I think John's correct that politics will change the way petrol cars fair over the coming decades. Whether you believe, or care, about CO2 emissions it's a fact that energy will become greatly more expensive as the world's population both increases, and demands more of the luxuries that we have in the developed world. Even if you don't think we're at "peak oil" yet, once Tata sell countless millions of their little Nano we will be seeing petrol priced at a level where we actually begin to think about using energy differently. A recent survey in London concluded that over 30% of car journies were less than 1 mile. That's madness whichever way you look at it.
Personally, I like the idea of different technologies. Why not have alternatives to fossil fuel-driven vehicles in the future, just as we've moved from horses or steam in the past? I know we're a long way from it now, but I'd bet most of us would actually be happy to pop to Tesco in a hydrogen car when petrol hits £10 per gallon, or £15, or £20?
Where does that leave petrol cars in the long term? My guess would be that only the most desireable cars will survive, in the hands of wealthy collectors or mad petrolheads. Like people insist on driving an old MGB, when they could have an MX5 for less money and greater reliability, there will always be a few of us who keep older cars going. Whether that will include the 944, quite possibly. It's always going to be relatively simple and economical to maintain. It's never going to match the value of an F40, though.
My concern with the 944 is always that people compare it with more modern cars. Of course, you can now get a GTR, Evo, XK8 etc. for the same money as a good 944. But, and it's a big but, I'd say it's not going to be easy to match the costs and reliability of a 944, over several years, with very many other cars. I know we read all day that the cars are niggly, and getting older, and rusting, and leaking. That's just the way we read about them on forums, we usually only post when something has gone wrong or people buy them without researching properly.
I think it will continue to be one of the most respected "classics". Whether that means prices increasing, I can't see it, as I can only see petrol car demand gradually declining. What we will have is good cars becoming rarer and holding their value, and poorly-maintained sheds devaluing to nothing, as they are already. An investment? Possibly not. Relatively cheap fun? Oh yes. [
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