Our Two Cents: What to buy 25 years from now?

In today’s episode of Our Two Cents, we dig into our staff’s best picks for the best classic/antique/special interest vehicle. Except we’re gonna mix it up and only consider what they’d buy 25 years from now. The magic 25-year mark exists because that’s when any vehicle can be imported to the USA as a classic, therefore skirting U.S. safety and emissions regulations for new vehicles. So forget about what you can get right now, imagine what you can do when you’re 25 years older?

Let’s find out what car our staffers will buy in 2048. Precisely 25 years from now.

Alpine A110

Starting with me, I’ll pick the lowest hanging fruit from the 25-year-old tree, as the 2017+ Alpine A110 is a pure case of “I want it because I can’t have it.” The performance is gonna be worse than a comparable C7/C8 Corvette, but I don’t care; the Alpine must be mine because its achingly beautiful and has adequate performance. Now if only we could LS-swap it, as that’d be a complete game changer.

Camaro SS 1LE

Senior Editor Eddy Eckart picks a car that will likely become an unquestioned classic in 25 years. Perhaps its one that slides under the radar of all its Mopar competition and turns better to boot?

“Who knows what fanciful ideas I’ll have about cars when I am 68! I’ll probably want one more manual transmission. Fast won’t matter, but handling will. At that point, joy in the drive will supersede tinkering for me, so no projects. Something noticeable, but not look-at-me outrageous. Needs a healthy soundtrack. Seems like I’m headed back to where it started for me: GM’s pony car, though one a little newer and nicer than the ’92 Firebird I bought in 1997. I’ll go with a pre-facelift, sixth-gen Camaro SS 1LE in Hyper Blue.

4×4 Sprinter Camper Van

Ben Woodworth, our Senior Video Lead, knows that he’s still gonna want a van a quarter century from now.

“In 25 years, my four kids will be out of the house (hopefully) and I will (again, hopefully) be on the verge of retiring! Given those two things, I’ll be buying a 4×4 Mercedes Sprinter camper van. It’s probably the only automotive-related purchase that my wife and I agree on, and it’s basically been our retirement plan since we got married. We want to spend our time traveling the continent camping, biking, skiing, and adventuring. Sprinkle in some visits with grandkids along the way and I’m set for life. There are too many cool places in this world and fun things to do to spend retirement sitting on the front porch yelling at youths as they pass by on their hoverboards and flying cars.”

Pontiac G8 GXP

Editor Kyle Smith picked the last—possibly one of the best—vehicles to wear the red Pontiac arrowhead emblem. Hard to argue with his logic!

“Let’s assume my lack of financial responsibility will turn around in the next 25 years, and I’ll have a little more to spend than I do now. If so, that means I will finally be able to buy a 2009 Pontiac G8 GXP. White please, no sunroof, six-speed manual transmission. With only 299 white 2009 model year G8 GXPs out there, I think I’ll start saving now—mainly because I have to. Regardless, I think history will treat these well even if a lot of folks think it has two too many doors. Practicality, muscular styling, and big muscle under the hood will always be cool.”

Genesis G70 Shooting Brake

Associate Managing Editor Grace Houghton chose the same path as my wish for European importation. But instead of sport, she went looking for a stylish station wagon-ish vehicle that’s unlikely to ever come to America. Well, at least not on its own accord (sorry).

“If it’s 2048, I’ll be chasing down this South Korean beauty, the wagon version of Genesis’ G70 sports sedan. Currently sold only in Europe, the G70 Shooting Brake offers the same twin-turbo, 3.3-liter V-6 found in the sedan, which is genuinely sporting but comfortable enough to road-trip. Perfect combo. The wagon’s fantastically good-looking and, in contrast to the equivalent German, fresh and off-beat. The interior is posh enough to flatter—quilted leather seats; yes, please—but clean lines, subtle textures, and physical buttons keep it from being fussy. Sure, it only comes with an automatic transmission, but I’ll have a manual Corvette by then, so who cares?”

Pontiac Trans Am

Managing Editor David Zenlea proves that the more things change, the more they stay the same. An extra 25 years won’t stop him from wanting what he wants right now.

“I can confidently say that 25 years from now I will want a second-gen Trans Am with a Pontiac 400 engine. That’s what I wanted 25 years ago and it’s still what I want today. The world will surely look very different in a quarter century, but I will likely be the same idiot who likes t-tops and large decals.”

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