Friday, Aug. 15, 2008

‘Rolling art’: Muscle cars find place in Americana

The term “muscle car” may have been coined in the late 1960s, but its meaning still resonates deeply with automobile aficionados who remember a time when American-made cars were cultural icons.

Designed for straight-line speed, American muscle cars were at the height of their popularity in the late 1960s and 1970s. Often little more than a two-door chassis strapped to a massive, eight-cylinder engine, models like the 1964 Pontiac GTO, 1971 Plymouth Barracuda and the 1967 Shelby Mustang GT defined an automotive era.

They just don’t make ’em like they used to.

“You can’t tell a Toyota from a Ford anymore,” Kim Eldred said. “When I was growing up, in the first week of September I think it was, every year the new cars came out, and people made it a point to go to the showroom and see the new bodies, the new look that was coming out that year.”

Eldred owns KC Classic Auto, 10101 Lackman Road. Eldred’s fascination with all things automotive stems from his youth in the 1950s, when his father was a salesman for Pontiac.

KC Classic Auto specializes in American muscle cars, and there’s a reason automobiles from that generation remain so popular today, he said. Though primarily a “baby boomer kind of trend,” muscle cars represent a slice of American history and culture that touches all generations, he said.

“It’s Americana,” Eldred said. “It’s rolling art.”

Rising gas costs in recent years have caused a shift in the way the public perceives automobiles. Hybrid vehicles have become popular as keeping spending to a minimum at the pump has emerged as the top priority for many drivers.

It may seem that mentality could damage a business like Eldred’s. After all, the 1969 Chevrolet Corvette isn’t known for great gas mileage. But things haven’t changed much since the business opened its doors in 1986, he said, and for a couple of reasons, Eldred said.

Most of his customers don’t purchase the cars for use as a primary vehicle, opting instead to keep them as collector’s pieces and for weekend excursions. Because of the limited mileage, the cost to insure such a car is lower as well. Additionally, restored muscle cars have proven to be a sound investment.

“These things are much better than any stock you can manage,” Eldred said. “As long as demand is there, they still can’t make any more. There’s only so many.”

That isn’t to say that the majority of cars that have rolled off his lot have been purchased solely as investment pieces. In fact, most of his customers are car savvy, he said.

But often, the emotional impact one of his cars can make keeps customers coming back.

“When you see a blue Firebird, a 1968 Firebird, it’s almost like for a lot of people the Kennedy assassination,” Eldred said. “They remember where they were, what day and who they were with when they first saw that car. It just stood out and they go ‘Wow.’”

For more information on KC Classic Auto, visit www.kcclassicauto.com.

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