7 Oddball Cars That Got More Expensive This Summer
There are thousands of vehicles in the Hagerty Price Guide. Most of them fit into nice, neat segments—trucks, muscle cars, luxury cars, British classics, Ferraris, etc. But there are plenty of others that either don’t quite fit into standard buckets or are just rare and obscure. Since prices fluctuate for weird and wonderful classics, too, we track them. Below are some of the oddballs that gained more of a following and got more expensive with this summer’s release of the Hagerty Price Guide.
1967–75 Fiat 124 Coupe
Average increase in #2 value: 29 percent
Built over three generations (called “AC,” “BC,” and “CC”) and powered by Aurelio Lampredi–designed twin-cam four-cylinder engines ranging from 1438cc to 1756cc, the Fiat 124 Sport Coupe is mechanically nearly identical to its more popular and longer-lasting Spider cousin. Fiat revised the styling over its relatively short production run, but all are understatedly handsome three-box designs. The engine, five-speed gearbox, and four-wheel disc brakes also made them pretty advanced for their time.
The coupe version of the 124 wasn’t nearly as popular in America as the Spider was, so while the drop-tops are rather easy to find in any place where classic cars are sold, the coupes take a bit more searching. But people have found them, and they paid up for them this year.
Perhaps the tired old “Fix It Again Tony” jokes don’t carry as much weight as they used to, or maybe it’s a result of almost all interesting old cars getting more expensive lately, but the 124 coupe is one of the biggest gainers of any classic car this year, and 124 Spiders are up by 10 percent, too. We’re still talking budget fun, though, as the average condition #2 (excellent) value for a coupe is still just $12,000.
1958–60 Edsel Convertible
Average increase in #2 value: 15 percent
Bad timing, inadequate market research, quality issues, shaky dealer organization, goofy looks, and a goofier name combined to make Ford’s Edsel brand a flop for the ages. Not even a 60-minute TV special promoting the car with Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, and Bob Hope could keep Edsel from becoming a four-wheeled punchline.
But does a 15 percent surge in value suggest that Edsels are having the last laugh? Not necessarily. There will probably always be stigma surrounding these 1950s failures, but strong sales for drop-top versions in recent months have lifted convertible Edsels across the range. That includes all models (Citation, Pacer, Corsair, and Ranger) and engines (410cid/345hp, 361cid/303hp, 352cid/300hp, 332cid/225hp, and 292cid/185hp). Meanwhile, prices of their roofed counterparts have been much quieter. Current #2 values for Edsel convertibles range from $34,700 for a 1959 332cid/225hp Corsair to $55,300 for a 410cid/345hp Citation. Not cheap, then, but still fairly affordable for a large, chrome-laden 1950s American convertible.
1975–80 AMC Pacer
Average increase in #2 value: 15 percent
There are so many things you can say about the AMC Pacer, and it’s been a “love-to-hate-it” favorite for nearly 50 years. But you could never call it boring. With jellybean styling and more glass than a cathedral, it was unlike anything else on the road in the 1970s. Or today, for that matter.
American Motors went all-in on promoting the Pacer as a small car with the dimensions of a big car. They played up the Pacer’s width in particular, with taglines like “the first wide small car” and “you only ride like a Pacer if you’re wide like a Pacer.” It didn’t quite catch on, though. The looks were too outside the box for many, build quality was an issue, and the Pacer was both hefty and underpowered, with only low-output 3.8- or 4.2-liter six-cylinders available. A 5.0-liter V-8 did at least arrive in 1978, and a popular “X” sport package added bucket seats, a floor shift, a sway bar, and modest trim accents.
Pacers have rarely been taken seriously, but they’ve really surged in value since 2022 (#2 values up 66 percent). With an average #2 value of $17K, they’re not exactly expensive, but you wouldn’t call them cheap anymore, either. Which is surprising for such an unloved automobile. Then again, maybe it’s only the older buyers who heap the hate on this AMC compact, because nearly 70 percent of Hagerty insurance quotes for Pacers come from buyers Gen X or younger. A shocking 37 percent comes from millennials, which may be spurring demand for an affordable but interesting old car.
2000–01 Qvale Mangusta
Average increase in #2 value: 10 percent
The history of this Italian-built, American-powered, Norwegian-named sports car is a bit, well, convoluted.
The idea for it came about in the early 1990s when Maserati’s technical director Giordano Casarini visited the U.K. and was rather impressed by TVR’s latest V-8 Griffith. After mentioning the idea of a sort of Italian TVR to carmaker Alejandro De Tomaso, Casarini moved from Maserati (which De Tomaso owned until 1993) to lead the project under the De Tomaso brand. They called it the Mangusta, after a De Tomaso sports car from the 1960s. Casarini contracted with Ford to supply the Mustang’s 4.6-liter Modular V-8, and brought in designer Marcello Gandini to shape the body, complete with a TVR-inspired three-position “roto-top,” which is essentially a power-retractable hardtop that also has a removable center section, so the car can be driven as a hardtop, a targa, or a fully open convertible. And although the Mangusta was screwed together in Modena, one look at the interior reveals plenty of bits from Dearborn, specifically from the Mustang SVT Cobra.
Funds were short at De Tomaso, so additional backing came from the family of Norwegian-American serial automotive entrepreneur Kjell Qvale (pronounced like “Shell Cavalli”). After introducing the Mangusta in 2000 with a $78,900 price tag, though, relations between Qvale and De Tomaso soured, resulting in the car wearing a Qvale badge instead of a more recognizable De Tomaso one. Just 284 cars were sold, and then the platform was soon further developed in Britain to become the also ill-fated MG XPower SV. See? Told you the whole thing was convoluted.
It’s an obscure car with looks that certainly don’t go on the list of Gandini’s greatest hits, but it’s an interesting, rare, and fairly fast 320-hp sports car that combines exotic lines with affordable Ford parts. They historically haven’t traded for much. While some high sales in recent months have pushed up the numbers in our price guide, the #2 value is still just $35,200, less than half of what the car cost new (not adjusted for inflation) and not even that much more than the equivalent SVT Mustang ($26,500 for a coupe, $23,500 for a convertible) from which the Mangusta borrows its drivetrain.
1978–81 Volvo 262C Bertone
Average increase in #2 value: 5 percent
When we hear “Bertone” we usually think of Lambos, Alfa Romeos, Lancias, or wild, wedge-y concept cars. But let’s not forget about boxy Volvos. For a few short years in the late 1970s and early ’80s, Volvo sold an oddball coupe with a chopped, vinyl-covered roof and a badge from the Italian design firm. The 262C, though, was actually designed in-house at Volvo. Bertone just provided assembly of the roof, windshield surround, cowl, and upper doors. Based on the 264 (200 Series, 6-cylinder, 4 doors) sedan, the 262C also came with the PRV (Peugeot-Renault-Volvo) V-6 engine and either a three-speed automatic or four-speed manual. Volvo aimed the 262C largely at the U.S. market, where it competed against the likes of the Cadillac Eldorado and Mercedes-Benz W123 coupes, but only a little more than 6600 sold worldwide.
Brick-era Volvos of almost all types have gotten more expensive in the past couple of years, and these strange two-door models have seen a modest bump, but it’s enough to put their values at an all-time high. They’re still cheap, though, with a #2 value of just $11,600 for the 1978–79 models with the 2664cc engine, $16,900 for the 1980 model with the larger 2849cc engine, and $18,200 for the final 1981 model.
1990–94 Plymouth Laser
Average increase in #2 value: 8 percent
The sometimes forgotten member of the Diamond-Star Motors trio that included the Mitsubishi Eclipse and Eagle Talon, the Laser was touted as “the first Plymouth of the ’90s” and, like its siblings, offered sporty coupe styling and speed at a competitive price. Base cars got a poky 92-hp engine, but buyers who ticked the box for the Laser RS Turbo got a twin-cam 2.0-liter turbo with 195 hp and, starting in 1992, all-wheel drive (AWD).
Unfortunately, not even Tina Turner’s legs could turn the Laser into a sales success. Chrysler put more marketing behind its Eagle-branded Talon while the Plymouth brand, which was otherwise still just economy cars and minivans, had no cachet. The Eclipse and Talon soldiered on into a second generation for 1995, but Diamond-Star pulled the plug on the Plymouth.
Recent sales have put Laser prices at an all-time high. Finding a clean one would be hard, but #2 values are currently $13,900 for an RS Turbo and $17,000 for one with AWD. This is still cheaper than the more common first-gen Eagle Talon, which is $15,800 for a TSi and $21,600 for a TSi AWD. The equivalent Mitsubishi Eclipse, meanwhile, costs $20,600 for a GST and $27,000 for a GSX.
1967–72 Lancia Fulvia Sport Zagato
Average increase in #2 value: 17 percent
Lancia built the V-4, front-drive Fulvia family of cars from 1963 to ’76. The in-house–designed sedan and coupe are both handsome cars, and the coupe version set the company down the path to great success in international rallying. But Lancia also sold a Fulvia with a funky-looking fastback body by the masters of weird at Carrozzeria Zagato. Early cars had quirks like a side-hinged hood, and engines ranged from 1.3 to 1.6 liters, but all featured the Ercole Spada–designed body that looks quite elegant from some angles (the side) and downright odd from others (the front). Despite the coachbuilt implications of the name, Lancia sold about 7000 examples of the Fulvia Sport Zagato.
Although some versions of the Fulvia dipped in value recently, the Sport Zagato is at an all-time high with an average #2 value of $74,600.
Ever noticed that “Mangusta” is an anagram of “A Mustang”?
I did, and the salesman at Qvale’s palatial showroom on Van Ness in SF was nonplussed when I pointed that out while sitting in one, summer 2001…
Mangusta means mongoose, which is a Cobra killer….
The Mustang came first, so the Mangusta is known as an “also ran.”
Much like Camaro means “friend” in Italian but again, the Mustang came first. Camaros will always be second. But the car has to be good. The Mustang was and is. GM is second-rate and always will be. Barracuda fastback DID come first, but didn’t sell well. It certainly did not cause the sensation of the original Mustang hardtop and convertible. But it was the “special” Mustang when it arrived about four or five months after the first two models. They were selling like hotcakes, flying out the door.
A 1966 Mustang “Sprint A” or “Sprint B” car is considered to be worth money. Why bother? Ford sold them to allow more sales when V-8s were in short supply. It was cheap trim package for cheap buyers. Ford did it every spring to move inventory on dull cars like Custom 500s and Fairlanes.
Maybe Ford knew about consumers and SELLING its own very popular car!
And the EV Mustang is NOT selling, while the V-8 is still the gold standard and has a waitlist. Hmmm . . .
Camaro an Italian word meaning friend ?
Ford is Italian for ‘tiny pants stallion’.
A Mexican song says, Jaun Conamero in its lyrics and I have no idea what that means.
It’s a Cuban song about a beach….. and not about ‘Juan”
It’s “Guantanamera”, not Juan Conamero! Hahahaha!
It’s about a girl from Guantanamo.
That song is actually GUANTANAMERA… It is NOT someone’s name! lol lol lol That is the correct spelling in Spanish and it means “the women of guantanamo” and it is the a Cuban patriotic song based on
a poem by Cuban poet Jose Marti..
Huh? Ford needed NO bailout in 2008. GM got $49.5 billion, and one estimate I found pegs the loss to taxpayers at more than $10 billion (Chrysler got just under $10 billion and paid it all back, with interest).
Ford did take out DOE loans during the time when GM took TARP money.
Ford used everything they owned as collateral for loans outside of TARP dollars.
And Ford ranks #1 currently in recalls…
Ford took a $9.2 Billion loan from DOE last summer.
And… https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2024/07/24/fords-second-quarter-profit-falls-electric-vehicle-losses/74524862007/
I love that GM fans try to argue that getting a loan and taking a bailout are the same or even similar. That’s tantamount to saying that your mortgage payment and someone else’s section 9 housing are somehow similar.
Good analogy!
I have a 2020 explorer platinum that I bought new and the seats fell apart in the first week and FORD has yet to fix them …among other issues.
I’ll be buying a Toyota Highlander after the election (maybe). Too bad for Ford, I was a long time customer since 96 with a full sized Bronco, 2 Expeditions, 2 Lincoln Town Cars, and now the Explorer.
Toyota has a very reliable interior and exterior. On my 5th one.
My 2003 Chevy pick up has over 211,000 miles on it. I call it the hell and back truck built well held up well in & out, Original driveline. I’ve only had to buy one!
Gm has the most recalls check consumer reports.
Fix
Or
Repair
Daily
Found
On
Road
Dead
GMC=General Mistakes Corporation.
Randy, you have to admit. that is lame. Fix It Again Tony is better than THAT! lol and I have never owned anything but FIATs after my first sports car was one when I was 19. ALL car companies build great cars and others that are problematic. I know a few general repair mechanics and they will tell you the weakness of Ford Trucks, Chevy Trucks and Dodge Trucks. Each brand has strengths and weaknesses. None is exempt from that. No car company is, EVEN Honda and Toyota have winners and “not as good” cars or trucks! As a mechanic, I have worked on both original Mustang’s and Camaro’s. BOTH are solid cars that last a very long time.
My favorites are the 69 Mustang and the 69 Camaro.
Ok GMC= Got Mechanic Coming.
First On Race Day.
Last I checked, 2008 was 16 years ago. Why is this even a point of argument anymore?
Your reply is correct in every respect but one, Ford was forced to take the bailouts but never spent the money and repaid them as soon as they were allowed. I say this as a loyal GM driver, former GM test driver [summer job 2 summers] at the Milford Proving Grounds, and son of the Technical Director of the GM Tech Center in Warren MI for 30+ years (who was screwed out of 30% of his pension, all his life insurance and had his medical insurance taken away but was given $100/ month to buy a medicare supplement policy when Obummer…I mean Obama, forced GM into a non-standard bankruptcy.)
Ford never received TARP dollars. It was a DOE fund loan, and repayment took from 2012 to 2022…
🤣💯💯💯
😂
Kurt is on Ford’s payroll.
Hey Kurt, ever hear the term “Rustang”?
Go to any car show and tell me how many GM cars there are compared to Fords…..
Theres more Mustangs at car shows than rustaros.
I think your bailout statement is in error. Ford is the only one of the big 3 that didn’t get bailed out.
Best answer ever!💯💯💯
Hi Kurt,
Camaro is a small viscous animal that eats Mustangs.
It is not an Italian word.
Perhaps you meant Amica (feminine) or Amico (masculine)
2 Cool 😎
Knew a Frank Barto in the Navy, any relation? My IROC Camaro is my friend.
A collection of childish comments. I suspect the junior high school class was discussing classic cars.
That Volvo looks like a CGI cartoon character
It has been one of my favorites since they were introduced. I like the early one with four square headlights best.
With the little crown emblem on the C pillar, I always called it a Crown Coupe.
You might need to see it in person. It’s pretty cool looking with the chopped roof and has decent proportions. It definitely got attention in its day.
Pretty sure the Pacer was the inspiration for the Porsche 928.
Pacer worst car ever and then my 86 Camero which was just as bad!
The fact that you can’t spell Camaro reduces your credibility my Friend.
Too funny
No. That would be the gremlin.
Camaro
You mean CAMARO?
I had a completely stripped down, base model 77 Mercury Bobcat in college (early 90s). It was Mercury’s version of the Ford Pinto, yet somehow much worse. I would say that was the worst car ever.
They were also known as a overinflated 928
The Corvair 2.7 had more HP, and totally independent suspension.
In a car design magazine years ago the Porsche 928 designer acknowledged the Pacer influence. The Pacer was designed to be a SAFE car, which added a lot of weight. That’s when the “safety car” kick was on and the US government was pushing it a bit. The Bricklin was designed as a “safety car” also, but didn’t fare any better. AMC never pushed the safety issue though. It was also intended to have GMs Wankel rotary, and not be quite as wide. When GM axed the rotary AMC was too far along in the design process to just write off all they had invested in it. So they widened it to have room for a driveshaft tunnel and redesigned the firewall to stuff their six in. The rotary would have had about the same power as the six, but weighed about half as much. Trimming about 240 pounds of engine and a few pounds of sheet metal and glass due to the widening would have helped performance and gas mileage a good bit. It wasn’t a performance car. It performed about the same as most other economy minded cars — 0-60 in about 16 seconds. The gas mileage was the worst issue — it was marketed as “the first wide small car” but it got the gas mileage of a full size sedan due to the weight. Introduced in 75 amidst the fuel shortages, it was doomed from the start. The rotary engine would have improved things a little, but I doubt enough to make a difference. Would have just made it even more unique. GM ulrimately cancelled the rotary because they couldn’t get it to pas future emissions. They got it to pass for 74-75, but emissions were scheduled to get stricter every year or two by the US government and they needed more time to figure that out. The government wouldn’t allow them an exemption, so they canned it. They could afford that, AMC couldn’t. Another reason is they had determined that using the rotary in current designs really didn’t save much. A lighter front end meant you could dispense with power steering and save some additional weight and expense there, but it really just improved mileage by 1-2 mpg. The only way to truly capitalize on the compact engine was to design a car around it. So they would have to do that and then if they couldn’t solve the emissions problems they’d be out even more money.
Never mind that the 928’s exterior design was approved in 1973 and frozen for production tooling in 1974, well before the Pacer was introduced…
One could argue that the 1973 Porsche FLA concept car inspired the Pacer but, of course, that too is anachronistic nonsense, given that the Pacer’s styling was likely finalized in ’72.
In reality, they probably both drew inspiration from Giugiaro’s (Corvair-based) Testudo concept car.
1972 124 Sport 1600, almost new in Beirut in 1973/74. Need to keep the rev’s up if you want to go anywhere fast. Handled well, very sporty in that era. Would like to drive one again for a weekend, don’t think I would want to own one!!
Had a 124sc kept a box of resistors with me. The points were so close to the exhaust manifold that when you were driving it hard and fun they got toasted!
I know a guy that has one he’s building, new independent front end and air cooled hopped up vw motor out back. Tony won’t have to fix it ever again. beautiful little red car full cage.
“Domo Arigato!” says Mr. Zagato
Hahahaha 😂🤣😂
Actually, he was known to be a pacifist.
She’ll have a new job come January, Madame President!
I’m wondering if all/some of the Mangustas engines were the 99 and prior SVT 4.6 units that were cast in Italy. I saw one on display at the LA auto show in ( 98-99? ). Some guy commented somewhat rudely ” So it’s just a f*****g Mustang motor.” to the young Claudia Cadinale- ish Italian model. – I chimed in ” Actually the engines are cast in Italy. Nobody is better at making shoes or casting metal than the Italians. ” She grinned and added ” That’s not the ‘only’ thing we’re the best at.”
Not a chance, imported vs spending tens of millions setting up an engine line
No doubt!
I would be shocked if this trend continued. Maybe a few examples sold that raised the bar on the market for them, but I am pretty sure there are no lines of buyers waiting for these appear on a regular basis. Not trying to say these cars aren’t collectible but they aren’t on any hot list of collectible cars currently available. Many of us would stroll past these at a car show or auction to see the more mainstream collector cars. Not sure too many of these ended up as a poster hanging on a teenagers bedroom wall.
Not what Wayne Carini says, at Amelia in 2022 I spoke to him and he said 124 Coupe were ‘the next big gainer’ and they would double for good over the next 5 years. Looks like he was right. I’ve had mine since 2002, its a lovely car to drive and very pleasant period interior.
“Pacers have rarely been taken seriously, but they’ve really surged in value since 2022″…
Do the comps include ‘Waynes World’ movie car ($72K B/J’22). A unicorn.
Expanding on the comment, to clarify and to reduce potential misunderstanding…
Quoting from the article: “Pacers have rarely been taken seriously…” [Nor do I think they should they be…]
quote continued: “…but they’ve really surged in value since 2022 (#2 values up 66 percent). With an average #2 value of $17K…” [I think I found the answer to my own question, and (if correct) it would explain this…]
The sample data (20 cars) can be found by following embedded links above. It does indeed appear to include the sale I had questioned (One-of-a-kind movie car, with provenance, from BIG pop-culture movie). If I am correct this single car/sale lifted the average by around $3700
The Pacer? You must be kidding- they were a joke (Nickname = Terrarium) when new. and are one of the least collectible cars by the usual criteria I can think of. What’s next, the Aztec? As one of the P3TS founders once said, “You can fix everything but ugly.”
Perhaps you missed this comment in the Pacer write-up: “Then again, maybe it’s only the older buyers who heap the hate on this AMC compact, because nearly 70 percent of Hagerty insurance quotes for Pacers come from buyers Gen X or younger.” This would be in my son’s group. He and his friends don’t seem to have many pre-packaged notions about “cool/slash/ugly”. They like what they like. And maybe just as importantly, what they can afford!
The Pacer, oh lord. In the early 80’s a high school friend had one of these. But only as a replacement for the Camaro that he totaled. Over time, it acquired shiny Cragar rims with fat tires, got jacked up in the back, a Hurst shift lever, other things from the JC Whitney catalog. Every pot has a lid!
Cragar Rims & Fat Tires look Good on Anything too Me, even just if i See an Old Rusty One laying in a Junk Pile. i’ve always been a Z/28 and Corvette Guy but, something about the Pacer always looked Cool to Me. Kinda like the Slutty kinda Ugly Girl in School, You know the One You just couldn’t keep from looking at every now and then. Gotta say an Old Pacer with a 4-Wheel Drive Chassis shoved under it looks Pretty Cool too.
I have not seen Qvale Mangusta since they first came out 20+ ish years ago. Very rare to see.
people actually pay real, not Monopoly, money for this?
PT Barnum was acutely prophetic about a sucker being born every minute;
My first car was a 1990 DSM Laser. NA and automatic she was an absolute dog but the twin 12″ Kicker subs under the hatch were rock ‘n!
Cars like the AMC Pacer are so ‘far out that they are actually in!’ It was so quirky yet cute and now people are so enamored by its funky looks that it gets more attention now. Just look at the design flavor of the new car crossovers. That will tell you much!!
Damn, I KNEW I should have kept my ’75 Pacer!
I too was an AMC fan for years, my 1st new car was a ’67 Rebel with a built 232″ 6 cyl. & automatic. best ET was 14.89, not shabby for a “6 cyl rambler” ! It was the tow-car for my friends 12 second Ford Falcon.
Back to the bubble car, the Pacer was the car to beat in the early years of IMSA !