Telescopes Next????

The below is the first three paragraphs from today's WSJ. The whole article is interesting but this gives the picture. cites many classic cars down from $45k to $30k. -greg n

Credit Crunch Hits
Classic Car Prices
Run-Up in Values of Hot Rods, Muscle Cars
Loses Steam as Funding Source Dries Up
By DAN CARNEY
Special to THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
March 11, 2008

The fallout from the credit crunch and housing market turmoil has reached the garages of classic car collectors. The value of some vehicles has declined by a third from two years ago.

Over the last decade, rising home values helped many Baby Boomers recapture their youth by buying American muscle cars and hot rods that were popular from the late '50s to the early '70s.

"Home equity was the ATM out of which a lot of people were withdrawing money to have fun," says McKeel Hagerty, CEO of Hagerty Insurance Agency, which specializes in classic cars. "What the credit crunch has affected is the bottom part of the market."

Maybe.......

But it just might be going the other way because of the lost of Pyrex (big Dobs) and the major inflation being experienced in China. Dave K at Obsession is still predicting needing to nearly double prices soon because of lost of Pyrex mirrors and I heard a report on one of the TV news channels today saying that all products coming from China will have to start going up in price because of the massive inflation there, plus the economic disruption caused by the recent snow storms.

George N

Quite a few folks would tell you that the astro-economy has been depressed for some time.

I don't expect to see run away "inflation" in telescopes or any other huge bumps. There is no doubt that the cost of primary mirrors for big Dobs has gone up significantly, but what will happen is that current makers will find sources of less expensive mirrors/blanks, or they will price themselves out of the game and new folks will come along who will.

8)

"What the credit crunch has affected is the bottom part of the market."

In my opinion, much of this market is overblown due to the over-hyped Barrett-Jackson auctions, especially the January Scottsdale. I see cars going for twice their value there as you might be able to buy elsewhere at a different time.

There were some good bargains this year, however, so the above point might be somewhat valid.

I don't expect my A-P scopes to lose value though because they are not for sale ;-)