If the 1968 GT/CS were a fastback like the 1967 HCS?

[classicsguy]

What would have happened if the 1968 GT/CS was offered also in the fastback style as the 1967 HCS(probably very few people know that the HCS was offered also as a fastback and convertible)
I believe that with the movie Gone in 60 seconds the fastback style got really popular and the prices soared skyhigh. So I wonder what would have been the consequences of these very special Mustangs if it was offered also in the fastback style. What do you guys/gals think?

 

[rvrtrash]

I think that if the 1968 GT/CS would have been offered as a fastback, they would've called it a Shelby GT350 or 500. There are many cars that deserve being worth more but aren't for one reason or another. Why isn't the rarest Boss Mustang (Boss 351) worth 10 times the price of a Boss 302? Why isn't the Sunbeam Tiger worth at least half the price of an AC Cobra? Why isn't a Mercury Cyclone Spoiler worth as much as a Talledega and why aren't they worth as much as Superbirds'/Daytonas'? Body style plays a part but it's the public's perception of the car that determines what it's "worth". Not meaning to sound negative (although I just came in from pulling a radiator and hoses out of my girlfriends ******** Escort) but it is what it is. If the CS gets featured in a "Vanishing Point" or "Gone" type movie they'll be beating down our doors but until then we're just the red-headed stepchildren.

Steve

 

[Mustanglvr]

Very well said Steve!

 

[PNewitt]

.....but until then we're just the red-headed stepchildren.

Steve

Great comparisons, Steve! I had to laugh at your anology to the RH stepchildren...

I feel that the value--at auction--of cars is based on memories. Today, Model T's and A's aren't as popular as they were in the 1950's, because those who owned one, or rode in one are few and far between.

The GT/CS is wedged between the Mustang and Shelby, and that can be a good thing, and a bad thing (from where you sit). You can think of it as a "dressed up Mustang coupe", or as a "Shelby Coupe". It all depends on what you know about the car, it's heritage, etc.

And Steve made a good point about image, via movies, etc. A very valid point of value today. A rock star can own a crappy 70's Dodge Swinger, and it's suddenly worth $100K! Go figure, huh?

Our cars are sleepers in big value, but that can change at any time. I just want everyone to know that the bottom line of "value" doesn't stop at an auction. It's in ownership, memories, and being seen on the road. I know that may sound poetic, but it's true.

Now....I wonder what an Escort owned by a rock star would be worth--even with a bad radiator??

Paul

 

[case12]

Maybe Lee Gray, in his wisdom, saw that the convertibles and fastbacks already had the public eye, and wanted to give the coupe something everyone would see as different - including improving 68 sales. When he saw it with Fred Goodell and saw that Shelby wasnt going to build it beyond the prototype, this was his chance to make something very different for the market. I am sure glad he did.

BTW, I saw two 2007 GT/CS's at two different local dealers here in Illinois this weekend. Casey

 

[LUVMYCS]

What is "worth" actually? Value? What a person is willing to pay for something that he or she wants? I feel that someone will always pay top $ for something they want bad enough. Any one of our cars can be sold for big money if someone really wants that specific car. I know we're talking about average going price when we say "worth", but I don't think it matters if the CSs came in a fastback or coupe. I still say our cars are "worth" whatever someone is willing to pay for them.

I do wonder what would happen if a GT/CS was featured in a movie. I think someone that has connections in Hollywood should put a bug in someone's ear!

 

[Midnight Special]

...Wouldn't it be nice if a '68 could be featured in a TV comercial or magazine ads (in heritage form?) for the new GT/CS...

 

[LUVMYCS]

Yeah, Tim that's a great idea! We should call up Ford!

 

[Midnight Special]

Yeah, Tim that's a great idea! We should call up Ford!

Perhaps - but I'm (for the moment) glad they're not $$ up w/ Shelbys which you rarely see on the road anymore. I'm getting plenty of attention & pleasure w/ mine as I know you are while primarily enjoying having other (qualified) drivers experience them as well. I'm glad they weren't offered as fastbacks & convertibles as many would've been handily cloned off as Shelbys by now. Agree??

That they are "coupe only" sets them (and we owners) apart as unique individuals w/ classy & agressive looks, yet pleasant demeanor willing to answer all curiosity in a non-aggressive "see you at the strip" sort of way (except for David Athens;-)

Marketed properly w/ full disclosure - they will bring the big $$ with a little time. Enjoy them to the fullest 'til then!

 

[Mustanglvr]

Why is it that everybody in my area, that enquires about my car, thinks that it should be worth as much as a Shelby? Will the GT/CS ever lose the identifing term of "The Poor Man`s Shelby" ? I feel our cars, no matter what engine, should be worth just as much and I think if they were better known, as its own entity, "The GT/CS", that it will come into it`s own and be worth the price they deserve. Maybe the older and rarer they get, the more they will be recognized.