Bel Air, Mustang, Camaro among Hagerty Value Rating’s ‘Middle of the Road’ cars

They are automotive icons. With names like Bel Air, Mustang, Camaro, Continental and Eldorado, they personify the classic car world.

So how in the world could any of them be labeled a “middle of the road” car? Data doesn’t lie.

The Hagerty Vehicle Rating tracks a car’s performance relative to the entire classic car market. Based on a scale of 0-100, a car scoring 50 means that it is keeping pace with the overall market. A car rated higher than 50 is appreciating more quickly, while a score below 50 means the car is lagging. And some of history’s best-known classics are hovering around that 50-point mark.

Sixty percent of all cars and trucks listed in the Hagerty Price Guide have a Hagerty Vehicle Rating between 40-60 points. One of the reasons these beloved models are considered market-making, middle-of-the-road cars is precisely because they are highly popular and plentiful. To a large degree they define the market.

“A first-gen Mustang or 1950s Bel Air are what a lot of people picture in their mind when they think of classic cars, so it makes sense that they define the middle of the collector car market,” said Hagerty Information Analyst Jesse Pilarski.

The Hagerty Vehicle Rating is derived through the use of the following data:

  • Hagerty Price Guide – Measures the change in value of No. 3-condition (good) cars.
  • Insured Activity – Measures how many cars have been added to Hagerty’s insured book and their average value at the time they’re added.
  • Quote Activity – Measures how many cars have been quoted.
  • Auction Activity – Measures the number of cars, their average sale price and the sell-through rate for those cars.
  • Private Sales Activity – Measures number of cars sold, average sale price and what percentage sell above their insured value.

“The higher the production number, the harder it is to move the market for a particular vehicle because buyers have more options,” Pilarski added. To that end, none of the 10 cars has seen a move of more than one percent in value (average No. 3 condition) in the past eight months.

Vehicle
1955-1957 Chevrolet Bel Air 54
1964½-1973 Ford Mustang 52
1964-1967 Oldsmobile Cutlass 51
1965-1970 Chevrolet Impala 50
1970-1981 Chevrolet Camaro 50
1979-1985 Cadillac Eldorado 50
1960-1966 Chevrolet C/K Series 50
1968-1972 Chevrolet El Camino 50
1961-1969 Lincoln Continental 47
1993-2002 Chevrolet Camaro 45

The Hagerty Vehicle Rating is a 0-100 score that tracks a car’s value change compared to the entire classic-car market. A car with a rating higher than 50 means it is appreciating faster than the overall market. A score below 50 means the car is lagging. While our rating algorithm uses Hagerty’s extensive valuation database and detailed market data—we go deep and include the number of recent insurance quotes and auction sell-through rates—the usual disclaimers apply: Use this score as a guide and not an indication of future results.

Click below for more about
Read next Up next: Roger & Me
Your daily pit stop for automotive news.

Sign up to receive our Daily Driver newsletter

Subject to Hagerty's Privacy Policy and Terms of Conditions

Thanks for signing up.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *