type is within reach if you don't fancy a model from the first series. British classics from the fifties and sixties in particular have lost a lot of ground in recent years and have become accessible again.

Perhaps we should take a closer look at the vehicle market again? And if you want to find out about prices first, we recommend our vehicle valuations (in cooperation with Classic Data).

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small blog with lowercase letters in URL

Anonymous Author
04/04/2025

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Can the Alfa still be saved?

Anonymous Author
04/02/2025

Here comes the text. And a picture.

Golf

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More beautiful than reality !!!

Paul Krüger
08/08/2024

Pontiac Grand Prix Sports Coupe 1965

No sooner do you dedicate a small article to the glory of "Iris Mist" than a car in this color is advertised the next day. However, it is not a Pontiac GTO, but the larger Grand Prix - which is not a disadvantage. On the contrary: the more curved bodywork makes the delicate shimmer of the lily's breath stand out even more.

But it is not the paint color alone that makes this '65 Sports Coupe look so seductive. It's also the photo, which looks like it was painted by Art Fitzpatrick and Von Kaufmann.

It's usually a compliment to call an illustration photorealistic. In the case of a Pontiac, however, things are different. The greatest compliment is when a photo looks like a drawing by Fitz & Von. These two gentlemen were responsible for Pontiac brochures and advertising graphics from the late fifties onwards and gave their motifs a luminous glow that no camera in the world could capture.

The cars were always razor-sharp and with mirror-smooth paintwork, the surroundings always a little more sketchy, they knew how to draw the eye to the actual motif without distracting from the backdrop. Colors were always strong, but never obtrusive. The plate was always tonal, but never monotonous. And there was a warm romanticism in every picture without appearing kitschy.

The fact that photography won out in the end was not due to its artistic superiority. It was just faster. But sometimes it does manage to capture the slightly supernatural perfection of illustration.

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A lovely piece of crap

Paul Krüger
08/08/2024

Pontiac GTO 1965 Iris Mist 800p

The great era of pastel colors was actually already over when General Motors launched the loveliest thing that had ever left the Dupont paint mixing plant. Only in the 1965 model year could you have your Pontiac wrapped in a shimmering hint of dusky pink instead of bold metallic tones. Or, to be more precise: the "touch of a lily" could be applied to the sheet metal, as the caress in thermoplastic was dreamily and aptly named "Iris Mist".

Particularly on muscle cars such as the Pontiac GTO, this resulted in a wonderfully contrasting mixture of outward gentleness and inner ferocity, like a sabre-toothed tiger in a rabbit suit. However, only around 1,200 buyers were able to get something out of the appeal of this combination, which is why the breathy light pink is by far the rarest color on the performance-enhanced Le Mans today.

Incidentally, the same paint with the internal identifier "P" was also in the Chevrolet range. There it was called "Evening Orchid", i.e. it had the shade of an orchid in the evening. It was hardly less romantically named - but just as unpopular. What a bummer.

Pontiac GTO 1965 Iris Mist 800p