This month's feature : Hot Rod

Hot-Rod Market Update

Growing Market Shows No Signs of Slowing Down

There's great news for anyone who works on, manufactures products for and is an enthusiast of the hot-rod market: It's still alive and well. The market has experienced growth over the last five years. The values of the vehicles continue to rise. And enthusiasts seem to be more excited about hot rods than ever before.

The three segments we generally consider when discussing the hot-rod market are the street-rod and custom (Chart 1), restoration (Chart 2) and street-performance (Chart 3) niches. Each of these segments experienced growth from 1997 to 2006. Retail sales reached $1.01 billion, $1.42 billion and $2.11 billion, respectively. And manufacturer sales reached $344 million, $475 million and $717 million for each of the three categories.

Growth in the Marketplace

This past January, Barrett-Jackson Auction held its annual four-day auction in Scottsdale, Arizona. This year, 873 pre-'73 vehicles were sold. The highest sale price of all pre-'73 vehicles was $660,000 (excluding the top six one-of-a-kind vehicles sold). This was the amount paid for a '67 Chevy Corvette Coupe, also known as "The Last Sting Ray."...read more

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